Are my temps normal?

[Tim4885]

I recently applied new artic silver 5 thermal paste to the cpu/gpu and installed a Noctua nf-r8 80mm fan. Before doing this I cleaned out the xbox with compressed air and removed the old thermal paste with articlean thermal paste remover and thermal surface purifier. I modded the fan to make sure it fit in the case. When applying the thermal paste, I spread it on the cpu with a credit card and just used small blob on the gpu. When I turned on my softmodded xbox running unleashx, I was surprised to see that my cpu and m/b readings were somewhat high. I let the xbox run for maybe 10 minutes and the cpu temp got to 66c and the m/b reading was 54c. I noticed the default fan speed was set to 1x so I increased it to 5x and the cpu/motherboard temp leveled out to 50c/44c while idle. With the fan speed at 5x, I played Burnout 3 for about 20 minutes and checked the temps several times during that 20 minutes and the cpu didn't go above 52c and the motherboard temp actually decreased while I was playing Burnout 3.

Is this experience normal? Is the 1x fan speed in unleashx generally ineffective? It seems like with my new 80mm fan and the new thermal paste applied that I should be getting better temps. I have seen some people reporting idle cpu temps as low as 40c after applying new thermal paste and installing an 80mm fan. At the 5x fan speed the fan is about half as quiet as stock but I can still hear it and that is annoying considering I want a silent fan. I did completely take apart the xbox before and clean all the components and after reinstalling them I noticed that fitting the top case on was a tighter fit than before so it could be that this tighter fit is creating higher temperatures in my xbox. I thought everything had fit perfectly back into the case but maybe I need to take apart and then reinstall everything again just to be really sure I fit everything in the case correctly.

[professor_jonny]

my board runs at around 2% in auto fan control during ilde idle 50 degrees with an 8cm fan mod.

50-60 is ok

when you play the game the fan speed defaults back to what it is set in bios and is often 20%

[asbo]

What is the temperature in the room? That can have a significant affect. Also remember that arctic silver, and maybe other thermal paste, sort of settles down after a few days and performs better.
As PJ says setting the fan speed to auto in XBMC works great, I don't know if UnleashX has that functionality though.
If you find temperatures are fine whilst gaming you can decrease the fan speed a little, by flashing a new BIOS or, I'm fairly sure, by editing a file in a softmod.

[Tim4885]

The temp in my room is on the cooler side. From doing more research, I agree with professor_jonny that my temps are ok. I think I was maybe expecting too high a reduction in temps. I just played a game for an an hour and the cpu is at 51c so that isn't bad. With the stock fan it would be at about 58c. I know in xbmc the fan switches to stock speed of 20% but launching games from UnleashX, the fan still appears to be running at the 5x speed that I had set.

[Nextelhalo]

The problem is the fan, it may be quiet and bigger but at a lower speed it moves less air. I've actually stopped doing the fan mod and stuck with the stock fan as it is just fine. You can do other things to help out like cutting the metal grill of the case behind the fan and also on the sides of the xbox to allow for more air flow. I've had to put my 80mm fans at 100% sometimes just to move enough air to keep the xbox "sorta" cool and I just flat out didnt like that.

[professor_jonny]

I've had to put my 80mm fans at 100% sometimes just to move enough air to keep the xbox "sorta" cool and I just flat out didnt like that.

the super silent one's can be like that it all depends on the fan if you pick one with a mid range of air flow.
I have one here at full speed it feels like it will take off and it cools way better than the original but it seems to have a slight ticking noise at low speeds because of how strong the magnets are in it.

[fxmech]

Another thing to remember is the voltage being applied to the fan via the motherboard is maximum 6v. Most fans are 12v. You can get 12v from the HDD, which is double the 5x/100% setting.

[professor_jonny]

Another thing to remember is the voltage being applied to the fan via the motherboard is maximum 6v. Most fans are 12v. You can get 12v from the HDD, which is double the 5x/100% setting.

I'm pretty sure you can get 12v out of it is just voltage controlled 5-12v or something like that

[Geeba]

Out of interest how do you adjust the BIOS so the fan runs faster in games and other apps? - I'm kinda worried about frying my 1Ghz mainboard....

[asbo]

For M8+ BIOS you can change it in EVtool here:

I imagine its similar for other BIOSes

[Geeba]

Cheers asbo - I've got IND-BIOS.... been meaning to change that as well as it so slow to boot with it....

[Tim4885]

Another thing to remember is the voltage being applied to the fan via the motherboard is maximum 6v. Most fans are 12v. You can get 12v from the HDD, which is double the 5x/100% setting.

Doesn't your suggested method involve soldering? I don't know how to solder. I have read that you can pull the black wire out of the fan's 3-pin connector and tape it to the metal chassis with electrical tape to ground the black wire and then you can run the fan at 12v. Is doing this safe?

[Nextelhalo]

It's safe and you dont have to solder but it make sure of a good connection. I've see people simply cut the wire and strip the jacket, from they used electrical tape and taped it to the metal RF shielding. It worked just looked a little sloppy. I would only do that if the fan your using is quiet even at 100%

[professor_jonny]

strip the wire and pop it under a motherboard screw with a washer on top but you may decide against that idea after you hear it

[xman]

I've actually stopped doing the fan mod and stuck with the stock fan as it is just fine. You can do other things to help out like cutting the metal grill of the case behind the fan.

I always wondered why you guys found it necessary to change the fans. I change them but only to swap out noisy stock ones for non noisy stock ones. Only when I do slims do I actually use a none stock fan and they are 60mm X 25mm ones. For that job I cut out the inside of an old noisy stock fan and "graft" in a 60mm replacement and that enables me to still have a "snap in" fan housing on my slims. I always cut out the metal grill behind the fan though. That does make a real difference. I also have never found a need to change the original heatsink compound either. The original seems to work just fine for me. I set the minimum fan speed to 2% and set the fan to auto @ 50c and just let the machine do what it sees necessary and it all works fine I find. I have found if you put the machine on carpet it will run hotter than if it sits on a flat surface, probably because it reduces airflow from under the sides of the machine and also if you install the machine in a closed in area it will run much hotter but a shelf doesn't seem to worry it providing you don't put the machine's back edge up against something. The machine has to get the heat out after all. Only once did I find I needed to alter the fans settings because the machines was running hot but still not over heating....which happens at 71c by the way. It was a stinking hot summer's day here in Australia, about 40c ambient and the machine was starting to show the signs of thermal runaway. I set the fan to 20% and turned the auto control off and that seemed to cure it. As for games, I just leave it at 20% via the bios and never had issues.

[hawsey]

I know I've posted it before but it makes me chuckle



Cooling problems solved

[Tim4885]

Is there a molex y cable I can buy that has a 3-pin connection. I tried looking for one but didn't come across it online.

[xman]

Computer spare parts store. It is a common part.

[Tim4885]

Nevermind. I found several cables on Amazon. Not sure why I couldn't initially find them.