newbie help

[Kmart]

Couple of questions m8s

1- Whats the default cpu voltage for an XP1900 +

2- Got this running on a KR7 - Raid , with coolermaster heatsink fan setup, temps at default speeds are 47 - 48 is this too high or is it time for a better heatsink setup?
Although I`ve had it up over 1700 and the temps stayed the same!

3- Is the hardware doctor supplied accurate ?

Cheers
Kmart

[crono]

47 and 48c is high and it might run ok but as soon as you start gaming for more than a hour your system will probally freeze up. I dont know where you live but I have the best air cooling heatsink for sale if your interested and in the states.

[Kmart]

Cheers m8, I`m in the UK so I will pick up a good heatsink combo over here.
I`ve got it down to 43 - 45 C so I`m getting there !

Kmart

[dicki]

hi kmart and welcome to the board :xwavey:

default voltage.... ummm.... no idea i'm afraid i think it's 1.75 but i am probably wrong

47 -> 48 is pretty normal for a "stock" heatsink but i'm surprised the temperatures don't change when you over clock. a non overclocked machine will happily run all day at 60c + but when you start overclocking you really need to keep full load temperatures below 50c otherwise you will encounter instability

the via hardware moniter thing is ok but most of us use mbprobe or motherboard moniter they are little tools that sit on the task bar and give you a constant readout of the temperature, fan speed and voltages on the board. they can be caliberated to bios as the bios temp is very close to the full load temp seen in windows (maybe a degree below it)

if you don't want a new heatsink and are happy to do a little work take your coolermaster off and clean any thermal materiel off of it (any gum or paste) then use some 600 grit wet and dry paper and a sheet of glass (mirror, halogen cooker hob, window) and lap the bottom of the heatsink till the bottom is smooth and covered with small random scratches the musn't all run in the same direction. then using your thermal paste of choice (arctic silver or similer) rub it well into the bottom of the heatsink and re apply to your chip. i would expect a drop of at least 3 or 4 degrees after that.

after that you can look into ventilation, there are 2 things you must do
1: supply cool air to the heatsink
2: remove hot air from the case

make imaginative use of cardboard ducting and again you can shave a few degrees off your temperatures

good heatsinks are ones like the sk6, or the alpha

dicki

[Virus]

Default is 1.75v. My T-Bird runs at 58c just fine. Actually if you are going by your thermal probe on the motherboard, it's going to be around 5c or so less than is being reported. Abit's are the most accurate of the bunch. MSI seems to be the worst of the bunch. I've had 2 MSI's that were reported 10c more than actual.