Recommended temp for Athlon FX55

[Flanno]

What is the max recommended temp for the FX55 and can you trust programs like Asus probe.

The reason I ask is that the thermal probe I have mounted to the side of my XP-120 heastink reports 26 idle, generally rises to around 30 after general windows use, and stays generally around 36-39 during heavy gaming. Using Asus probe which reads the core temp, it is usually 29-31 idle, rised to around 33-34 during windows use but during gaming it can get into the 50's only to drop down to 33-34 within 20-30 seconds after exiting the game.

I know I probably have nothing to be worried about but I often read posts and heatsink reviews where people say there temps are much much lower then mine. Are they relying on core readouts or using a thermal probe !! Also it's not like I like good air circulation. The Lian-Li v1000 is a fairly decent case cooling wise to begin with, and I've added a Thermlright XP120, as well as a top 120mm blowhole fan for the video card, which also has a decent cooler on it. According to Asus probe my mobo temps are always around 21-22 even under heavy load. My hdd temps according to the thermal probe I'm using are about 25/26 max, and I also have a thermal probe standing in the middle of the case and it always reads around 22 degrees also. I can only assume that the AMD cores get very hot. I've also tried other coolers like the Coolermaster Hyper6, verious Thermaltake high performance heatsinks, Gigabyte Cooler Pro. And it's the same story with my temps getting into the 50's during gaming.

Any ideas ?

[wallijonn]

I certaintly wouldn't worry about temps if I went through what you did. What did you set the BIOS to warn you at?

http://tech-report.com/onearticle.x/7516
http://tech-report.com/reviews/2004q.../index.x?pg=15 :


Even at 104W it runs cooler than a Prescott. You Prescott owners are the ones that should be worrying.

I take it that when you say that you have a 120mm video card blow hole you mean that you have the blow hole on the side of the case. You may want to consider a 120mm blowhole at the top of the case, even if you have to install the fan on the outside top of the case. It should drop your temps about 10C.

Yes, I know that that is power consumption and not temperatures - but usually more power translates to more heat.

Gone are the days where the Intels could get away with cheaper power supplies and the AMDs needed the most robust power supplies out there. Now it is the Prescotts that need the most robust power supplies.

50C at load seems to be the norm.


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[Flanno]

What I mean to say was I have a blowhole in the top of the case.
It's a 120mm job and it blows air in, into the ArticV cooler which sucks this air in to cool my video card. I found when I had it sucking it was working against the video card cooler.

To cool the cpu there is a rear 120mm fan which basically sucks air in thru the front grilles of the case over the cpu. The cpu has a 120mm fan mounted on it, which sucks air off the cpu and the rear fan sucks this out. I guess the whole case is setup this way for negative airflow and it seems to work.

The hdd is in another compartment at the bottom of the case and has it's own 120mm fan intake, with hot air escaping out the vented holes in the bottom of the case. The psu is at the back of the case in the bottom and sucks air from under the case and out the back. So the psu never gets warm this way.

Weird setup but it works.

[wallijonn]

I finally carefully read your sig.

[IMG] http://www.overclockercafe.com/Revie.../pics/1022.jpg [/IMG]

Is that shroud in the back taking in air from the psu exhaust?

I know that I would end up doing a lot of experiments on that case - namely blocking up the top and side holes over the PCI cards, changing the shroud 90 degrees so that it intakes from the side, and putting a blow hole on top blowing out, along with having the XP-120 fan blowing into the cpu.


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[Flanno]

The shroud is there so it direct the hot air from the rear fan downwards and sort of eliminates noise. My psu is an antec neo, so only has 1 120mm fan actually pulling in cold air below the case, which is expelled outwards.

I actually tried blocking out holes, changing fans around including the shroud. I even cut a hole in the original side panel and installed a side 120mm fan. In the end I found the stock setup gave me the best performance. The side fan just screwed up the airflow completly and didnt improve matters. In the end the top 120mm blowhole was the best solution to help the video card.

Will take some pics when I get home and post them later.

[Islandborn]

Hey Flanno..Dude, I've been down the same path as you...Built my comp like 2 months ago and all I've been doing since is wiggin' out on the temps on this FX-55...Tried numerous different heatsink changes, ducting mods, fan switching, fan placement, read through countless web articles, and the bottom line is that my temps are still at the same levels yours are...I wish I could just destroy asus probe but I am obsessed now as it calls to me from my task bar to open it so I can view my frekkin' temp for another 100th time... Bottom line....if your comp is stable...then it's stable..The 55's thermal output rating is 104, and to show you how hot this chip gets, it's former brother the FX-53's rating is at 84...So this puppy does generate some thermal output..I am waiting for a new heatsink though I just ordered to come via UPS....Just ordered a XP90..120 won't fit...So I dunno about u, but once this Xp90 goes in, that's it man...I'm done wiggin' out on these temps.....atleast until tomorrow...L8r

[MarkT]

Flanno,

I found your experience interesting - I have a similar setup (FX55, XP120, Asus A8V, X800 XT PE with Arctic Cooler IV, etc.) I use a very quiet Nexus 120mmm fan (about 60CFM flow) on the XP-120. This system was just built a few days ago. I am getting CPU temps of 44C at IDLE! with the MB reporting in at 23C (ASUS Probe temps ) - and no overclocking. I have tried both airflow directions for fan mounting - makes no diff in temps. However heavy gaming only raises the temp by about 5 degrees or so - even at 100% CPU load (ie Morrowind). No OC'ing either.

How did you find the bottom of the XP-120 cooler? Mine came with a rough finish - when I ran my fingernail across it I could feel the ridges and grooves. I am wondering if I got a defective heatsink.... I used AS 5, a minimal amount as per the AS instructions (although I did put a very faint haze of paste over the HS base and then wiped most of it off so as to fill those grooves).

[Eldonko]

Islandborn - The 120 should fit the A8V, fits on mine fine, was just a PITA to get in there.

MarkT - Sand that baby with some fine sandpaper (120+)! Its just a nickel coating, you want it to be smooth for best results. Plus you don’t want grooves and stuff pushing on your processor.

[Islandborn]

Originally Posted by Eldonko

Islandborn - The 120 should fit the A8V, fits on mine fine, was just a PITA to get in there.

MarkT - Sand that baby with some fine sandpaper (120+)! Its just a nickel coating, you want it to be smooth for best results. Plus you don’t want grooves and stuff pushing on your processor.

well, I know thermalrights site specifies that the a8v is compatible, but I have a mid tower case and my psu sits like right on top of the mobo...there's maybe a 2 inch gap between them at best...so looking at the 120 on the internet sites, it just looked to me as if it wouldn't clear my psu...maybe it can?