Forum Moderators: phranque
Asd some of you may know, I just changed out a Celeron 533 for an Intel P-III 1 Gig. I was smart enough to get a new, higher-powered CPU cooler. This one had some "sticky tape" stuff at the bottom that is supposed to replace thermal grease for the bond there.
So I put it in and used it. Two days later I notice my clock ois all screwy, so I replace the CMOS battery. That is when I notice this thing has been running for 48 hours or so at about 190 degrees F. I take the server down, peel off the tape and add a real thermal grease. It is now running about 50 degrees C.
Is this OK? It is obviously still running, but could I have shortened it's life, or done something else bad? Is 50 degrees OK?
I did notice a bit of browning to one side of the curcuit board the CPU sits in...
dave
High temps cause thermomigration, which physically degrades the internal components of the CPU at an atomic level. But on the other hand, it didn't die yet, so use it until it does.
Jim
Also worth investing in a good cpu fan, about £40 / $60 will buy you a good one
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globay
As I JUST bought the CPU, I can probably get a new one with no hassle at this point... I just am not sure if I need to (did I probably cause any damage) or not (probably no damage now that is is back operating within specs.)
Thanks!
dave
be ready to cope with leaks! it fried the mainboard (my brother's mainboard in that case)
more of a hobby though!
mavherick
Yes, if you have the option, take it back and tell 'em it was acting erratically so some other schmuck doesn't get stuck with it. High temps will have damaged it in some way - you just can't be sure how until it dies down the road a bit...
ReceptionalAndy,
Sotware cooling is a method that does work, but has a cost - performance.
When the software detects a high-temperature condition, it changes a control bit (or bits) in the CPU which essentially shove NOP (No Operation) instructions into the execution pipeline, thus causing the CPU to "stall" on every other instruction, on two out of three instruction, 3 out of 4, etc., depending on the setting. Therefore the total number of active circuits on the CPU chip is reduced for an increasing fraction of time, making the CPU overall dissipate less power, so it runs cooler. But obviously, it runs much less efficiently, too. The instant that "software cooling" kicks in, you lose about 50% of your CPU throughput.
In some cases, depending on what applications you are running, you may not even notice it. But if you are running a compute-bound application (like SETI@Home) you will see a definite drop. However, disk I/O and network performance are mostly unaffected.
The best thing about it, though, is that it can and does keep your CPU from cooking itself - really good insurance for hard-duty laptops, and for mostly-neglected (remotely administrated) servers.
HTH,
Jim
I should have just asked you to begin with- I keep forgetting your background!
dave
My first thought was Owww! That poor processor!
My second thought was... "And it survived the two days - Amazing!"
Third thought is, if possible, check through the date codes of several offered replacements, and try to get another one JUST like it! (Then don't cook it) It ought to last forever! :)
Jim
>>>Then don't cook it
Gee- uh, thanks Jim! :)
dave
