Hello Guys,
After months of research and waiting, I have decided to build my very first htpc. Here is the breakdown of my configuration:
Case; Wesena E5 ( Black)
http://www.wesena.co.uk/product.php/7/3/e5
Mobo: AsRock A75-MITX
CPU- AMD A8-3620 ( 65W TDP + HD 6550D GPU
Cooler - Gelid Slim Silence AM2
http://www.gelidsolutions.com/products/i...d=12&id=38
RAM- G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3-1,866MHz RAM
SSD: Samsung 830 64GB SSD
HDD: WD Caviar Green 3TB
PSU: Some cheap 200W Flex ATX psu for now
Bluray Drive: Sony BS-5600s slimline bluray drive
I will post pictures of the build tomorrow.
I connected everything up and fired it on and so far I have a massive problem. When I keep the lid open, the temperature on the mobo hardware monitor rests at about 45 degrees C and with the fan control set at automatic and level 1 on the mobo, the fan is quiet.
However, as soon as I put on the lid, the temperature rockets to 55 deg C in an instant and the cooler fan ramps up to over 2400rpm and is exceedingly loud!!! this is all without any load what so ever and I havent even installed the OS yet!! I an frightened to imagine what will happen when I actually play a movie
Please i need some urgent help.. I just installed the Gelid cooler on the cpu without any additional thermal paste as the instruction on the website said it came with pre-applied thermal compound. Should i be installing some more paste? would this help with the temperature? Also the case comes with just two 60mm silent fans and they are on full speed.
Some pics
Inside case
http://www.flickr.com/photos/86669140@N0.../lightbox/
Please how can i post pictures directly onto thread?
(2012-09-06, 01:14)Hail.ceasar Wrote: [ -> ]I just installed the Gelid cooler on the cpu without any additional thermal paste as the instruction on the website said it came with pre-applied thermal compound.
I'm not familiar with this heatsink/fan specifically, but was there a piece of plastic or foil covering the preapplied thermal compound on the bottom of the heatsink? If so, did you remove it before installing the heatsink on top of your CPU?
Was there an original heatsink/fan installed on your CPU that you replaced with the Gelid? If so, did you scrupulously clean off the existing thermal compound from the top of the CPU before installing the Gelid unit?
55c isn't terrible for that type of setup....Is there any way within the bios to set different temp/fan speed parameters?
Like the poster above said I would start over on installing the heatsink/processor. Clean all of the thermal compound off both the heatsink and processor. Apply a very thin layer to the CPU and then re-seat the heatsink.
Get the OS installed then see. 55c is not that hot. Change the the Heat sink if you have too. Or change the CPU to the 3500
(2012-09-06, 01:14)Hail.ceasar Wrote: [ -> ]I connected everything up and fired it on and so far I have a massive problem. When I keep the lid open, the temperature on the mobo hardware monitor rests at about 45 degrees C and with the fan control set at automatic and level 1 on the mobo, the fan is quiet.
However, as soon as I put on the lid, the temperature rockets to 55 deg C in an instant and the cooler fan ramps up to over 2400rpm and is exceedingly loud!!! this is all without any load what so ever and I havent even installed the OS yet!! I an frightened to imagine what will happen when I actually play a movie
You can select "Cool N' Quiet" option, fan level to 2 and CPU target temp to 50 degrees celcius in bios....
This is precisely why I say the A8 is a poor choice for HTPC. No real benefit and increased problems.
I tried 3 different coolers in a similar case and finally gave up. Went with the A6 instead.
BTW 55C "as soon as I put on the lid" is too hot for my taste. I am assuming it gets much hotter than that after typical usage. My HTPC runs in the 40s ---- after the movie is done playing or the bluray is done being ripped.
Just to add, 55C in a slim case with no top ventilation is pretty good. The A8-3820 is a 65W TDP CPU so I don't think you'd see a temperature difference with an A6-3500 which is also 65W TDP. Them both being 65W TDP is supposed to mean they throw the same heat.
Your cheap 200W PSU could also be putting a lot of heat into the case. Even a good Flex ATX PSU can add a lot of heat to a case. I was surprised how hot my Seasonic FlexATX PSU got.
AMD is more lax on their TDP tolerances than Intel. Much more so.
Firstly thanks a bunch guys for the quick response.. You guys are just incredible!!!
@
artrafael : I will strip it off again and check if there is a plastic or some film I forgot to take off. As this is my very first build I wont be surprised if I missed that.. Will also look to clean the top of the cpu as the cpu was bought off ebay and came with no AMD heatsink - just the chip.
@bluray: I set the target temp to 50 deg C and level 2 but its almost as if the fan just ignores that and still ramps up. he temperature also still gets to about 55 deg C regardless.
