SANTANDER said:
My MB is Socket 478 for Intel P4 processor, Intel 845GV chipset;
Intel Celeron 2.66GHz CPU ( Processor core: Prescott-256 )
The CPU temperature constantly stay near 57 - 59œC that seems abnormally
to me. I just asked some tech specs, and they told, that this CPU model
usually is heated and noisy (as fan constantly tries to cool the CPU). I
am not sure is this correct.
As I know from CPU specs, the max operating temperature specified is 67œC.
http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/Celer...67256 - NE80546RE067256 (BX80546RE2667C).html
Is there a way to solve this, or it's normal?
Thanks.
Cooling can be a complicated subject, especially if you're
trying to fix a pre-built computer (Dell/HP/Acer etc). Some
of those, leave no room for improvements, due to the usage
of a single fan to cool everything.
Your processor might use 73W under some conditions. That would
be when the processor is running at 100% utilization. When
sitting idle, the 90nm generation of processors had high static
leakage, so the processor might still run hot, even when it
isn't doing anything.
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SL7TH
If the OS is using the HLT instruction in the idle loop, that
helps reduce the operating temperature. It does that normally,
and what I discovered, is that my antivirus software overrides
that feature, and causes more power to be wasted than is necessary.
Using RMClock from Rightmark and enabling the HLT option in
there, reduces the CPU temperature when the computer is idle.
(In my case, the CPU goes from being 12C hotter than the case
air temperature, to only 1C hotter than the case air temperature.)
But using HLT in the idle loop, does not improve the heating
caused by running the CPU at 100% loading. The temperature
elevation there, remains the same, because HLT only improves
the performance of the idle loop.
One solution, is to use a different CPU cooler. But some of
these, cost as much as a Celeron. This one weighs 800 grams without
the fan installed, and comes with a backing plate. You have to pull
the motherboard out of the computer case, to install the backing plate.
The heatsink is so tall, that some computer cases aren't wide enough
to accept the cooler. So for some people, a new computer case is
required. (Read the customer reviews, for more information.)
This is an example of a *big* cooler.
Tuniq Tower 120 P4 & K8 CPU Cooler $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154001
Another fix you can try, is to remove the current heatsink, from
the processor. Clean both metal surfaces with isopropyl alcohol and
cleaning clothes, being careful not to get residue into the CPU
socket. Then apply fresh thermal paste. An example of a thermal
paste product is here.
Arctic Silver Ceramique $5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100009
Installation
http://www.arcticsilver.com/pdf/appinstruct/cmq/ins_cmq_singlecore_wcap.pdf
Re-applying the thermal interface material, between the CPU and
heatsink, may slightly improve cooling performance. Also,
if there are significant amounts of dust clogging the cooling
fins, then removing that dust can also help the cooling
performance.
Finally, whether this high operating temperature is making a difference,
can be determined with RMClock as well. In this article, they
experiment by turning off the CPU fan, to demonstrate the response
of the CPU.
http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/cpu/intel-thermal-features-p4.html
In this picture, you can see the declining line, when the CPU temperature
is higher than the internal "throttling" temperature limit. The jagged
purple line in the upper trace, is the effective CPU operating speed,
and the user of this computer would find it running slower, when the
CPU overheats. The purple line in the display should remain flat and
aligned with the other line in the display - that indicates all of
the CPU performance is currently available.
http://www.ixbt.com/cpu/intel-thermal-features/prescott_3b.png
RMClock can be found here.
http://cpu.rightmark.org/download.shtml
Paul
