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CPU cooler not cooling

JaninJanin Registered User regular
edited June 2007 in Help / Advice Forum
My brother's computer is some model of Athlon64, 3400+ or thereabouts. He's got a pretty big heatsink/fan on the CPU:
dvc00011kz3.jpg

The problem is, it doesn't seem to be cooling very well. It idles at 45C, and under load at 60C. The screws attaching the fan are at a bit of an angle because for some reason the metal bits holding them were too short to reach the screw holes, but it seems tight enough. Is there any way to see what's causing the heat and repair it, or should we just try to get another fan and hope it helps?

[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Janin on

Posts

  • AlwaysAngryGuyAlwaysAngryGuy Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    That Zalman is a good fan, it's probably just mounted wrong. Make sure you use the bracket that came with it and not the one already attached to the motherboard. I can't see how the screws are from that picture but from your description it's definitely mounted wrong.

    Just take it off, clean it with alcohol, put new paste on it, and mount it with the stuff it came with. It should have come with a bracket for the back of the motherboard and two risers that screw into it on the top that you put the screws into.

    AlwaysAngryGuy on
  • ElectricTurtleElectricTurtle Seeress WARegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    What sort of thermal interface compound is between the heatsink and CPU heat spreader? Are there any significant air pockets in the aforementioned thermal interface compound? A big air pocket could cause peformance issues. Is this heatsink a hold over from an earlier system? What does the motherboard say about fan speed?

    Edit: Answered some of my own questions, you appear to have a CNPS7000(A/B)-AlCu, which should work for whatever you're doing, assuming the fan is operating normally and you haven't messed up the mounting.

    ElectricTurtle on
    yfrxgugaj8wu.png
  • JaninJanin Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    AlwaysAngryGuy wrote: »
    That Zalman is a good fan, it's probably just mounted wrong. Make sure you use the bracket that came with it and not the one already attached to the motherboard. I can't see how the screws are from that picture but from your description it's definitely mounted wrong.

    Just take it off, clean it with alcohol, put new paste on it, and mount it with the stuff it came with. It should have come with a bracket for the back of the motherboard and two risers that screw into it on the top that you put the screws into.

    Difficulty: we've lost the original mounting bracket. The new one seemed to work well enough, it came from another system with the same socket type (754). Is there some way to order a replacement bracket from Zalman?
    ElectricTurtle wrote: »
    What sort of thermal interface compound is between the heatsink and CPU heat spreader? Are there any significant air pockets in the aforementioned thermal interface compound? A big air pocket could cause peformance issues. Is this heatsink a hold over from an earlier system? What is the heat sink model and is it rated for the processor? What does the motherboard say about fan speed?

    Arctic Silver 5, I've got a big tube of the stuff. There are no air pockets as far as I know - I applied the compound by placing a small dab in the middle of the CPU's heat spreader, and then mounting the fan. The heatsink is new for this system, and is rated for CPUs even better than this one. The motherboard's fan speed is 1900 idle, haven't checked under load (can't check right now, brother is asleep).

    Janin on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • MuddBuddMuddBudd Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    What's the normal temperature of the room, and how good is the airflow in the case?

    I have the exact same fan and I still get heat issues in the summer, but I live in LA and it's hot in the summer, of course. I have been planning to get a better case to fix my airflow problem too.

    MuddBudd on
    There's no plan, there's no race to be run
    The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
  • JaninJanin Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    MuddBudd wrote: »
    What's the normal temperature of the room, and how good is the airflow in the case?

    I have the exact same fan and I still get heat issues in the summer, but I live in LA and it's hot in the summer, of course. I have been planning to get a better case to fix my airflow problem too.

    Current room temperature is around 21C. Airflow isn't bad, there's an 80mm fan in the back under the power supply and another on the side panel.

    Janin on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • AlwaysAngryGuyAlwaysAngryGuy Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Not too sure about replacement parts, I would just give Zalman a call and see what they say. I'm not sure of the exact Zalman model you are using it may or may not have come with a bracket, but it would have definitely come with the riser things (zalman's site calls them nipples) for a 754 socket.

    If it's the 7000alcu you can see the parts list here for the different socket types.

    AlwaysAngryGuy on
  • JaninJanin Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Uh, I'm not sure a "nipple" would be the correct term here. They're little metal brackets that slide onto the side of the heatsink, which screws are placed through.