@Doughfresh: There are some ventilation holes on the lid just above where the cpu fan is and I would think that would be enough. havind said that I have only 2 fans in the case at the moment so that could also be contrubuting. The thing is I spent so much on the case, etc that when it came to the psu i couldnt afford £70 for the psu but seems i dont have a choice now !
Am off to work now but will do all you suggested when I get back and let you guys know if there was any improvement. Will also order a pico psu and give that a go..
Thanks guys!!!
I am in a similar situation. I have an AMD A8-3870K and I noticed the temp was in the mid to high 50s. The mobo even started to beep 5 times when I boot it up.
I took everything apart, cleaned the processor and the Big Shuriken cooler, reapplied some thermal paste.
It was fine with temps in the mid 30s for 1 evening, today the mobo beeps again and the temp is back in the mid 50s...............
(2012-09-06, 07:53)Hail.ceasar Wrote: [ -> ]havind said that I have only 2 fans in the case at the moment so that could also be contrubuting.
Is your other fan being used as an intake or exhaust fan? With that type of case I would make sure you are using it as an exhaust fan.
(2012-09-06, 07:53)Hail.ceasar Wrote: [ -> ]@bluray: I set the target temp to 50 deg C and level 2 but its almost as if the fan just ignores that and still ramps up. he temperature also still gets to about 55 deg C regardless.
If there is room for 58mm CPU cooler, I highly recommended this "
Scythe SCBSK-2100". It'll definitely better for your A8-3820.....the Gelid is rated for 65W CPU, but it is too small for the A8-3820 with 4x cores. It's might be okay for the less than powerful A6-3500 and other lesser CPU's.....
I'm not sure how good are the included case fans. You might want to consider replace it with lower dBA and higher CFM case fans......
(2012-09-06, 16:37)Mallet21 Wrote: [ -> ] (2012-09-06, 07:53)Hail.ceasar Wrote: [ -> ]havind said that I have only 2 fans in the case at the moment so that could also be contrubuting.
Is your other fan being used as an intake or exhaust fan? With that type of case I would make sure you are using it as an exhaust fan.
Thanks Mallet21. Please where do i configure the fans as intake / exhaust? I honestly Don't know what they are configured as at the moment.
Cheers
(2012-09-06, 16:49)bluray Wrote: [ -> ] (2012-09-06, 07:53)Hail.ceasar Wrote: [ -> ]@bluray: I set the target temp to 50 deg C and level 2 but its almost as if the fan just ignores that and still ramps up. he temperature also still gets to about 55 deg C regardless.
If there is room for 58mm CPU cooler, I highly recommended this "Scythe SCBSK-2100". It'll definitely better for your A8-3820.....the Gelid is rated for 65W CPU, but it is too small for the A8-3820 with 4x cores. It's might be okay for the less than powerful A6-3500 and other lesser CPU's.....
I'm not sure how good are the included case fans. You might want to consider replace it with lower dBA and higher CFM case fans......
Thanks blurray. The case is just 70m high and i think the max cpu cooler it can take is 52mm or something. Are there any better coolers at about 50mm? Also would it be possible to use something like the Scythe Shuriken rev B which is 58mm (with the 25mm thick fan) with the fan off and just the heatsink? that should bring the height down to about 33mm and i can add 2 additional fans to compensate.
The case came with 60mmx60mmx15mm and these seem to be pretty scarce as all i can find are 60mm x 20mm fans..
(2012-09-06, 16:49)bluray Wrote: [ -> ] (2012-09-06, 07:53)Hail.ceasar Wrote: [ -> ]@bluray: I set the target temp to 50 deg C and level 2 but its almost as if the fan just ignores that and still ramps up. he temperature also still gets to about 55 deg C regardless.
If there is room for 58mm CPU cooler, I highly recommended this "Scythe SCBSK-2100". It'll definitely better for your A8-3820.....the Gelid is rated for 65W CPU, but it is too small for the A8-3820 with 4x cores. It's might be okay for the less than powerful A6-3500 and other lesser CPU's.....
I'm not sure how good are the included case fans. You might want to consider replace it with lower dBA and higher CFM case fans......
Thanks blurray. The case is just 70m high and i think the max cpu cooler it can take is 52mm or something. Are there any better coolers at about 50mm? Also would it be possible to use something like the Scythe Shuriken rev B which is 58mm (with the 25mm thick fan) with the fan off and just the heatsink? that should bring the height down to about 33mm and i can add 2 additional fans to compensate.
The case came with 60mmx60mmx15mm and these seem to be pretty scarce as all i can find are 60mm x 20mm fans..
Quote:Thanks Mallet21. Please where do i configure the fans as intake / exhaust? I honestly Don't know what they are configured as at the moment.
Cheers
If they are sucking air in then just turn them around 180 degrees.
David