Hot air emits from desktop while gaming

[cathay]

Need guru IT expert advice. This is during 1080p gaming with the case about half meter away from monitor can feel a huge wave of heat all over the desk. It is rather unbearable as it cause me to perspire even with fans.

I have check the temps as follow
cpu 3470 idle - 40, web surf - 45 to 50, 1080p gaming 70 to 80
gpu 460gtx max gaming - 69

The cpu is on intel stock cooler. There isn't much heat when not gaming and I am looking at options to reduce the temp as much as possible. Also felt that the power supply emits a large quantity of heat while gaming and even while idle a soft warm air is constantly dissipating from the rear.

Case profile is micro ATX tower with 1 intake and exhaust fan.

I have the following questions:
1) what could be the likely cause of excess heat?
2) Are the temps fine and is there require 3rd party cooler?
3) is the power supply losing efficiency hence the fan is not effective to cool the power supply?

Any recommendations are appreciated.

 

[ondooy]

clean your pc...

 

[MoneyFace =p]

How long ago was your last maintenance/springcleaning (if ever)?

Dust accumulated within will trap heat...

 

[Krabs.]

temps no problem at all ......


the power supply should have about 70% efficiency at low usage 100watt and under ....... that is 30watt of heat created
a very good power supply is high 80s % ..... still output 10+ watt of heat

 

[cathay]

My sentiments hence further week ago I had has been cleaned all fans and casing with air duster and rebuilt from scratch. However the cpu thermal seems normal at without 1080p gaming. Idle at 40, youtube at 45 to 50 hence I thought the paste which installed in 3 years back with the stock pre applied intel cooler was decent.

I did not resit the cooler as the already nicely stock thermal paste would be destroyed and I am happy with the non gaming temps. I am suspecting that it could be the overloading of the power supply as it was a lower tier manufacturer. But would be useful if more guru could share their experience and insights so as to ensure that the source of issue is distinguished. My main shoutout is the enormous heat produced while gaming which can be annoying

 

[cathay]

temps no problem at all ......


the power supply should have about 70% efficiency at low usage 100watt and under ....... that is 30watt of heat created
a very good power supply is high 80s % ..... still output 10+ watt of heat

The power supply has a 80plus rating but overkill at 650W. Total system draw was only 400 max load on the gtx460. Does an overrated psu creates more wasted heat? There are about 250W headroom.

 

[Krabs.]

don't put too much attention into the idle temperature , the sensor is not suppose to be accurate at this area , it is designed to be accurate at the final thermal throttling temperature only , near 100 celcius

the rig is working , no need to change

graphic card consume the most power , either you change it (unnecessary expense ) or you switch the left right side you put the computer casing so your fan will push the cool air to you first and your computer is down wind

 

[lalalalalala]

if u really want to fix then change ur gpu to a more powerful one or turn down the resolution lo.. that 80deg has to exhaust somewhere what...

if not just change the orientation such that the exhaust is away from you

 

[wwenze]

err... well, a PC that draws 200W of electricity when gaming will emit 200W of heat

 

[Krabs.]

The power supply has a 80plus rating but overkill at 650W. Total system draw was only 400 max load on the gtx460. Does an overrated psu creates more wasted heat? There are about 250W headroom.

80plus refers to the maximum efficiency it can attain , which happens only at about 40-60% of it's maximum capacity

for example my PSU is platinum rating ... rated 92% efficiency , I see review it actually reach 94% maximum but drop to ~87% efficency at the 100watt and under for idle


the efficiency loss for "oversized" psu at idle is very little , a couple watt 1 2 3
but oversized PSU inside have bigger capacitors which are more beefy

 

[wwenze]

The power supply has a 80plus rating but overkill at 650W. Total system draw was only 400 max load on the gtx460. Does an overrated psu creates more wasted heat? There are about 250W headroom.

This is pretty high. Did you measure that with a power meter, and do you overclock your GTX 460?

 

[cathay]

don't put too much attention into the idle temperature , the sensor is not suppose to be accurate at this area , it is designed to be accurate at the final thermal throttling temperature only , near 100 celcius

the rig is working , no need to change

graphic card consume the most power , either you change it (unnecessary expense ) or you switch the left right side you put the computer casing so your fan will push the cool air to you first and your computer is down wind

I am afraid there are limitations on the physical location adjustment due to space constraints and desk aesthetic. I am looking at improving the thermal output of the rig instead but appreciated your input.

 

[Piezoq]

Problem: Excess heat while gaming. (it's a common problem)

Cheap solution: Operate a stand fan and dissipate heat to open window.

More expensive solution: Air-conditioning

Changing the case/fans/coolers/GPU/CPU may help with noise but all that heat (about 300W or more worth) has to go somewhere. It's either ventilation or air-con.

 

[cathay]

if u really want to fix then change ur gpu to a more powerful one or turn down the resolution lo.. that 80deg has to exhaust somewhere what...

if not just change the orientation such that the exhaust is away from you

I am contemplating between a polaris R9 480 or the current 390 with the gtx970. Which is a good upgrade for 1080p gaming? Orientation is somewhat limited due to space constraints. Looking at improving its thermal properties by upgrades.

 

[alamakazim]

no aircon right?

enclose area also? got open before server rack? once u open the door... all the warm air gush out

 

[cathay]

Problem: Excess heat while gaming. (it's a common problem)

Cheap solution: Operate a stand fan and dissipate heat to open window.

More expensive solution: Air-conditioning

Changing the case/fans/coolers/GPU/CPU may help with noise but all that heat (about 300W or more worth) has to go somewhere. It's either ventilation or air-con.

Any inputs on ventilation? Does water cooling or radiator helps to absorb? I am living in an apartment with limited natural ventilation and wanted to reduce electrical footprint on 24/7 air conditioning.

 

[Krabs.]

Any inputs on ventilation? Does water cooling or radiator helps to absorb? I am living in an apartment with limited natural ventilation and wanted to reduce electrical footprint on 24/7 air conditioning.

the computer use 400watt then it will output 400watt pf heat out of the casing

air cooling or liquid cooling is same unless you pipe the warm water out your room which is absurd

 

[wwenze]

you see you see you see...

The amount of energy dissipated is calculated as the amount of energy stored in a unit mass or volume of air a.k.a. temperature of the air, multiplied by the volume / mass of air flowing out of your system

Whether you have vents or water cooling, this law of physics will not change. Water cooling, additional vents will only lower the temperature of the CPU at which this amount of heat leaves the system.

You want cooler exhaust? Make it faster then.

 

[Koenig168]

Time to re-seat the CPU cooler and change the thermal paste. Thermal paste do dry up after some time.

mATX cases tend to trap heat due to limited air circulation. You can just remove the side panel.

 

[cathay]

Thank you guys for all the inputs. I am going for a cooler and chassis upgrade for a start before tapping on further hardware enhancement. Two questions for inputs.

1) Deepcool gamerstorm Lucifer high performance tower cpu cooler. is this good for stock 3470? What temp to expect after upgrade for load gaming?
2) Corsair Carbide Series 100R - is this case cooling good?