This information applies directly to my
CPU/System,but will work on
any ATX set up in a tower case.It all began with my Raidmax mid-tower case,Gigabyte
MOBO,& 3.4
GHz
Pentium 4 Prescott
Cpu.If your a hardware junkie like me,I'm sure you know the reputation(well deserved)
of a Prescott P4-you could cook a meal over the heatsink if gaming,video encoding,or just about anything
above an idle.I really love this processor,except for the heat issues!I also love
PC games(FPS) & burn/copy
a lot of DVD's,so at first the "Speedfan"reported temps were a little scary.OK,more than a little-45/48C at
idle,68/75C under load!I'm pretty sure this
CPU starts to "Throttle Back"around 73C or so,& I was at
stock clocks,no overclocking at all!!
Here's the hardware I had to work with-A Raidmax Smilodon mid-
tower case,claiming to be "Prescott"ready.This means there's a 60/80mm vent in left side of case aprox.
where the
CPU cooler would be on a standard ATX
MOBO.My heatsink/fan is the OEM boxed unit that
comes with the
CPU.The case has a 12cm intake fan in the front,an 8cm exhaust fan in the rear,& an 8cm
harddrive cooling fan(intake)on the right side front.My Antec 600 watt power supply has 2 thermally con-
troled 8cm fans.After an hour of "Fear" or "Far Cry"I was removing clothes to fight off heat stroke symptoms!And I'm outside the case,1.5/2 feet away!!I know machines/electronics don't feel pain or emo-
tions-Thats good because I was feeling them for both of us!!!
I could have spent $60 to whatever the cost for the latest/greatest
heatsink/fan from the vast array of aftermarket manufacturers,or even fooled around with water cooling or
thermoelectric gizmos.Hardware mod's don't scare me,I built a few 500 HP/650 ft lbs of torque big block
Chevy's in my Hot Rod days & still make a living as an Auto Tech at a major new car dealership.It occured
to me that I could use the same methodology for this problem as building a Muscle Car.It was all low bud-
get,make it myself,copy pictures/parts from catalogs back then and it worked.I've got a little more money
now,but the do it yourself habit is hard to break & the feeling of pride/accomplishment/winning the battle with
common sense can't be purchased with money.
So here's what I did-Bought a 9cm fan & small tube of "Arctic Silver
5" on "EBay" for $4.99 plus $2.50 shipping,at "Ace Hardware got 1 sheet each of 600/1200/1500/2000 &
2500 grit wet sandpaper for $0.24 each($1.20 total),& at "Dollar Tree" store picked up a clear,round spray
bottle for $1.00(plus 0.06 tax & 0.08 tax on sandpaper)Total investment in parts so far is $9.74.OK,all my
"Hot Rod" parts gathered up,time for the manual labor.My coffee table has those decorative squares on top
with glass inserts,10x10 inches.Pulled one glass square out and taped down on top of an old board from the
garage.On top center of glass,taped a 6 inch square piece of the 600 grit sandpaper down.In a cereal bowl
mixed up 50/50 water & dish soap,shut down the computer & removed the Intell heatsink/fan,removed the
fan from the heatsink(pops apart with flat head screwdriver),spread some old newspapers on coffee table,
put in "Serenity" to watch & in the next 1.5 hours I went from a dull/non-reflective copper heatsink base to
a mirror finish,way better than anything you could buy,using progressively finer sandpaper,always keeping it
wet with water/soap mix.When done,I could see my bedroom windows reflected in base of heatsink & they
are 30/35 feet down the hallway.Used an old toothbrush in the sink and cleaned all dust/grit from heatsink &
put in dish drainer to dry.