Motherboard Suggestions For P4 3.0e

[Jbitzer]

I have the following hardware:

 

Abit IC7 flashed with BIOS version 26 and set at 'Optimized defaults'

Intel P4 Prescott 3.0Ghz 1mb cache, 800 FSB, socket 478

Ultra Aluminum cooling fan socket 478 (rated up to P4 3.06 Ghz)

XFX Geforce FX5900XT 128 MB DDR TV/DVI AGP

WD Caviar SE 200 GB EIDE HD

Ultra 512 MB PC3200 DDR 400mhz (I have 2 of these chips installed)

Maddog 16X DVD RW/CD RW drive

Maddog CD-RW/DVD Combo drive

 

I have been battling this for about 3 weeks where the heat with this motherboard is through the roof! I am averaging a temp of 58c when idle and off the charts unnder load. I have added fans, I have the board at standard config (not overclocked) and cannot get the CPU temp under 50c no matter what I do!

 

I have contacted Abit and they don't acknowledge any heat problems with these boards. Other people I have talked with say this board runs high but they were able to get the CPU in the mid 30c range.

 

I have just about had it with this board and want to swap it for something else where I can manage the temp and performance.

 

Based on my config above could I have some suggestions on what board I should go with. This system will be used as a family PC running aps like IE, quicken, Media player, Roxio, and some gaming. I'm looking for a board that can perform well and keep the heat manageble. I will be adding a Zalman copper fan to whatever board I get.

 

Help Please!

[r_target]

Two things: Abit P4 boards read temps 5c-10c higher than many other boards. Abit says their way of calculating temperatures is closer to correct.

 

Secondly, those temps are not far off from what most people are getting with Prescotts. I know it sucks, but try to find the best aftermarket P4 cooler you can. Thermalright makes excellent heatsinks.

 

I've got an IC7 with a Northwood core P4 clocked to 3.3Ghz; load temps are 44c-46c.

[Jbitzer]

"I've got an IC7 with a Northwood core P4 clocked to 3.3Ghz; load temps are 44c-46c. "

 

I would be happy with 44c! Last night just for fun I loaded and ran 'Black Hawk Down'. Withing 90 seconds the system hit 70c and the entire system locked up. I have poked arounbd different forums and people with the same basic config are getting much lower temps. I really think this MB is the problem.

 

I'm actually looking for something else. Running in the 70c range doesn't do anybody any good. It's not much fun when you dump $1000.00 on components and the system is only good for surfing the web!

[GTSticky]

but they were able to get the CPU in the mid 30c range

 

I highly doubt this..

 

Frankly, with Prescott the temps don't matter much until they impact performance. I wouldn't throw away a perfectly good board because of a temp sensor reading.

 

Also, I just looked up your heat sink, it seems weak to me. Even a zalman 7000 should do better than that aluminum POS.

[Guest FxXP]

I concur that the E's are hot. I've built a few P4 systems already with them and even the low performing AE 2.4 runs at 44-45C stock.

[Jbitzer]

I'm going to try another board to rule out any inconsistencies with the P4 processors. In the mass array of boards does anyone have any feedback regarding intel line of boards?

 

I know they have limitations as far as overclocking but I'm looking for stability and reliability at this point in the game.

 

I have read many posts about abit and asus running hotter than norm so I need a replacement for the Abit IC7

[Guest FxXP]

I can only recommend the DFI Infinity 875 or the LP 875