Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


Woolly

119 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user


#17770 10-Dec-2007 20:59
Send private message

Hi Guys

I've got a Dell Dimension 8400 and the heatsink pipes are at skin temp when the computers going.

The CPU fan is not loud but may have been a lot quieter when I first bought it.

Can anyone else with a heatsink put there fingers on their heat sink pipes and say what temps they're getting?

I say touch because Dell disabled or obscured any temperature measuring (I presume to stop overclocking).

Any help appreciated.

Cheers Woolly


Create new topic
Fraktul
836 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

  #99348 10-Dec-2007 21:31
Send private message

If your fan is not working well you would expect the heatisnk to be hotter as it is transfering less energy to the surrounding air mass.

The only instance where there may be a problem if there were insufficent thermal transfer between the device doing the heating and the heatsink which could cause the heatsink to feel cooler.



Woolly

119 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user


  #99355 10-Dec-2007 21:55
Send private message

I thought of that so I went out and bought some Nano Thermal Grease. Took off the heatsink and cpu cleaned up with alcohol. Applied new grease thin layer and then put back together again.

Still skin temp on the copper tubes at the base.

After some research I see other Dell 8400's have the same problem and fix it by replacing the heatsink.

What I can't understand is why the copper tubes quite close to the CPU aren't even maybe a little bit warm.

Is there some kind of fluid in the Heatsink (refrigerant?)

Cheers Woolly

Fraktul
836 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

  #99359 10-Dec-2007 22:21
Send private message

Woolly: I thought of that so I went out and bought some Nano Thermal Grease. Took off the heatsink and cpu cleaned up with alcohol. Applied new grease thin layer and then put back together again.

Still skin temp on the copper tubes at the base.

After some research I see other Dell 8400's have the same problem and fix it by replacing the heatsink.

What I can't understand is why the copper tubes quite close to the CPU aren't even maybe a little bit warm.

Is there some kind of fluid in the Heatsink (refrigerant?)

Cheers Woolly


Yes, it is filled with a fluid which heats, evaporates and condenses within the different thermal gradients of the pipe.



Woolly

119 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user


  #99360 10-Dec-2007 22:31
Send private message

Ok so say the heatsink is in contact with the CPU Ok but the fluid has leaked out.

Would the copper pipes not get warm?

Does the fluid evaporate if it leaks?

What is the fluid?

Cheers

Fraktul
836 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

  #99371 11-Dec-2007 01:00
Send private message

Woolly: Ok so say the heatsink is in contact with the CPU Ok but the fluid has leaked out.

Would the copper pipes not get warm?

Does the fluid evaporate if it leaks?

What is the fluid?

Cheers


Yes they would get warm.

Yes.

Probably alcohol or similar liquid with a low evaporation point.

Create new topic





News and reviews »

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00


eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07


BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21


eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01


WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32


RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26


Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24


Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05


Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22


Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46


Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42


D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34


Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.