hardware cooling

i have a p4 / 3.2ghz with a 180g w.d. h.d., 500w enermax psu, dvd burner, 512mb ram, 2 80mm case fans and other basics.

am getting occassional bsod's and in research its possible some over heating maybe occurring. so am trying to cool off the interior of my case as much as possible. right now because of where i live i can just open the case cover and have the cold winter air blow in on her but that doesnt work during the summer.

physically when touching the case the only part of the case that might be warm is where the psu sits. so question one - is there any types of fans or blower that can attach to the psu and keep it cooler ??? have looked and really cant find anything.

question 2 - have seen on web site ram coolers that fit apparently over the stick and keep the heat disapated. are they a good thing to have and any recomendations ???

thanks a head of time....greg

 

Hi Greg,

I would suggest that using a program like Everest or SIW would be a good first step in order to find out what temps are being reached. If it is over-temp causing the BSOD's it would most likely be because the CPU is too hot.
The PSU should have at least one fan already installed, and a 500W PSU probably has both intake and exhaust fans. Have you checked if the fans are all running?

Roger

 

r.leale

first i have to say i am embarrassed and second i will never buy an enermax again.

cant believe i always have my clients check the psu's fans but didnt on mine. correction i checked the one fan but not the second fan. one working one is not.

psu is only 16 months old but my guess seeing as ive been having this problem for a while the one fan has probably been dead for a while also. like the old saying goes start with the basics and on my machine i forgot that step. i can see one of the fans with no problem the other is hidden from me that way my system is setup.

thank you. time to buy another one asap but not enermax.

whos psu do you like ??????????????

greg

 

r.leale

am considering the following psu's. whats your opinion ??? they have 2 fans and i think one has 3. is 3 better ??? not sure if i trust enermax the one i have should have lasted longer.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=360904

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817159006

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=270402&affiliate=pricegrabber

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103512

 

Hi GGH,
The power supply fans can be replaced, they just bolt in and connect like other fans.
Remember that the PSU is the high voltage area, but I know you have been working inside computers a lot.

I save old AT power supply fans as replacements.

Matt

 

Hi Greg,
I agree fully with Matt. Fans only cost a few dollars and are easy to change, and I certainly wouldn't pay upwards of $70 unless my equipment was very sensitive and doing a critical highly job. Is a client paying or you ?

Roger

 

gentleman - unfortunately this is for my main machine. fortunately even though one fan is dead the other is working just fine and with the cold air coming in through the window its keeping temps down.

i know that reviews indicate that enermax or antec are the 2 best devices but what are your feeling toward coolmax ??? did you look at the links and if so what one gets your attention ???

thanks guys

 

If the second fan that does not run is on the exterior are you sure it isn't temperature controlled? Some don't kick in until the PSU gets too warm. I would check the PSU to make sure the voltages are correct and within limits before tossing it. If you believe there is a problem with internal temps I would look at the airflow of the case and make sure the CPU's heatsink/fan isn't shrouded from the flow. I never run a side cover on my setup. I have two bungie cords strecthed across the side opening. One is positioned above the CPU with an 80mm fan hanging down from it aimed at the CPU fan and the other is above my video card with a 120mm fan hanging down aimed at the card and northbridge. Even when my palce gets up around 90+ degrees in the summer my temps stay within range.

 

whiskeyman

the fan that is dead is the exterior fan and no it is dead. there is no temp controller on the device nor was one available from the device to the board. whenever im blowing out the machine of dust, etc. the fans have always been on all the time and just the other day when one person posted to check the fans thats when i found out the one had stopped.

being winter up here the windows is open and cold air is blowing in on the inside of the case. the cables that this psu came with are intense but they are not in the way of the cpu heatsink or fan. i have a couple addons coming in one a pci card with 2 fans to keep the video card and the board cooler then another one that fits in one of the bay to extract hot air and blow out the front of the machine. this machine has always felt a little warm and could never figure out why. when building it i got the prescott 3.2 e series and if i remember right it did mention that it generated a little more heat so thats why am trying to keep case cool as possible.

so your just using a normal 80 and 120mm fans just hanging ??? have been looking for a small fan to do that was looking at these little blowers that people use to cool there face off. hopefully with this new psu and these other devices i have coming machine will keep cooler. i know the ecs board i have in it is not the best rated but it really hasnt been to bad a machine. normally i would stick to asus, msi, gigabyte or abit but the price was right so i built it. i did build another backup system with a athlon 64 on a asus board just in case my main machine dies. this way i can be up and running in a couple hours while i repair the one that dies.

so how would i check the voltage on this psu. theres no connector to the board so how do i monitor it ???

thanks whiskey you always give things to think about. as do everyone else on this site.