# Acceptable heat ranges



## HunterjWizard (Dec 11, 2007)

All right I'm posting this here because 1. there is no general hardware section, and 2. I figure overclockers should know.

Here's the problem: I've got about 8 different programs in my arsenal that will tell me how hot various things are running inside my computer. What I haven't got is a single resource anywhere that will tell me how hot something SHOULD be running. I've I've ever had over the many years I've worked on computers is the occasional "Yeah, that sounds ok" from someone who doesn't really know any more than I do.

So, is there somewhere that someone has published an expected temperature range for various internal components?


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

The manufacturers of most components publish the allowable storage and operating temperatures in the respective specification sheets.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

intel and AMD tell you on their sites what the Tcase of their CPUs are generally meaning about 10 degrees c hotter than that is the max temp before throttling.

Same goes for NVIDIA and ATI for their graphics cards.

Never really looked into what hard drive temps are said to be but most people know that 30 degrees c on a hard drive is getting a bit too warm.

I have never seen motherboard temps published but like hard drives its more of a common sense thing.


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## HunterjWizard (Dec 11, 2007)

"Common sense" isn't really a good benchmark. Example: I started this thread because I was staring at GPUZ telling me my second-hand Geforce 8800GTX was idling at 80C. Common sense would tell me that that's a problem and I was about to do an emergency shutdown and maybe run for a fire extinguisher. But then I thought "maybe I better check..." and found several threads online with people saying "Yeah, 80C is normal for that card."

But again: all I have to go on here is the common sense of other people who know about as much as me. 

It generally takes a fair amount of digging on intel to find temperature specs, never even seen them for AMD. Maybe I'll just start compiling a database myself then if no one else has.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

80 degrees at idle is far too hot. 40 -55 degrees at idle for that card is normal.

If you have nvidia control panel set the fan to 100% the mistake made with that card is the fan was only set to run at 30% or something like that when installed so thats why the temps are high.

intel specs Processors — Processor operation temperature FAQ

thats weird the amd one isn't around anymore but generally they are similar to intel.

older cpu's you dont want to be going over 60 degrees c at full load

newer ones 80 but i prefer 70


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

There are no absolutes for temps but, as greenbrucelee has pointed out, 80C at idle is too hot?
Is the GPU heatsink/fan free from sust buildup and is the fan spinning at normal speeds?
Does increasing the speed bring the temps down?
Brand/ Model/ age of the PSU?


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## HunterjWizard (Dec 11, 2007)

greenbrucelee said:


> 80 degrees at idle is far too hot. 40 -55 degrees at idle for that card is normal.
> 
> If you have nvidia control panel set the fan to 100% the mistake made with that card is the fan was only set to run at 30% or something like that when installed so thats why the temps are high.
> 
> ...


That is all quite useful, thank you! Watching my 8800 creep slowly down from 80... 69 now. See this is what I'm talking about, I checked around a lot of folks just said "80 is normal" turns out you were right about the fan speed! Now if I can figure out how to change the fan speed on my GTX650 maybe my case will finally cool down a but. But I digress.

Intel has made dramatic improvements to their site. Last time I went browsing for CPU heat information it was a mess, now they've got that right on the processors main page. That's good. Well I've got that bookmarked.

Weeeeell, after doing a little research I think I need to revise my cooling systems some  thanks all!


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

nvidia control panel (download it with the drivers for the card) has an option to change the fan speed. You also buy aftermarket coolers for graphics cards.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Tyree said:


> Is the GPU heatsink/fan free from dust buildup?
> 
> Brand/ Model/ age of the PSU?


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## HeavyHemi (Jul 30, 2007)

HunterjWizard said:


> "Common sense" isn't really a good benchmark. Example: I started this thread because I was staring at GPUZ telling me my second-hand Geforce 8800GTX was idling at 80C. Common sense would tell me that that's a problem and I was about to do an emergency shutdown and maybe run for a fire extinguisher. But then I thought "maybe I better check..." and found several threads online with people saying "Yeah, 80C is normal for that card."
> 
> But again: all I have to go on here is the common sense of other people who know about as much as me.
> 
> It generally takes a fair amount of digging on intel to find temperature specs, never even seen them for AMD. Maybe I'll just start compiling a database myself then if no one else has.


Nvidia specs the maximum operating temperature of the 8800 GTX as 105C for continuous operation. The default fan profile would keep the GPU around 80C under load so, that is normal. 80C at idle is too hot. You should with decent airflow see more around 35-40. This will vary a bit and is affected by ambient temperatures. They've since removed that parameter from their spec pages for anything older than a 600 series. I don't know why. Newer models have their max continuous operating temperature listed. For example the GTX 680: GeForce GTX 680 | Specifications | GeForce Max continuous operating temp of 98C.


