PC Temperature

[MessiahofFire]

Hey guys. I'm moderetly knowledgeable about computers. Well, I'm good with software and programming, but when it comes to what's inside that box of my mine (PC), I'm not so good at.

 

I know that over heating can slow down a computer considerably, but I was wondering if the summer heat actually contributes to the computer over heating and making games (San Andreas) run slower? Over here in the summer it averages about 35-40 degrees celsius and I feel that all my hardware is already hot before the computer is turned on.

 

So would it be true that a computer would run better during the winter, when everything is really cold?

 

 

EDIT: BTW, my current computer set up is 4ghz Processor, 2.2g ram, Nvidia GeForce 8400 GS 512mb. And for me to play the game with no massive drops in frames per second, I have to run in 800x600 32-bit with quality set to medium, AA set to 1 and barely any drawing distance. I thought my computer would be able to run it at much higher ratings!

Edited January 22, 2009 by MessiahofFire

[Girish]

Not necessarily. Your computer can run at the same speed/efficiency in any weather provided that you don't let your CPU temperature cross 60C. Anything above 60C is heating and above 70C it's overheating.

[fordguyjh]

First clean out most of the junk on your hard drive - CCleaner (CCLeaner.com, downloads.com{CNET}, Filehippo - and/or Eusings' Free Internet window Washer - Eusing.com are excellent freeware utilities for removing junk on your HDD. Next, DEFRAG, DEFRAG, DEFRAG. Use your computers' inbuilt drive defragmenter utility on a regular basis - every one to two weeks depending on how much you use your computer. Defragging regroups all files stored on the hard drive to minimize time spent searching for the necessary file or program you want to use. Thirdly, adjust your pagefile size to 1.5 times the size of your total RAM ( i.e. 512MB set to 765MB, 1024MB(1GB) set to 1536MB, etcera). Fourth, upgrade your systems cooling - invest in a copper heatsink with fan at a minimum, or buy a liquid cooling system. Both types of coolers remove a lot more heat than stock aluminum heatsink/fan combos. Next you can add more RAM that also has heatsinks attached to the chipsets. Finally if your hardware supports overclocking (on CPU and/or GPU ) start out at 3% to 5% and adjust upward to 20% to 25% only if you have a liquid cooling setup. If these steps do not help your system performance enough to your liking upgrade your video card and/or add a physics accelerator card. REMEMBER - Processors perform much better when they are kept well below 150 degrees Fahrenheit. A utility called SpeedFan can access and display the temperature readings supported by your hardware. SpeedFan supports a large number of OEM and aftermarket motherboards and video cards and can even display hard drive temps and health.SpeedFan can be downloaded here: http://www.almico.com . Good luck!!

Edited January 23, 2009 by fordguyjh

[MessiahofFire]

First clean out most of the junk on your hard drive - CCleaner (CCLeaner.com, downloads.com{CNET}, Filehippo - and/or Eusings' Free Internet window Washer - Eusing.com are excellent freeware utilities for removing junk on your HDD. Next, DEFRAG, DEFRAG, DEFRAG. Use your computers' inbuilt drive defragmenter utility on a regular basis - every one to two weeks depending on how much you use your computer. Defragging regroups all files stored on the hard drive to minimize time spent searching for the necessary file or program you want to use. Thirdly, adjust your pagefile size to 1.5 times the size of your total RAM ( i.e. 512MB set to 765MB, 1024MB(1GB) set to 1536MB, etcera). Fourth, upgrade your systems cooling - invest in a copper heatsink with fan at a minimum, or buy a liquid cooling system. Both types of coolers remove a lot more heat than stock aluminum heatsink/fan combos. Next you can add more RAM that also has heatsinks attached to the chipsets. Finally if your hardware supports overclocking (on CPU and/or GPU ) start out at 3% to 5% and adjust upward to 20% to 25% only if you have a liquid cooling setup. If these steps do not help your system performance enough to your liking upgrade your video card and/or add a physics accelerator card. REMEMBER - Processors perform much better when they are kept well below 150 degrees Fahrenheit. A utility called SpeedFan can access and display the temperature readings supported by your hardware. SpeedFan supports a large number of OEM and aftermarket motherboards and video cards and can even display hard drive temps and health.SpeedFan can be downloaded here: http://www.almico.com . Good luck!!

Hey man, I always keep my hard drive's clean, I defrag once a week, my page file size was originally around 2000mb, I raised it to about 3010mb, I've over clocked my processor, it used to run 4ghz, now it runs at almost 5ghz with standard cooling. I've had 'speedfan' for a while specifically to clock my comp. So practically I've already done everything that you suggested, except for upgrading my card or mother board. I use an MSI mother board, and I doubt there is any need to upgrade that, as they make them basically for the purpose of over clocking.

 

I might need to get a better graphics card, but at 512mb (GeForece 8400gs), with 2 gig ram and almost 5ghz processor, I would think that I would be able to run San Andreas on much higher then 800x600, with medium graphics, AA set to 1 and almost no drawing distance. If I choose to go higher in the options, I always experience slow down in FPS in heavily congested areas. It sort of peeves me off that I exceed the recommended spec's by a big whoop, but still I have to play the game on almost minimum graphics and everything!

[MessiahofFire]

Hey, just an UPDATE!

 

Well, I just got around to overclocking my graphics card to a safe level with stock cooling and now San Andreas runs brilliantly on high setting, AA 3, 10 drawing distance, and the 1024 x (cant remember) in 32 bit. Now I can play!