Computer overheats??

[sabedra211]

My computer runs hot. When im playing games or watching a movie or anything that has a nice picture to it. or video the processor temp. rises. im using Intel desktop utilities to watch the temps. and when ever im playing a game or watching a video the processor temp hits 160 + degrees F. Its an intel pentium 4 processor 3.4 ghz (Prescott) i have a 256 mb radeon x800 series and 3gb of Crucial ballistix ram. I have a fan in the back of my case, an additional video card fan that sucks air from the outside into the case and the powersupply fan and the heatsink fan. my motherboard temps are only 110 degrees average. the case and heatsink are clean of dust. the heatsink is a couple of months old replaced with the same one it had. I am thinking its my video card? or also the fact that im running a prescott processor i heard those run hot? but this bad?? I dont know what to do? Right now i have two internet pages open and my processor zone temp is at 130. Im running windows xp 64 bit. any ideas what my problem is? thanks!

 

[porterjw]

Yes, P4's run hot compared to other CPU's. However, the heat they produce is certainly maintainable. When you replaces the HSF, did you properly apply new thermal compound? Do you have cool air entering the case from the front? What other processes/programs do you have running - if something is stuck or being shady, it can def. keep temps up there as it's using CPU power.

 

[sabedra211]

Yes, P4's run hot compared to other CPU's. However, the heat they produce is certainly maintainable. When you replaces the HSF, did you properly apply new thermal compound?

the heatsink already had the thermal paste on it. so i just put it in like that. maybe it wasnt enough? I dont have any fans running from the front just the back. I dont really have any programs running when im watching a video or playing a game besides the system programs and maybe MSN messenger and the video card program and Creative volume control... What do you mean by something stuck??

 

[porterjw]

Well, if you have a spot for it in the front of the case, an intake fan would def. help to lower temps. Are you absolutely sure the HSF is installed correctly (ie - not hung up on a capacitor)? Even the slightest air gap (less than a mm) could result in higher temps. If you have and thermal compound, it wouldn't hurt to remove the HSF, clean off all the old paste from both the CPU and HS, then re-apply and make sure everything is perfectly-fitted. Even if temps stay the same afterwards, you can at least rule out that as a cause.

By something stuck, I mean something that is causing the CPU to dedicate a constant percent of usage. Nothing like 1-2 or anything like that, but rather something that is using a fair amount consistently. By 'shady', I mean any programs that are running that you don't recognize. A lot of times, certain shady programs will run in the background and create a constant draw on CPU power, thus raising temps, thus more-likely to spike when other, legit programs access the CPU.

 

[oscaryu1]

110 is normal for your motherboard?!

I have a P4 2.8 @ 3GHz, it doesn't do over 45F! I'd make sure (as imsati already said), there's no gap, and a good thermal paste. What are you using to measure these temperatures?