Hot weather overloading my fan.

@Tousdae:

To me, your gfx card temp is a little high if you are just putting about the Net. Not, "OMG - that's too high!" Just higher than I would expect. Can you see its fan spinning? Given that your CPU/mobo/HDD temps are lower, I now do wonder about the gfx card temp. Again, it's not too high but why 55C when the CPU is at 34C? It's like everyone is idling except the GPU.

My assumption would be that the game producing diagonal line is related to the card being stressed by the demands of the game, if this occurs with any game of comparable intensity; obviously, you cannot compare Myst1 with MW2. If it only occurs on one particular game, I would wonder about the game; otherwise I'm going to be thinking about HW/SW issues of the card itself. You've probably done it but make sure the heat sink/fan blades/fan cowling are free of dust; again, make sure the fan is spinning when the system is on.

Q-tips good; small artist's paint brush for heat sinks whose elements are close together; compressed "air" with the long, slender tube attached; whatever will get the dust out if the vac does not.

Well, the customer is always right, of course but as long as the computer guy says "you don't need this," I am wont to give him the benefit of the doubt regarding his sincerity and desire to keep you from spending more than required to do the job well. Then too, we all have to make assumptions regarding his experiences and expertise.

You say you are headstrong; you certainly have the gumption and enthusiasm. I would definitely channel that into a bit of research/study and develop skills that will serve your specific needs or desires. If I say 850W is more than you need for a PSU, so what - that's my opinion, which, by the way, does not bear any imprimatur; it's just my opinion. What I am saying is that after a bit of research, including visits to tech forums and legit "test" sites, you might change your mind. To what end? Well, if you "skimp" on one part because you decide you really do not need it, you have more to spend on higher-end parts you want, whether you need them or not. One personal example: my mobo has an integrated audio (SoundMax); it's good enough for me so why would I spend several hundred (to more than a thousand) for an audio card, egged on by all of the audiophiles who stated I should? Me. I have an XFire array for improved video performance; money saved on audio card went into the second 4830 gfx card.

So, back to gfx card temp: not excessive, not a worry, per se, but 10 degrees C hotter than I would have expected. Diagonal line if on any game but no where else: gfx card. Do you have an old card that is compatible with your machine that you could drop in, install its drivers, and see what the results are? Maybe you computer guy would let you accomplish a diagnostic test run using a card he has. Speaking of drivers, your gfx card will run on Windows generic drivers. One test, uninstall your current driver, reboot, cancel out any attempt by Windows's "found new hardware" dialog to install new driver, and play a game to see what happens.

Monk

OK. C=5/9 (F-32) so your GPU is at 65.6C. With a CPU at 60, I don't regard the GPU at 65.6 as high at all. It's not necessarily valid to compare systems due to different ambient temps, case designs, etc. - but I use an Antec 900 case and have a panel mounted fan that blows directly across my gfx card. Last time I monitored it, my GPU temp, under a load, tends to stay right around 49-50C. So, if you see that your GPU fan blade is spinning and your temps stay in the 60s, maybe 70s depending on the situation, I think you are cool - pun intended.

The diagonal line across the screen, if it persists, is not to be expected under any circumstances. Verify you have the correct gfx drivers, that your monitor refresh rate is properly set according to the mfr, that you run only your monitor's native resolution, that the monitor driver is updated, that you have ATi's Catalyst Control Center appropriately tweaked, if you have it installed; reload the defaults if you previously tweaked it and see what happens.

You say your machine is an HP. One thing about drivers, when updating go to the machine mfr first just in case they use OEM drivers (v. retail) which are often tweaked to satisfy BIOS demands. For example, ASUS will occasionally post a driver for my SoundMax. I could get the driver from SoundMax but I get the one at ASUS. Are they different, who knows, but if ASUS integrates SoundMax on the mobo I figure their driver will play nice with the system, in general.

So, it appears that most of us would agree that your temps do not pose an issue. I would focus on the diagonal line like you did with the temps: what are you doing when it appears and does it always happen when you do that; how long does it take before it appears; is it program related, time related, always in the same spot, etc., etc.: whatever you can tell us about its behavior.

Monk

OK: posts crossing each other in route.

I get everything computing online: everything. Most I get from Amazon (98% of the time free shipping, also no sales tax); next in line is mWave. I have gone to TigerDirect but no longer: too many issues, one of which is their selling returned merchandize, often not marking it as having been returned/repackaged and, as such lacking parts - like an SATA DVD burner with no cables, no install/burning SW: just the drive in a plastic bag. Also, Amazon is so big that they do not have to squabble about returns.

