I was quite shocked by what I saw. The CPU was idling at 61C and the GPU idling at 51C which I figured was way too hot and clearly begging for a case mod. No matter – I have a Dremel and I’m not afraid to use it. First stop was cleaning the case out. The stock heat sink and fan were encrusted with shite as was just about every other nook and cranny. This called for my fancy pants Bosch vacuum sander/blower/briefcase. I bought this new knocked down for $58 including tax (which I claim back anyway) so let’s say 50 bucks even or £19.65 at today’s rate.  It’s basically a 1400 watt vacuum cleaner with a vacuum driven detail sander. Pretty damn cool for a score I’d say.

I had me some innocent fun with the Bosch Briefcase a suckin and a blowin - it works pretty well. I cut up an old biro body and taped it to the narrow nozzle so that I could get at the fins on the heat sink.

Well, what do you suppose happened? Yep both the CPU and GPU idled at 51C. Still too hot though wouldn’t you say? The funny thing is this machine has NEVER missed a beat.

With a case mod still very much on the go I downloaded the manuals for both the Asus mobo and the Athlon. Well bugger me! The Athlon XP series up to 2200+ are rated to run at a staggering 95C! This prompted me to investigate further. The Nvidia control panel for the 7600GS sets the throttle down temperature threshold to 125C! Remarkable. So in fact my dear old PC is operating well inside acceptable limits and I won’t need to start cutting holes in her, painting up the case, fitting loads of lights and a big fan after all.

Yeah right!

The fan, grill, LEDs, big drive bay conversion and small bay front peripheral connectors are all on order.

The point of this ramble is how many of us actually know very much about cooling and the need for cooling before we chuck away the stock cooler and reach for the Dremel? My instinct on processor temperatures was based on two things: growing up with water cooled mainframes and seeing the immense amount of effort and expense that goes in to PC cooling these days. My instinct was completely wrong.

Here are some very useful links that I’ve visited on the topic. If you don’t already know Dan you should do. Dan is the Mythbuster of technology – totally independent and plain speaking. He reviews everything from toys to satellite guns with humour and insight born of both experience and education.  Dan’s Data is an immense resource on just about everything, added to which, if you have a problem that’s interesting enough he will give you a thorough no-bullshit reply. Make him happy and sock him a few bucks while you’re there – PayPal Preferred.

A quick way to check on your CPU’s temperature range is through this article on Hardware Secrets another great resource.