Re: [gentoo-user] big problem, small solution

[Sean]

Philip Webb wrote:
> Hardware problems come up here occasionally & experiences deserve swapping.
>
> Gentoo involves much exercise of the CPU, sometimes making it sweat a lot.
> My AMD 2500+ CPU (installed 2003) has been getting hotter & the fan slower.
> Here in the summer heat of S Ontario, where my workroom is  >= 25 C ,
> it had been running at a steady  64 C  for a couple of weeks (was  55 C ).
> When I tried to emerge GCC 4.1.1 , it reached  > 75 C  & the box died;
> several attempts, the same auto switch-off.  No fans to fit at the store
> & all available CPUs are 64-bit nowadays, ie build another machine.
>
> So I opened up the box, removed the fan & the heat-sink,
> blew & wiped all the dust away, smeared on some silicon heat-conductor
> carefully kept from the original package 3 years ago, put it back together.
>
> Now the fan is running at  4400 RPM  (was  4000 ) & the CPU is at  51 C ,
> rising only to  58 C  while successfully compiling GCC 4.1.1 .
> Hopefully, I won't need to build a new machine till well into 2007 .
>

I recently replaced the fans and heat sinks on my dual opterons to bring 
the temp down, I was also very much trying to bring the nose level down 
from the fans.

I used 2 copper heat fans with heat pipes from thermaltake, and put some 
90 mm fans on each cpu/heatsink.
I also put a new case around them to improve air flow.

You want more air being pulled out of your box then going in.
I manually monitor and control the fan speed and with the new setup I 
have been able to get the processor fans rpms down to 1800-2000, a real 
help to reduce noise, with the temp averaging about 46c when idle.

When I have done something, perhaps emerge some program, whatever, temp 
goes to about 50-52c.

Check the specs on your processor to see what the operating temp range 
is so you do not burn things up.

			Hope it helps,
			Sean
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