Did I miss it: what game are you playing that gives you the issues? Is that Sims (what's wrong with Sims) Also not in your specs, what monitor?

ATi v. NVIDIA: for many years now I exclusively use ATi for many reasons. XFire is one, but the fact is that over the years, I have had more issues with NVIDIA drivers that I care to relive.

Moving fan: from the moment you turn the machine on.

PC getting loud after 10 minutes: again put an ear to the source. A fan: rushing air v. grinding or other noises; PSU fan? Interesting: here is a ComputerShopper review of your gfx card. Notice the left column on the front page under cons: "loud fan." Put an ear to the gfx card fan when you first start, then when you hear the noise: this the noisy fan? If we are talking air noise, like a B-29 prop, I would guess that is what ComputerShopper is talking about. Is the fan exceeding its max? If you are able to adjust the speed down to that 3800 range try it. Big difference in cooling between 3800 and 4200, I wouldn't think so but over spinning the fan might make the blades vibrate (it's like a 20x v. a 50x CD ROM - the latter almost whines).

Time between two jobs and life: I hear you! If two jobs means making ends meet or having a few bucks left over to diddle with, I should think a more focused (learned) computer buying scheme would serve you well. Keep what you now have if you can get by with it, see what's available component wise - and what's on the horizon (next 6 months or so), understand the pros, cons, limits of the HW, and then, over time, if you want to build a new machine, purchase the pieces little by little and, when ready, put it all together.

And yes, if EA says "You'll need this at a minimum if you want to unlock the full features of Sims," then at least get what they recommend as the minimum.

Final note thinking about Sims, or any other game you might like. There are all sorts of games for all sorts of people. My favorites are puzzles, like the Myst/URU series; they are damned tough to solve. I have many role-play games on the order of Baldur's Gate, Elder Scrolls, DAO. And I have FPS/War games.

Point is, don't worry about being heckled because you play a certain game, have a certain computer, wear a certain T, drive a certain car. Over the years I have discovered the I am happiest when I am being me, doing what me wants to do. What do others think? It's like I said about those Lamborghini drivers on game forums: smile and nod. The Sufi say, "We are the makers of our dreams." Everyone is different: we become like sheep when we try to be like everyone else. Play Sims and enjoy.

One other thing: I joined SevenForums on May 14, 2010; I'm a noob here, but I dare say from my limited time here, you will not find many hecklers here. If you get heckled here, message me; I'd be interested in what they had to say. I may even be interested in responding.

Monk

Tousdae said:

Bare Foot Kid said:

There's nothing at all wrong with these temps, if the CPU doesn't get above 60C during heavy gaming you have nothing to be concerned about.

Ok, good. I just played for about 2 hours. I kept minimizing to desktop to check out temps. The cpu never went over 60. The card got to 150F tho.

Thanks :)

Howdy.

Don't be concerned, if the gfx card doesn't go a lot higher it's OK, 150F is nothing for a gfx card, some idle way higher than that, my 4870 idled at 75c.

Noise coming from heat sink? You mean the little fan sitting on top of your CPU heat sink?

Fan speeds can be controlled either in the BIOS (allow you to set various threshold speeds) or by software included with the mobo install disc or third-party software. What can be controlled depends on the architecture of your mobo. You might give SpeedFan a try which you can DL here.

Obviously, one cannot judge if your fan is behaving properly by a subjective description but if you are talking about the little CPU fan, I would say that under no circumstances should you be able to hear it; it's just too small compared to case fans.

If you are talking about a noisy gfx card fan, then I wonder if what you hear is what the reviews say is a loud fan. I would differentiate between four types of fan noises: rushing air (the whooshing sound), gear noise (like the whirring sound of a 50x CD-ROM spinning), grinding or rattling noise (a sort of chattering sound as the bearings bounce around in a broken race), or a vibrating sound (made by a loose fan frame or blade).

Now, I suppose that if your were really concerned or annoyed by the noise, you could try recording it and uploading an MP3. Regardless, the temps are OK so you might just ignore it and see what happens.

Monk

Tousdae said:

Bare Foot Kid said:

Howdy.

Don't be concerned, if the gfx card doesn't go a lot higher it's OK, 150F is nothing for a gfx card, some idle way higher than that, my 4870 idled at 75c.

I'll trust that I'm ok with the card temp then :) Thanks