    Janin on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • MuddBuddMuddBudd Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Hmmm... mine doesn't give me trouble until my room hits around 80 degrees. (27C)

    Once it gets that hot (started this week) I just run the whole summer with the side of the case off. (Hence my interest in investing in a better case).

    Does he have a massive video card or a lot of hard drives in there?

    MuddBudd on
    There's no plan, there's no race to be run
    The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
  • JaninJanin Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Four HDDs and a pretty large graphics board. I'd have to wait until tomorrow to power it up and report exact temps for those, but I don't remember them being particularly hot.

    Janin on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • ElectricTurtleElectricTurtle Seeress WARegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Clip supports. Try to get new ones. In the mean time, if the fan is throttled down, open it up. also make sure those other fans in your case are balanced (not all intake or all exhaust) as that causes either high or low pressure stagnant air. Air that's not moving doesn't take heat away.

    ElectricTurtle on
    yfrxgugaj8wu.png
  • JaninJanin Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    ElectricTurtle wrote: »
    Clip supports. Try to get new ones.

    How would I do that? I assume typical stores like CompUSA won't have those on stock for a weird fan like this, and I cannot find any way to order them from Zalman's site.

    Janin on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • MuddBuddMuddBudd Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Actually that makes me wonder what the fan speed is set to on my mobo now... I haven't really messed with it. Maybe I can crank it up a bit and get cooler temps.

    And I second getting the correct hardware and re-seating it. It's a fantastic fan and should be running a bit cooler than that.

    MuddBudd on
    There's no plan, there's no race to be run
    The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
  • MuddBuddMuddBudd Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    jmillikin wrote: »
    ElectricTurtle wrote: »
    Clip supports. Try to get new ones.

    How would I do that? I assume typical stores like CompUSA won't have those on stock for a weird fan like this, and I cannot find any way to order them from Zalman's site.

    Call or e-mail them, see if you can order new ones without buying a whole new fan.

    MuddBudd on
    There's no plan, there's no race to be run
    The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
  • ElectricTurtleElectricTurtle Seeress WARegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    jmillikin wrote: »
    ElectricTurtle wrote: »
    Clip supports. Try to get new ones.

    How would I do that? I assume typical stores like CompUSA won't have those on stock for a weird fan like this, and I cannot find any way to order them from Zalman's site.

    Call/email them, that's all I can say, or look for something on ebay.

    Edit: This is like a support pig pile.

    ElectricTurtle on
    yfrxgugaj8wu.png
  • JaninJanin Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    I'll call them up tomorrow then, I guess. Thanks for your advice, all.

    Janin on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • Gotcha ForceGotcha Force Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Does your pc always have zero fans in the back? Thats your biggest problem, you have no air being sucked out.

    Gotcha Force on
  • MuddBuddMuddBudd Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Gotcha Force wrote: »
    Does your pc always have zero fans in the back? Thats your biggest problem, you have no air being sucked out.

    My assumption is there are fans in those metal vents there. Although that does bring to mind the idea that those vents are reducing airflow. Could always take them off to increase it.

    MuddBudd on
    There's no plan, there's no race to be run
    The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
  • JaninJanin Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Gotcha Force wrote: »
    Does your pc always have zero fans in the back? Thats your biggest problem, you have no air being sucked out.

    It's got one fan, I had removed it for easier access to the motherboard.

    Janin on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • RookRook Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    The obvious point is there's nothing wrong with a processor hitting 60 underload.

    Rook on
  • victor_c26victor_c26 Chicago, ILRegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    On a 3400+ Athlon 64?

    I don't know. It all depends on it's clock frequency setting and voltage.

    What core is that? Is it a 130 nm processed chip?

    victor_c26 on
    It's been so long since I've posted here, I've removed my signature since most of what I had here were broken links. Shows over, you can carry on to the next post.
  • RookRook Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/K8/AMD-Athlon%2064%203400%2B%20-%20ADA3400AEP4AX%20(ADA3400AXBOX).html

    They 3400+ were rated to 70C It's not something I'd be hideously concerned about if all you're doing is panicking about a number.

    Rook on
  • JaninJanin Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    For one, it's not overclocked at all. For another, if it's not the CPU overheating I'll have to find another explanation for why the computer shuts down under heavy load.

    Janin on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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