Christmas Day, and it's going to be a scorcher here in Perth. So it seems a good time to ask questions about keeping the computer at a healthy temperature.
I found this thread: http://www.d-a-l.com/help/showthread...ht=temperature which gave me the word on the Everest program. I've seen that mentioned elsewhere; if you guys give it the nod, I'll try that. But isn't there a way of monitoring the computer's temperature built into XP?
On hot days like this the fan seems to run almost constantly. It appears that said fan is about the size of a bottle top! My computer is an Acer 3600GT and there isn't a lot of breathing space inside the box. Is a second fan, or a larger fan, an option?

Done it again - found the answer to my own question.
There's a utility called Acer eManager which I removed a while ago. I reinstalled it and it tells me this:

CPU temperature - 61 degrees - Normal - Limit 80.
System temp - 35 degrees - Normal - Limit 60.
(all temps in Celsius)

Okay. Still, any opinions on a fan upgrade?

Speed Fan is a good small monitor.

61 is pretty high for "normal" on a P4. 40 something would be more "normal".

What fan do you want to change? The CPU fan? Or case fans?

You can get quite a variety of CPU heatsink/fan models.

Some are quite large so you have to consider that. Also make sure they fit a socket 775 CPU. I am pretty sure that is what you have but I could be wrong.

Just for example:

http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/Su...SubCategory=62

What fan do you want to change? The CPU fan? Or case fans?

The case fan I guess, that's the one I can see that's attached to the grille at the rear.



EDIT at 4:30 pm - the computer shut itself off half an hour ago. That's a first.
What are the do's and don'ts of cleaning a computer's internals? Would it help?

Machine seems to be running OK now anyway. I gave it time to cool down. Might not watch too many more DVDs today though.

EDIT at 5:18 - I may have been premature in my diagnosis. Shutdown may have been caused by a dip in the power supply - the temperature peaked at 40 C just about the time the comp died. I'm competing for electricity with a few hundred thousand airconditioners.

Here are some cleaning ideas:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&s...eaning&spell=1

40 degrees is not a bad running temperature.

The temperature of your graphics card is also an issue. They tend to run even hotter than the CPU.

Case fans are limited to the case size. Usually 80mm or 120mm fans. Some cases have front intake as well as rear exhaust fans. Some have top fans and some side fans. If you are into case modding you can add your own wherever.

Some are faster and you can get some really "turbo" models. Faster fans will be louder not so much in themselves but the air they are pushing creates the sound.

The best cooling is liquid. There are some simple kits out there if you are so inclined.

Also I'd get a surge protector if your current is noticeably shifting.

Thanks again jehpree, I'll check these options out.