Computer Processors...

[sox 06]

I installed the Pentium 4 today and everything went smoothly as far as I can tell

The thermal paste was kind of tricky. I put the amount that the directions told me to apply on the processor and it took me a long time to spread it out evenly and thinly. The processor was recognized automatically so that was good. I took some temperature readings with the old processor so I could compare them to the new processor...
Old Processor:
After running for 5 minutes: 81 degrees F
After running for 20 minutes: 87 degrees F
After running for 30 minutes: 89 degrees F

New Processor:
After running for 5 minutes: 78 degrees F
After running for 20 minutes: 84 degrees F
After running for 30 minutes: 86 degrees F

So apparently this processor is running cooler than the other one. Is this because of the new thermal paste? I'm going to mess around with it to see the difference in the performance of the computer. Another cool thing is the Pentium 4 has Hyper-threading Technology which I enabled in the BIOS

[scottaa1]

It's running even cooler than the Celeron chip? That's awesome, I was a little concerned about that. Did you use the arctic silver?

More importantly, how much faster is the box running? Glad it's working out and you're having fun with your project.

[scottaa1]

Another cool thing is the Pentium 4 has Hyper-threading Technology which I enabled in the BIOS

so if the chip is running nice and cool... does the BIOS allow for adjusting the bus speed? I'd be tempted, considering it's a project box, to bump up the bus speed and overclock. it's an experiment, so why not play around a bit

[sox 06]

It's running even cooler than the Celeron chip? That's awesome, I was a little concerned about that. Did you use the arctic silver?

More importantly, how much faster is the box running? Glad it's working out and you're having fun with your project.

I was amazed that it runs cooler, but those temperatures were taken while it was just idling on the desktop, but still. When I did some CPU-intensive things, such as watching TV, the temperature stayed steady around 115 degrees. I didn't take a temperature reading with the Celeron chip streaming TV but I'm hoping this is in the "normal temp range" for a computer.

I couldn't find AS5 in any stores around here and I didn't feel like ordering it online so I went with Antec Silver Compound. From what I can tell, its just AS5 that has been repackaged under a different name. It also has some good customer reviews.

The box is running so much better. From the Windows XP login screen to the desktop is about a second, no kidding. The standard definition cable is a lot smoother than it was before. Google Chrome loads almost as fast as it does on my laptop (Intel Core 2 Duo with 4GB RAM).

I haven't really looked into the ability to overclock, but I know it wasn't possible with the Celeron processor and I'm using the same BIOS as before, but I'll certainly look into it

[scottaa1]

dude I'm geeked that it's turning out so well

[sox 06]

dude I'm geeked that it's turning out so well

Ha, me too

So do you think the 115 degrees Fahrenheit is normal? I know that's kind of an odd and specific question, but I've looked online and have read that some people's computers run around 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Should I think about installing a better CPU fan or should I just roll with what I have?

[scottaa1]

115 isn't bad/. It'd be locking Up if there were heat issues. If its been running this long without seizing; youre fine.

Sorry for typos on iPhone

[sox 06]

So I can't adjust the bus speed through the BIOS. That's alright though because the computer is running real smooth right now. With the old Celeron processor, the CPU Usage was at 100% when I was watching live TV. With the new Pentium 4 processor, the CPU Usage stays steady between 48-55% while watching live TV

An idea that I just thought of is getting a fan for the case. There is a spot on the back of the case that has a grate and some holes around it where a case fan is usually located. There appears to be a 3-pin connector nearby on the motherboard (the CPU fan has a 3-pin connector). Would getting a fan be a good idea to help get the hot air out of the case?

[scottaa1]

if you're not having heat issues, I wouldn't eat any more power... I think you said 350 watt was the upgraded power supply? that's still a bit low, considering the upgrades you've made to it (sound, video, cpu).

speaking of electricity, it's a major thunder and lightning storm here! I just drove home from friends from a new year's party, and it's raining so hard that without the lightning it was tough to see the road at times.

Home sweet home

[sox 06]

if you're not having heat issues, I wouldn't eat any more power... I think you said 350 watt was the upgraded power supply? that's still a bit low, considering the upgrades you've made to it (sound, video, cpu).

speaking of electricity, it's a major thunder and lightning storm here! I just drove home from friends from a new year's party, and it's raining so hard that without the lightning it was tough to see the road at times.

Home sweet home

As far as I can tell I'm not having any heat problems, but getting some of the heat out of the case would be nice. I've always worried about the PSU not being powerful enough. If I were to get a fan, how much more power are we talking to safely run everything? 400W? 450W+?