divil_a_bit
Standard Member
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2008
- Messages
- 42
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- 13
The 2 fans are on the side of the case, not the back. There are vents on the top of the case to allow air to be sucked in, there are also vents on the back of the case and the other side.It now sounds like a ventilation issue with your case. Your picture only shows 2 rear facing 120mm fans blowing out the back of the case but do you have any inlet fans at the front of the case?
If it was a ventilation issue, then changing the voltage shouldn't have fixed it.
The HTPC sits under the TV. The heat source (i.e. the open fireplace) is 3m away.Another thing you don't mention is how far from the heat source is your HTPC?
If I was to make a guess at the source of my problems, I would guess the votage being supplied to the CPU was too high. Not sure if this could be because of the power supply, or the mobo. Even though the BISO was set to AUTO when the CPU was overheating, when I changed it from AUTO to 1.25V (0.1V under the recommended) all the problems disappeared and the temp remained low even with the stock HSF. At 0.1V under the recommended, everything is stable (I've run some tests).
Now with the new Zalman CNPS8700-NT heatsink and fan, I can run it passively (i.e. fan disconnected) and the temp always stays comfortably below 45 degrees (under typical 20% load it's at around 37/38 degrees ... 100% load it can reach 45 degrees). The 2 exhaust fans pull enough air through the Zalman heatsink.
The result - a super quiet HTPC!
Thanks for the suggestions