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-- Reason to Keep Your Processor Cool
Reason to Keep Your Processor Cool
OK...so I work as an IT Technician for a medium sized manufacturing company. We have a PC that's sole job is to collect data from an Access database, and upload it to an AS/400. Well, as I was sitting here earlier tonight, I got to experience what would happen, if your processor starts to REALLY REALLY overheat. My first clue was that it sounded like someone shot a small gun a few feet from me. This was the sound of a capacitor getting pissed off about the over adundance of heat, and finally deciding that he didn't want to play anymore. I can now tell you from experience that capacitors are LOUD when they decide to blow up. So, obviously, I'm thinking "WTF?!", so I run over, pop the side of the case off, and am met with a nice cloud of smoke. This smoke would be caused by plastic where the processor plugs in that was now beginning to melt/burn. Quite the interesting night. There was really no point in this post, except to warn you to keep your CPU cool. More can happen than just disrupting PC performance....which is something I always heard, but never really paid much attention to until tonight. 
Me and a m8 of mine made a new system out of spare parts, we added a Quantum 10Gig hd, and after a a wrking load of about an hour, we smelled something... Opened the case and there was this little orange flame coming out of underneath hd (circuit board). I havent seen a hard disk be removed as fast from a pc in my life.
Be warned ppl have adequate cooling...Scary stuff:
PS U A+ Certified 
i think my comp might blow up...its moist and hot in my room plus my comps been on for hours...
| quote: |
| Originally posted by MoonMan PS U A+ Certified |
Re: Reason to Keep Your Processor Cool
| quote: |
| Originally posted by DJ_NRG OK...so I work as an IT Technician for a medium sized manufacturing company. We have a PC that's sole job is to collect data from an Access database, and upload it to an AS/400. Well, as I was sitting here earlier tonight, I got to experience what would happen, if your processor starts to REALLY REALLY overheat. My first clue was that it sounded like someone shot a small gun a few feet from me. This was the sound of a capacitor getting pissed off about the over adundance of heat, and finally deciding that he didn't want to play anymore. I can now tell you from experience that capacitors are LOUD when they decide to blow up. So, obviously, I'm thinking "WTF?!", so I run over, pop the side of the case off, and am met with a nice cloud of smoke. This smoke would be caused by plastic where the processor plugs in that was now beginning to melt/burn. Quite the interesting night. There was really no point in this post, except to warn you to keep your CPU cool. More can happen than just disrupting PC performance....which is something I always heard, but never really paid much attention to until tonight. |
one word comes to mind...."FANS"
Use them...i have 1 comp with 6 fans and the other with 7 
I haven't cleaned out my tower in years. Sometimes my computer makes wailing noises like a dying giraffe. It's probably so full of dust it's just choking on all of it.
I should probably open it up and check it out?
| quote: |
| Originally posted by UWM I haven't cleaned out my tower in years. Sometimes my computer makes wailing noises like a dying giraffe. It's probably so full of dust it's just choking on all of it. I should probably open it up and check it out? |
your a bit muddy on the terminology, in your post. FIrst you say cpu then you say a capacitor blew, I can tell you these are both mutually exclusive. The processor has no capacitors on it. The circuit boards (motherboard, perhiperal cards etc.) do have them but usually when a cap blows it isn't from overheating it's just a bad cap (been leaking or whatever) or experienced a voltage spike. In that case the PSU would be the culprit. MOst modern CPU's have a thermal protection circuit built in them to prevent a mini-cherynobl like meltdown inside your case.
P4s use clockspeed ramping and a IHS. Both safety features can be disabled (if your a nut.. i mean overclocker) for the sake of teetering on the edge of disaster performance. it takes a bit of handiwork to remove the Integrated Heat Spreader so most people never do that. In any event when the thermal probe built into the CPU die detects abnormally high temperatures a thing called a clock throttle kicks in and basically limits the processors clock speed (thus slowing down electricity to heat conversion significantly). That being said you can take the heatsink off a p4 WHILE ITS OPERATING, and the machine won't hard crash (although expect a myraid of errors, it takes more than 10-20 mhz to keep a modern system running stable). I'm not sure about newer amd processors with on-die thermal probes but the older models would literally melt if you took the heatsink off (as in the die would melt). Interesting stuff :-)

you can look for an old toms hardware article which effectively demonstrates both these points (it was a slow month i guess)...
I recomend the Enermax 12 bay server case, it has space for seven cooling fans 
| quote: |
| Originally posted by SuperFarStucker your a bit muddy on the terminology, in your post. FIrst you say cpu then you say a capacitor blew, I can tell you these are both mutually exclusive. The processor has no capacitors on it. The circuit boards (motherboard, perhiperal cards etc.) do have them but usually when a cap blows it isn't from overheating it's just a bad cap (been leaking or whatever) or experienced a voltage spike. In that case the PSU would be the culprit. MOst modern CPU's have a thermal protection circuit built in them to prevent a mini-cherynobl like meltdown inside your case. |
Even idle and with the case side off my CPU temperature is currently 53�C!
I believe that generally your processor is safe up to 70�C, but the warmer it runs the shorter its lifespan.
You can use an app called 'Motherboard Monitor 5' to observe your temperatures in Windows and set high-temperature alarms. Ideally though your computer should be capable of turning itself off automatically should things get dangerously toasty.
my pc have 8 80mm fans in it including the tornado and the PSU fan. so loud
and so cool
my cpu temperature alarm went off a few times so i had to keep taking the case off and point my 12 inch room fan in there which cooled it by over 10 degrees
i got bothered with taking the case off repeatedly so i've left the case off for the last few days, stupid heat wave
| quote: |
| Originally posted by vito my cpu temperature alarm went off a few times so i had to keep taking the case off and point my 12 inch room fan in there which cooled it by over 10 degrees i got bothered with taking the case off repeatedly so i've left the case off for the last few days, stupid heat wave |
mount 2 car fans on your tower. haha, ****** will never overheat again.
-juno
I've been running my computer with the side off for about a year now and haven't had a problem yet. When my video card starts to overheat I just take my 12" fan as well and blow it into the computer. Works excellent...and yep, quite a ghetto setup too
I finally got my hands on an 80mm fan I found laying around the house so I hooked it up to my computer and it's cooling my processor now.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by tu_face im no expert myself, but my mate is a nut/overclocker, and it seems if u have the proper air-flow u r better off with the side of the case on. he has two fans at the front of the case sucking, and 2 on the back blowing, and one stuck in the side of the case sucking creating a lot of air-flow thru the case, also with a big fuckoff fan over the chip. or of course u could just invest in a water-cooling case.. much more efficient and a lot less noisy |

reason i leave the case off is because a few days ago when i put it back on the alarm went off again shortly after
i have very poor air circulation in here, stale air and very hot
the alarm hasn't gone off since i last took the case off so this set up will do until the heat wave ends, i don't like the idea of leaving the case off permanently
i am happy i got the room fan a week before my cpu started overheating, otherwise i wouldn't have been able to cool it, or myself 
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