The exhaust on my desktop seems too hot to me. How can I tell if I have a problem?

[MrManFam]

I ruined a laptop because it overheated. Now the fan exhaust of my DESKTOP seems to be hotter then it used to be and I worry. The vents are clear of dust, there is airspace around the chassis. I wonder if the power supply is overheating. I'm using a thermometer to monitor the temperature of the exhaust and it goes from 88 degrees F to 100 degrees F. Is this too hot?

I'm now also using a small fan to blow cooler air against the back of the desktop cabinet and it lowers the temp. Do I assume it's the power supply? What should I do?

I have an HP m9600t running Windows Ultimate 64 bit.

[Big_Dave]

Hi,

Does your cabinet have vents along the right and left top edges? Is the PC enclosed in a restricted air space (cabinet)?

It's possible that your video card fan is not working.  Open up you PC and make sure all of the fans are spinning.

Download GPU-Z and coretemp to monitor the internal components.  What readings are you getting for the video card and the CPUs?

Replacement power supplies, depending on the model selected, normally have bigger fans compared to the stock HP power supply.

What video card are you using?  What applications are you using when the temperature goes to 100 degrees F?

[MrManFam]

My graphics card is a 1GB ATI Radeon HD 4850 (2DVI,HDMI adpt). I spend HOURS looking at friends pics on Flickr each day.

My cabinet has vents on the 2 sides and back and there is plenty of room around them and I dust them and use the canned air.

GPU-Z and coretemp are showing things I don't understand

GPU-Z shows GPU Temp = 64 degrees C; fan speed zero %, GPU load 0 %;  then a second fan speed of 2256 rpm (and changing); GPU temp DISPIO 65; MEMIO 61; SHADERCORE 64; Core Temp shows tj max 212 degrees; core 0 =151; Core 1 = 149; 2 = 163; 3 = 151 All constantly changing also.

Note that this is while my external fan is running, My external thermometer reads 85 degrees F

[Big_Dave]

Hi,

Review this article on the use of coretemp.

My GTX 460 is showing 44c at idle with a fan speed of 1110 rpm (30%).

[Big_Dave]

HI,

What is the ambient room temperature five feet from the PC?

[MrManFam]

It's my living room so normal room temperature. First thing this morning (before I turned the computer on), the thermometer read 81 degrees (but the overall room temperature WAS cooler).

[Big_Dave]

Hi,

If your living romm is 81 degrees then it will be more difficult to cool the PC.  81 degree air going into the PC is going to be hotter when the air exits the PC.

[MrManFam]

But the room temperature has ALWAYS been what it is. The overheating of the computer is recent.

[Big_Dave]

Hi,

I can't say for sure for it's seems strange the gpu-z show 0 rpm for one fan.

You might try PC Wizard and see what it indicates.

Intensive video application will drive a hotter temperture for the video card.

Try reseating the video card and memory dimms.

[MrManFam]

That ZERO reading for the fan was a PERCENT reading.