Fan on 8890 running A LOT! - Page 2

and miss's cleo told you this??!?!? lol

one thing is for sure, games a few years from now will be as demanding as a hoe on a corner for a buck.

Back to your hot 8890, you say its running on a clean, clear, stable surface so air flow shouldn't be a problem, at least externally. Then I'd say you need to check inside. Hey, doctors leave thousands of items in people every year, while SAGER is good and leaving some crap is there is bad, it could happen. Or there could be a bad connection, maybe your heat sink has a problem with its installation or maybe its missing or something. But that would be my next check. You said there appears to be good air flow out of the vents, so its probably not the problem but you never know until you check. If the insides look OK, then its time to talk to PCTorque and/or SAGER. That hot is not normal or expected and no, the fans shouldn't be running all the time. Maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of the time unless you are really pounding on it with lots of heavy apps or you are working in 120 degrees with no ventilation. I can't see you surviving longer than the SAGER in the latter case.

So, give the insides a cursory, make sure wires are connected, there's nothing in there that shouldn't be, nothing is loose and there's no obvious places where something should be but isnt. Then get on with talking to PCTorque and SAGER. A machine running that hot with the fans running all the time isn't going to last.

mine also turns on a lot. so i turned off my comp then took a look at the heatsink. when i saw it..it looked like there was a faded black sheet but it looked uneven on both the processor and the heatsink. some of it looked like it was chipping or peeling off. its like if u were to take an oreo and split in half...u get some of the white stuff on one side and then u get some more on the other side...except not that thick...its very thin i just put the heatsink back on top of the processor and screwed it back in. as tight as i could. is that good? my computer doesn't seem any hotter nor does the exhaust. i don't have much experience with heatsinks.

You have to remember that these systems are running full desktop Pentium 4s, with a desktop bus and desktop memory speed. Only the ATI 9600 mobility is a portable, and that will still chuck out a lot of heat. Then there is the fast disk drive.

Go down a PC parts shop and look at the cooling solutions for desktop Pentiums. They typically look like someone has strapped the contents of a garden tool shed to your system. That's because these systems put out a lot of heat and that heat has to be dissipated.

To be honest, I would be amazed if the fans did not run all of the time. If the fans stop, then you have to ask what is cooling that Pentium ? The natural convection flow of air across the heat sinks ? I don't think so.

I am expecting the fans to run all of the time, and if after two or three years they start to squeak a bit, I am sure you can buy spares. The important thing is that the chips are kept cool and the best way of doing that is having the fans running.

I hope they are not noisy, but to be honest, a laptop is not going to be your best option if you want a quite system. A desktop, which you can insulate and then put under a desk is a much better bet.

yeah..thats exactly what i was thinking. the fan isn't loud at all...much quieter than my desktop computer...however in a very quiet room...it can be heard...but then again..in a quiet room u can hear a pin drop.

also...is there any problem with pulling off the heatsink...then just putting it back on? did i have to do some special procedure to stick it back on correctly?

Sometimes heat sinks are attached to the processor with special thermal conducting glue. If you detached in the from the CPU then you might need the special glue to stick it back.

NAh, it isnt glue.. just a thermal sheet.. its all good still...

in the 8890...it came right off. i found out the "black sheet" i saw was the thermal pad...and it was melted. it came off really easily...so i don't think it was stuck to the cpu. so any incosistencies should be "melted" out. i haven't found any heat issues yet..so hopefully i won't have to open it again...unless i have to clean the heatsink.

Sorry, can't answer you on the heat sink issue.

But what I am saying is based on nearly 10 years with laptops, all of them SAGERS. While they will certainly put out heat and a lot of it, there shouldn't be places on the case that you can't hold your hand too. Not that it wouldn't be uncomfortable, maybe even unpleasant, but you should be able to hold your hand to it. If its hotter than that, it doesn't comply with UL standards and that means its a fire hazard. This is the kind of heat you seemed to have described.

Secondly, no, the fans shouldn't have to run all the time. Yes, these are high performance machines that put out a lot of heat, but they are designed to deal with that heat without constantly running the fans. When I am really cranking on my 8886, heavy CAD and rendering work, the fans run about 1/3 to 1/2 of the time, they will run for a couple of minutes, then rest for a couple of minutes. If I am just surfing, they run between 1/4 and 1/3 third of the time, for about a minute or two, then off for 3 or 4 minutes.

However, if I am charging my batteries, running a bunch of heavy programs and plotting in the background, yes, the fans run all the time.

What you describe was very hot and the fans running continuously and loudly. That's not normal.

sorry...but i'm not sure if ur talking about the original thread maker(jamesshuang)...or me. for me...it just exactly as how u describe. during internet sessions..it would come on for about a minute or two...then shut off for about 5 minutes. no where on the machine i can't touch..its sort of like a girl sitting on ur lap...it gets quite warm..but its not unpleasant ...i apologize to all the ladies..but i couldn't think of a better analogy during benchmarks or game playing...then its on pretty much on the whole time.

Personally, I like that kind of heat.

But to the point, yes, under heavy load, the fans will spin. That's not unusual or a problem. Its what they are supposed to do. But if they are spinning all the time, even under light load, and the machine is still getting hot, then you've got a problem. Its like with your refridgerator, if the compressor is running continously and nobody is standing there with the door open and you didn't just fill it with warm beer, you've got a problem.

Hi JS
What exactly do you mean with amzingly quiet? do you work with audio production? If so, you could give us a hint on db - distance, so this may become clear for us producers that dont have purchased the 8890 yet...
I need to know how present is this noise. Are you running two 7200 HDs?
Best,
RC