# PC running hot - multiple fans, what are my options?



## KugarWeb (Sep 12, 2007)

Hi there,

I noticed today while playing FiveM (GTA5 Mod) that the CPU alarm was sounding after about 40 minutes of play. It's a hot and humid day here (25 degrees with high humidity) so not sure what my options are.

I have 2x 140mm fans on the top of the case, a 140mm rear exhaust fan, a 140mm front fan as well as a Cooler Master Hyper 212X CPU fan. The case itself is a CoolerMaster 690 II Advanced.

I've run Core Temp and I'm getting the following readings.










This is the first time I've heard the alarms going on so can only assume it's because it's a hot day. I've set Core Temp to automatic Overheat Protection and to shutdown.
Any other thoughts?

Let me know if any other information would be helpful.

Thanks,

Andrew


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## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

I'm not familiar with your app as most of us use Speccy. If the Tj.Max is only a suggestion and not an actual reading, then you're OK. Otherwise the warning is correct. I don't believe your ambient temp has anything to do with the alarm. Perhaps overclocking problem???


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## SpywareDr (Jun 15, 2013)

Are you sure the alarm you're hearing is due to overheating?


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

Corday said:


> I'm not familiar with your app as most of us use Speccy.


Most of us? Ummm, not sure I would make that claim - especially since Speccy stopped reporting PSU voltages (they could never get them right ) and more importantly, since Piriform stopped development on the program completely with their last update coming out in May 2018.  Too bad too. It used to be a great program, IMO. It still is for system information, but not health/status monitoring.

Most of my friends and colleagues (if they use a real-time monitor) do use CoreTemp - though I admit, that is probably due to my recommendation. I've been using CoreTemp for nearly 15 years, since shortly after it first came out.

If you are still using Speccy for real-time temperature monitoring, or not using a real-time monitor at all, I use and highly recommend Core Temp to monitor your CPU temps in real time. It has very flexible display options and appears to be accurate with consistent readings with my other favorite HW monitor, HWiNFO64. I have CoreTemp set to display only the current temp of the warmest core. This results in just one temp being displayed, helping to keep my system tray notification area less cluttered.



> PC running hot - multiple fans, what are my options?


With your highest temp showing only 63°C, why do you say your PC is running hot? Is it just the alarm or is your system shutting down or throttling? 63° is pretty "warm" but no where near "hot".

I note many motherboards have such an alarm setting in their BIOS Setup menu. I suggest you look there and see if enabled, and if so, where it is set. You might bump it up a bit - but don't disable it. It is still an important indicator. I probably would go no higher than 70°C though your CPU can tolerate higher temps.

Also, understand there are other heat sensitive devices in our computers. The motherboard's chipset and VRMs can trigger heat related symptoms (sudden freezes, shutdowns, or reboots), as can the RAM or graphics solution.

As far as your options, you appear to have plenty of fans, but are they ramping up in speed? I also agree with Corday that your ambient (room) temp is not likely hot enough to cause problems - but still, a CPU can go from cool to overheated in just a few clock cycles. And your CPU is running at over 3 billion clock cycles per second. So a lot can happen and then ret

What happens when you play in the cool of the night? If all good, and your case fans are ramped up in speed, you might remove the side panel and blast a desk fan in there to see what happens.

Oh - I am assuming the interior is clean of heat trapping dust.


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## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

Haven't tried Core Temp but in addition to Speccy, I also have CPUID on all my computers.


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## KugarWeb (Sep 12, 2007)

Bill_Bright said:


> With your highest temp showing only 63°C, why do you say your PC is running hot? Is it just the alarm or is your system shutting down or throttling? 63° is pretty "warm" but no where near "hot".


It's mainly the alarm that alerted me to it - I've not heard the alarm go off for a long time (not least up until I installed more fans and bought myself a decent CPU cooler anyway) - the previous CPU cooler was just the Intel one bundled with the processor!



Bill_Bright said:


> I note many motherboards have such an alarm setting in their BIOS Setup menu. I suggest you look there and see if enabled, and if so, where it is set. You might bump it up a bit - but don't disable it. It is still an important indicator. I probably would go no higher than 70°C though your CPU can tolerate higher temps.


You were right on the money there! It was set to 60°C so I've upped it to 70°C now.



Bill_Bright said:


> Also, understand there are other heat sensitive devices in our computers. The motherboard's chipset and VRMs can trigger heat related symptoms (sudden freezes, shutdowns, or reboots), as can the RAM or graphics solution.
> 
> As far as your options, you appear to have plenty of fans, but are they ramping up in speed? I also agree with Corday that your ambient (room) temp is not likely hot enough to cause problems - but still, a CPU can go from cool to overheated in just a few clock cycles. And your CPU is running at over 3 billion clock cycles per second. So a lot can happen and then ret
> 
> ...


Yes they definitely seem to be ramping up in speed - I notice it whenever I start up any of my games really but it's especially noticeable in this hot weather (it's unusually humid here at the moment). I've got the PC on at the moment and the fans are blowing hard even while sat idle but the cores are sitting at about 35-40°C while on the desktop with YouTube running.

I've also checked for dust and there's only minimal surface dust on the outside of the vents - I regularly clean it and the PC isn't in a room with carpet (it used to be in my bedroom at home and it would pick up masses of dust!). It's only used for maybe a couple of hours a day, whereas I used to easily use it for 10 hours+ daily doing rendering etc.

One thought that did occur to me is that the side panel is about 3 inches from the side of my desk (it sits underneath on the floor) which maybe means the hot air isn't escaping as efficiently? As I say it's not been a problem before...










Any further thoughts?


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## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

No problem with side panel. It's the front and back that's important.


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## KugarWeb (Sep 12, 2007)

Ok cool thanks! Do you think there's any more I could be doing then? I played the game again last night and it was pretty warm in the room but no alarms!

One slight concern is that my aftermarket fan controller on the front of the case doesn't actually seem to do anything...


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## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

If manual adjustment makes no difference then it's not working. Ideally, the better ones adjust for ambient temps.


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