Software cooling?

[Johnny5]

Just started using a program called Vcool 1.7 (www.vcool.de). It seems to work allright, it lowers the temp, but was wondering if the temperature swing of the CPU - 73F at idle to 104F at 100% is bad for the CPU. Anyone have any experience this program?

[lechumbl]

Hi Johnny5,

If those temps are indeed in F and not C, then they are very low.

Convert them to C, as most on the board run C and not F.

73F is about 21.5C, or so. That is very low. 104F is about 34.5C or so. Low and safe under Test/Stress.

Correct me if my math is incorrect. It was never my best subject. Come to think about it, I NEVER had a best subject.

Take care.

[Johnny5]

Yes,the are temps are in F*, sorry for not converting. Was wondering if anyone has/is using the program. Only problem with it is that I can see is it only works in Windows OS. It does not work while booting up!

[Wrath]

CPU cooling programs are pretty useless these days due to the fact that win2k (and i'm guessing WinXP) have built in halt commands to the CPU just like these cooling programs. Also added to the fact that i run Seti 24/7 they would serve no purpose apart from to chew up resources.

Back in the days of win98 i ran a few progs like Waterfall and Rain they did i think knock the odd degree or 2 off my temp. (pre Seti days) Not heard of your one though.

[JMke]

sorry to disappoint you Wrath, but Vcool does exactly what it promises
another way to drop temps is by using wpcre (for Abit KR7A register 95 -> 1E under 2000 , register 92 -> EB under XP)


IDLE temp under 2000:

before wpcre: 38°C
after wpcre: 32°C


... :)

[Johnny5]

Thanks for the quick response guys. Surfing the net my temps are CPU = 24*C Case = 23*C. I'm using MBM 5 Ver. 5.1.0.1. The only other thing I noticed is when my temps go down my voltage goes up (+5V), and my +12V goes down. Other then that everything is cool... (no pun intended)

[dicki]

software cooling is fairly pointless in my opinion as it only affects idle temperatures and your in no dnager of overheating at that temperature... infact due to the bigger changes in temperature it could even be worse for the chip but it should be fine.

what kind of cooler are you using? to have cpu temperatures 1 degree above case ambient on an overclocked machine is nearly unheard of (and i have been very sceptical of people who have claimed it in the past) are you sure the thermal probe is touching the core and are you sure your MBM is reading the right sensors? there are normally 3 temp sensors on a motherboard 2 will be much lower than the others for example my computer claims....

Mother board 27c
CPU 27c
Aux (mother board 2) 45c

guess which one the cpu actually is :rolleyes:

dicki

[lechumbl]

Hi All,

I tend to agree with Dicki about the need for not needing software cooling.

When the system is idle, no need for extra cooling..........When you are using the system, the cooling software is not working anyway.

The only thing that cooling software is good for is bragging rights.
I can idle less than you can...Ha HaHa Ha Ha.

Have a great New Years to ALL.

[jozzer]

Cpu idle halt command is disabled by default on the kg7 mobo......Unless you change the value with wcpredit manually, then you need vcool (or something similar) to enable it.
It can of course be v3ry usefull.....My watercooler can run with no fans very happily with it enabled......meaning I can go to sleep in the same room as the pc and still leave it downloading.....or play games for 40 mins before th water heats up enough to be a problem.
THIS SOFTWRE DOES WORK......without the cpu is burning max juice all the time (costing money apart from anything else)....and will run at the equivilent of loaded temps.With the cpu halt command enabled the cpu will burn VIRTUALLY no juice while idling, and the cpu temp will be within a few degrees of heatsink/waterblock temp!!
One thing though......some PCI cards have issues with the powercutting......and may cause instability's while cpu idle halt is enabled (sblive is one of the problem ones, but not the only one)......general stability can be affected (especially when overclocking)

[lechumbl]

Hi Steve,

No one is doubting that the software works.....The issue is "Is it needed?"

The amount of electricity amounts to a few pennies a day, if that much. If the budget is that tight, I would look for a less expensive hobby........like sleeping.

Again, it is an idle issue..........if the system is downloading something, it is not idle. Cooling software is for idle operation only. It does not engage in load.

So you save a penny a day, and drop you temp a few degrees, which makes your CPU last longer. That is great, but not a CPU saving task.

If I don't overclock at all, my CPU is supposed to last 4 or 5 years. If I overclock, my CPU life drops to 2 or 3 years. How many of us have an active CPU from 3 years ago now. I'll bet, not many.

My opinion only, of course.

This debate could go on forever, but the bottom line is....If you feel it is worth it, then go for it, if not, don't.

BTW.....Happy New Year!!

[JMke]

Pentium 200MMX still running fine for close to 5 years now :)

this is completely off-topic ofcourse :)

[lechumbl]

Hi JMke,

Haven't you noticed....nothing is off topic on Ninja.

One thread is started, and it migrates to something totally different.

Ain't life grand??

[jozzer]

Err.lee...a few pennies a day?Your talking about 60 watts......didn't your dad ever shout at you you for leeaving a lightbulb on all day?and its not a question of money.....but greenness.....if pc user in the world "left a light on" 24/7 .....well....U know where I'm going.
But as far as usefullness goes, that depends on the users situation......while downloading/browsing etc the cpu IS 98% idle (as I can tell by my cpu temps alone....) and as I explained, in my case (and many other cases too) cpu idle halt can make the difference between noise and peace.Even an air cooled pc.....if fitted with a "digidoc" fan manager, will be almost silent for all the time the cpu is near idle.