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## idgl (Oct 31, 2007)

My experience with failures on our backup servers has been that it is the disks that fail. When the size of disks got to around 500MB they started failing and we tracked the problem down to temperature. The air conditioning in a server room failed over a weekend and our disks were trashed by Monday morning. The disks were rated for 55°C and since then I've set the systems check the disk temperatures every half hour and shut down if 45°C is reached. It seems to be working.
Douglas Laing, Johannesburg


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## FlatspinZA (Jan 28, 2008)

greenbrucelee said:


> 80 degrees at idle is far too hot. 40 -55 degrees at idle for that card is normal.
> 
> If you have nvidia control panel set the fan to 100% the mistake made with that card is the fan was only set to run at 30% or something like that when installed so thats why the temps are high.
> 
> ...


It's exactly as GreenBruceLee says. 

Unless you have nVidia System Tools installed, you won't be able to change the fan speed (unless you're using other software). It runs inside of the nVidia CPL and you need to accept the license. 

I think this a trick used by the card manufacturers, if not nVidia itself, to reduce the lifespan of your card. Even when the settings are set to 'auto', meaning your fan will ramp up speed as you place it under load, it doesn't work, or it works for a while, then stops.

Your card will work fine at those temperatures, but after prolonged use you will start to notice artifacts, and intermittent hangs. 

I fried a perfectly good 8800GT, after supposedly 'upgrading' from an 8800GTX. So much for the hype.

I simply set it to maximum all the time.


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## HeavyHemi (Jul 30, 2007)

FlatspinZA said:


> It's exactly as GreenBruceLee says.
> 
> Unless you have nVidia System Tools installed, you won't be able to change the fan speed (unless you're using other software). It runs inside of the nVidia CPL and you need to accept the license.
> 
> ...


The GPU has it's own temp based fan control in the GPU BIOS. There is no other software needed unless you desire to control the fan manually. MSI Afterburner is a well known option for Nvidia System Tools (which I personally consider a virus :devil for controlling GPU clocks and fan speed. I have not seen it reported as a widespread issue of auto fan control not working as intended. If it doesn't the card is defective and RMA it. Several AIB partners have lifetime or many years long warranty policies on GPU's so artificially limiting the lifespan wouldn't make business sense IMO.


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## muistu (Feb 25, 2008)

hello, very intresting for me this topic.
this month my laptop gpu got fried, anyway.
i searched everywhere where is the normal temperature where motherboard and other things "Tcase" is the normal temp for working.
i had g62, intel p6100, gpu 5470, i would say it does great.
i clear it out of dust, but gpu was ussally running on 80C and the fan would only start when gpu board above 60C.
after it crashed i got into owen did the reflow thing, and it worked for another 2 weeks but gpu with low details, otherwise screen would go black.
and now the laptop works, but mostly black screen.

so which are the normal temperature of working on components?
i believe for a gpu it should be around 60C, the hard disk around 30C and motherboard, got no ideea.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

muistu said:


> hello, very intresting for me this topic.
> this month my laptop gpu got fried, anyway.
> i searched everywhere where is the normal temperature where motherboard and other things "Tcase" is the normal temp for working.
> i had g62, intel p6100, gpu 5470, i would say it does great.
> ...


Laptops are totally different to proper computers because they get hotter because they are small.


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## darkflux (Jun 2, 2008)

yeah, the best you can do is check the manual/specs for each part in your build. higher end parts will more frequently have the heat thresholds, while cheaper parts will not. typically overclocking-specific parts will have this info more frequently, like the "Black Editions" of some CPUs.

the problem is, there is no clear-cut way to tell how much heat a part can handle before it is "too late to go back". just like how different humans can handle different amounts of heat. but in the case of computers, LESS heat is ALWAYS better. in fact, ZERO degrees Celcius would be the ideal goal for any hardcore gamer/computer enthusiast. I read a story some time ago about a person who set up so much hardcore liquid cooling that his computer was running at SUB-ZERO temperatures, and it wasn't until it hit the -30's that the computer "froze", both literally and figuratively. because of the CONSTANT heat they put out, cold is not the enemy of PCs. water, maybe, but not cold...

even if there were some guide of what the maximum threshold was for a device, the higher the heat, the quicker the part wears out. colder is ALWAYS the better option.

if YOU are uncomfortable with the 80 degrees, then that is all that matters. invest in some better cooling and go crazy. (almost) no cool is too cool for computers


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

No reply from the OP in 5 days. Let's hold any posting until they reply.


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