The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Help with cooling issues
langfor6
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I built my new PC back in July, and have been pretty happy with it so far. Unfortunately what I believe to be a cooling problem has reared its ugly head recently. Modern PC games seem to cause my video card to get too hot and my PC to reboot itself. I'm pretty certain that cooling is the issue. I've experienced it playing WoW for extended periods of time and FF XIV and StarCraft 2 for brief periods of time.
Other games that I've played (all older) haven't caused this issue. I have a steel case, and every time the machine has rebooted, the side of the case near the video card is extremely hot to the touch. To remedy the situation for now I have to place a fan blowing on the outside of the case when I play current games, and this allows me to play indefinitely. The side of the case stays cool when I do this as well.
My apartment doesn't have AC and until recently it's been very hot, even more so since I live on the second floor, which may exacerbate the issue. My CPU has a nice even layer of Arctic Silver on it, and all the internal fans are working properly, on the power supply, video card, CPU, and case, but I'm using stock fans for everything. What are my options to add supplemental cooling to the system?
Other games that I've played (all older) haven't caused this issue. I have a steel case, and every time the machine has rebooted, the side of the case near the video card is extremely hot to the touch. To remedy the situation for now I have to place a fan blowing on the outside of the case when I play current games, and this allows me to play indefinitely. The side of the case stays cool when I do this as well.
My apartment doesn't have AC and until recently it's been very hot, even more so since I live on the second floor, which may exacerbate the issue. My CPU has a nice even layer of Arctic Silver on it, and all the internal fans are working properly, on the power supply, video card, CPU, and case, but I'm using stock fans for everything. What are my options to add supplemental cooling to the system?
langfor6 on
0
Posts
Open the case and have a box fan blowing directly on it? Get a window A/C unit for the room it's in?
A lot of your issues are going to be due to the external heat. Once Fall sets in you should be fine.
If it is just an issue with the ambient temps in your apartment being too high, have you thought about picking up a case with additional intake fans?
Other than that, you could check out some drop in slot fans if you have the space.
Or you could do your computer (and yourself) a favor by picking up a cheap window AC unit.
Running FurMark 1.8.2, my HD 5770 gets up to 105 degrees Celsius (from 43 degrees idle) within two minutes or so. I'm also running the CCC and verifying the temperatures with that at the same time, and keeping an eye on CPU temps with HWMonitor. I've tried manually setting the GPU fan to 100% speed, but this just makes the rise to 105 degrees take longer.
Running FurMark alone will cause a reboot within ten minutes typically. I can run LinX to put the CPU under max load and run it indefinitely alone (CPU gets to 55 but no higher in this case), but running LinX and FurMark together causes a reboot in under 30 seconds.
I don't think air flow is a problem, but I can post a screenshot so someone can give me some pointers on better cable routing.
I can't get an AC put in my bedroom because it's against the rules of the apartments where I live.
I've considered getting custom coolers for the CPU and/or video card, but I didn't think it was necessary because I don't overclock at all so I thought stock cooling would be sufficient. A new case is also an option.
So the apartment doesn't have an AC, and installing a window unit is against the rules? That's stupid.
I'd get a new case simply because the one you have is fugly, but getting one with a front intake fan as well as a larger rear exhaust would be a good idea. The fan you likely have in there now is small and probably has a hard time venting air because the backplate only has a few small holes, coupled with the fact that your computer isn't really able to pull in cooler air from outside.
If I were you I'd hit up the Computer Build Thread and ask them to recommend a case with good airflow specific to your situation.
And yeah, that case is pretty cheap. You may want to consider a new one. Pretty much anything that says Antec on it is a safe bet.
Also I hope you're not using the power supply that came with it because they are not to be trusted.
Unfortunately running LinX and Furmark together still causes a reboot in the system within 30 seconds, but at least now I know it's not heat related. I am using the power supply that came with my old case, but I need to replace it anyway because the power cables are stretched very taut in the new case. It has the power supply in the bottom as opposed to the top in my old case.
I should be able to get some play time in on FF XIV today (assuming their servers are willing) so it will be a good test I suppose.