[lechumbl]

Hi Steve,

I guess I am confused.

Are you telling me that from idle to load, there is a 60 watt difference?

[Johnny5]

Dicki: I'm using a CoolMaster HCC-002 HeatSink. Next step will be watercooling, and I'm sure I'll have plenty of question........

[jozzer]

Yep........thats it.....i'm saying that an overclocked tbird/athlon will draw 70watts+ under load (or at idle if the cpu idle halt isn't functioning)....and when idle it uses 20 watts or less.(I worked this out by removing the rad, and timing how long it took to heat the water........the difference is amazing......)
The water can be kept at over 20 degrees above ambient with a 1 gig cpu at standard vvoltage/clock........obviously the same experiment could not be done with the same cpu at 1500/2.1v cos the water gets too hot!!, but with the cpu idleing (and power halted) the water doesn't get much above 4 degrees above.....(in fact this is true even at 1.5g....at idle only a bare amounnt of juice is suplied)
Obviously whether or not you care or believe that this makes a difference to you elecy bill (or the enviorenment) there IS a significant difference in the amount of energy you burn.
My last mobo (kt7a) had cpu idle halt enabled in most bioos releases, but I found by disableing it I could get a significantly higher overclock.....and at the time fan noice wasn't a problem (I was often away) and the pc had ALOT of vid encoding to do.....so I left cpu halt disabled, ran the fans, and got the work done (I'm no angel after all;) ) but now.....I have to spend lots of time in the room with the pc (and being a musician I DON'T like backgroung noise), the pc is idle a great deal (playing mp3's or browsing/downloading) and I'm much happier in peace, (knowing the leccy bill will be a little lower too)

[Johnny5]

dicki: I am using MBM5 ver. 5.1.0.1. In the temp section, I am using Via686B-3 as the board senser. I believe the temp are accurate, as Vcool (ver. 1.7) and SiSoft Sandra Standard (ver.2001.5.8.11) both read the same......

[dicki]

well the cooler is okay... not the best but passable, is it supplied with cool air from outside the case?

when you check the temps with mbm, what do the 2 other sensors read?

dicki

[LaughingClam]

i like low idle temps. i agree they are not as important as load temps.

but i dont think that using software cooling, in my case i use wprcset, is going to be harmful to my systems.

i dont run seti etc and none of mine are doing cpu intensive tasks 24/7 or even 12/7. so idles are frequent and i like them to be low.

[lechumbl]

Hi LC,

I think that software cooling progs basically change the registers automatically for cooling.

WPRCSet and WPCredit allow the user to do the manual setting of the registers and save them.

If you have the data for the register changes, then software cooling progs will do no good, or no more good.....They will not allow lower cooling. So whether you do it manually, or with a cooling software, the results are the same.

[Johnny5]

dicki:
In MBM5, I tried all three
Via686B-1 = 21C
Via686B-2 = 26C
Via686B-3 = 27C

I am currently using Via686B-3, it seems to be the most accurate. As for the cool air from outside the case, no. Not yet, Thanks for the interesting idea!

[timiCom]

The whole issue of being green and computing/overclocking is a bit of a moot point.

1. Computing has an environmental impact - aside from the electricity used, some of the elements/ores required for chip manafacture are rare and are only found in environmentally sensitive areas. Mining for "coltan" used to make tantalum - is ethically and ecologically unsound:-

"In particular, endangered gorilla populations are being massacred or driven out of their natural habitat as the miners illegally plunder the ore-rich lands of the Congo's protected national parks."

http://www.broederlijkdelen.be/publicaties/iscoltan.doc

Aluminum open caste mines and you-name it to produce whatever in a computer all take their tole on the earth's resources... But don't worry, there's not much we can do to avoid it - you can't exactly live in a western democracy and not lead a life without needing the odd microchip... Chip-idle temp reducing programs may reduce a the environmental impact of daily computing but we can't really avoid damaging the environment - is the reduction of enivronmental damage electricity negligible in comparison with the enviromental impact of manafacuring and normal use fo the computer and its peripherals? I think so.

We might as well crank up the power and stop kidding ourselves :)

If we really wanted to be green we would be using power efficient PDA's hooked up to TFT screens... But where's the fun in that - you ever tried overclocking a Palm IV? He he...

[lechumbl]

Hi timiCom,

Well, that was sure interesting.

I think the initial question was software cooling, and we branched off on our own little causes.

What say we stick with software cooling issue?

We can save the world from the killer PC in another forum.

[timiCom]

yeah, sure...

point I was making was that the argument that software cooling has an environmental precedent is not as strong as it might appear...

If it means you can switch your rad fan off when browsing the web then cool, but just don't think it makes so much of a difference to saving the planet.

I'll get off my soap box now. he he

[Player0]

Enabling HLT cooling can limit overclockability in alot of systems.

That said, it wont make too much of a difference in terms of energy costs. The cpu is idle whether it is NOOPing or HLTing, although HLT will shave off a little more wattage, but not enough to count.

HLT cooling can be extremely important to water coolers, since lower idle means more safety time in temperature rises at full load. Not that usefull if your always at 100% tho :)

[LaughingClam]

Player0

what do you mean by "lower idle means more safety time in temperature rises at full load" for water cooling?

[dicki]

low idle temps are important because this reduces the temp of the water a common difference between idle with and without software cooling is 10c, this translates to a big difference in water temps.

when a processor goes to full load and starts pumping a lot of heat into the water sometimes your radiators can't handle it. in this case the lower the initial temperatures the longer you have to notice and do something about it before your processor dies

dicki