Can i quieten this old processor?

L

loafer316

Guest
In the spirit of getting all our PC's quiter....i wondering if anyone can help me.

I have an old PIII 500. The Psu is reasonable quiet...but the CPU/fan is quiet loud. I'm just confused as to how to go about changing the fan. The processor/casing is a rectangular shape and is mount in slot shape with the dinky fan pushing air sideways rather than cpu being flat mounted on the motherboard and pushing air away from the motherboard...don't know if i can get a fan for this type of processor or even an adaptor of some sort.

Any previous knowledge of prehistoric processor is appreciated!!!...just that probably gonna end giving it to my little sister and want quiten in down a little.
 
The P3 500mhz is not a bad little chip for HTPC, I have a couple of p3-550mhz in my HTPC and since the latest Dscaler has been released Ive not needed to upgrade which I planned to do in the near future.

Anyway the only fan in my HTPC is the PSU fan which is quiet, both the cpus have very large heatsinks and no fans. The HTPC runs 24/7 and has never crashed or overheated. To give you an idea how quiet it is, my video recorder makes more noise when its on :D . I got my massive heatsinks from some knackered Dell computers which were being scrapped, although Im sure there are places on the internet which sell these types of large heatsinks which have no fans.
 
Thxs for the reply!!....i never really considered not having a fan and just a heat sink! i never play games on the PC so no real danger of overloading it. Will i still be able to get good heatsinks for this CPU? are they still available?
 
You should be able to remove the fan on your current HSF. The good thing about the Pentiums is the fact they cannot overheat, they have a protection circuit, which automatically slows down the CPU to reduce heat.

Have a look for screws in the corners of the fan. If you feel the Heatsink is not large enough, measure it's dimensions, then have a look at a new one :

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Alpha_CPU_Coolers_28.html

The Thermaltake Volcano 9+ would look to be pretty adequate for the job.

http://www.tekheads.co.uk/tekheads/product?id=601107

Anyway, you will be looking for a socket 370 compatible heatsink.
 
:D thanxs!! no i know what i'm looking for hehe!! i'll get to the processor and check what size the heatsink and fan is.
 
loafer
I would disconnect your fan from the m/b and get a overhead bracket and a 92mm fan from quietpc.com to blow air over the heatsink. I'm using the same combination + video card copper heatsink to cool my gf3 as I had to remove its very noisy blue orb as it was driving me nuts!

I take it you have a slot1 piii, how large are the fins on it, as if they are large enough (2"+) it should be enough with the above combo, my old pII/233 was just that, no fan but big heatsink and it ran fine.

If your pIII does get too hot it will stop working and your system will freeze, as they have a thermal cutout to stop the cpu melting into the mb, as happens still with athalons:eek:
ps Its only the p4's that slow down when they get too hot.

I'm trying to get a quiet fan for my htpc's celeron 400, but they all only seem to sell the fans for the newer models. Its mounted on a sloket vertically so it reduces my chances of finding something that won't snap it in half!

regards
j
 
Yup...i guess it is a Slot1 SECC2 processor!...i see quietpc have one Radial Fin Cooler for £20! but that is a bit too much!!

http://www.quietpc.com/cpucool2.php

might visit the computer fair today and see what i can find or search around for online. Are the four pins that hold the heat sink easy to get off? and if i get a new heat sink/fan i guess i need new compound?

thxs
 
I'd doubt a computer fair is the best place for a quiet fan - I'd expect most stuff to be of the "as cheap as possible" variety. Mind you, the computer fair near you might be better than the ones I've visited.
Compound may come with the cooler, but you might be as well to just find another fan to replace the existing one, and retain the current heatsink.
 
Hmm i think the fan on the heatsink (original Intel) is 50 x 50 x10 i think...bit of a rare size....so guess companies like Papst and Delta are out of the question hehe :D

Just rang a mate who made the comp for me..and he says he might have some original heatsink/fans lying around....might pay him a visit...but must admit all these quiet fans are tempting...maybe i should line my case with mouse matts :p

p.s will be making a new system soon if/when i can get hold a cheap AXP 2700+ i've been promised...new challenge hey!!!
 
Try it without the fan, and just measure the temps. If you are not stressing it too much, I cannot see the problem.

Apologies for the socket advice, I never deal with Intel stuff, always been an AMD boy. :p

Papst do 50x50 fans, this is the telephone number for them 01264 333388, they should be able to tell you what you need, or even do you a custom fan.
 
Originally posted by Sinzer
You should be able to remove the fan on your current HSF. The good thing about the Pentiums is the fact they cannot overheat.
The PIII is very different to the PIV.

The PIIIs up to about 600MHz came in Slot 1 SECC2 (cartridge) format, beyond that they also came in S370. Their fan is typically part of the casing and can be fiddly to remove (I have a dual PIII Slot 1 1GHz 100FSB system, and it's pretty noisy).

The thermal protection for a PIII is pretty basic, and basically switches the processor off when an overheat condition is detected, crashing the system. It should however offer some protection against abuse.

The Pentium IV systems are much more advanced in this area and throttle performance back upon overheat. It's best to get a Northwood class processor (.13 micron process, if I remember correctly) as the power dissipation is much lower.

I've not looked at AMD recently, IIRC their latest CPUs finally have some protection. The earlier stuff is /very/ vulnerable to overheating - everyone using AMD, please be 100% certain the heatsink is properly in place before switching on!

PK
 
The current thermal protection on the AMD chips is woefully inadequate still. They will still fry like a greasy spoon breakfast if left without the HSF :(

According to Tomshardware anyway :) I don't have the cash to spend all day burning processors.
 
Well i replaced the heatsink and fan and temp has gone to about 28.c. However after a couple of days running the fans has started making a noise...worse than before!!!:mad: i'm tempted to remove the fan....

before i changed the heatsink and fan the original temp was around 37.c with Intel HSF....

i'm not sure if i can get a 50mm x 50mm fan for this heatsink from someone like EKL or should i get a adaptor that hold a bigger fans seperatly and point it towards the heatsink?

i'm pooped!!!:rolleyes:
 

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