Broadband Ram Question.
Friday, November 10, 2006 by Z71 | Discussion: PC Hardware
After running 56k dial up, for years, I finally got broadband a couple of weeks ago.
My question: On 56k, my fan "never" came on. Now, it kicks in all the time.
I have 1 gig of ram and I know I need more. I've read people having as much as 4 gig's.
How much is enough and what is to much?
Is it a simple thing as just getting a better processor or do I need to go to extremes and get a new motherboard?
Any help is appreciated.
My question: On 56k, my fan "never" came on. Now, it kicks in all the time.
I have 1 gig of ram and I know I need more. I've read people having as much as 4 gig's.
How much is enough and what is to much?
Is it a simple thing as just getting a better processor or do I need to go to extremes and get a new motherboard?
Any help is appreciated.
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Lantec
Reply #2 Friday, November 10, 2006 9:35 PM
Reply #2 Friday, November 10, 2006 9:35 PM
I run AutoCAD and it's a hog. 1 gb should work Ross. That Celeron processor is probably more responsible than your physical memory.
Z71
Reply #4 Friday, November 10, 2006 9:40 PM
Reply #4 Friday, November 10, 2006 9:40 PM
OK, I'll try to make this real simple, then.
My motherboard keep getting hot. Hence, the fan keep kicking on.
What can I do to make it stop?
My motherboard keep getting hot. Hence, the fan keep kicking on.
What can I do to make it stop?
| I have 1 gig of ram and I know I need more. I've read people having as much as 4 gig's. How much is enough and what is to much? Is it a simple thing as just getting a better processor or do I need to go to extremes and get a new motherboard? |
yrag
Reply #5 Friday, November 10, 2006 9:44 PM
Reply #5 Friday, November 10, 2006 9:44 PM
Ok, Ross, now I got ya. The CPU fan is always on, but it might have cycled up to compensate for heat. What makes you think the 'board' is hot?
Z71
Reply #6 Friday, November 10, 2006 9:45 PM
Reply #6 Friday, November 10, 2006 9:45 PM
I think you're right about the processor.
I just needed a second opinion.
Thought someone might know something else that I may have over looked.
I just needed a second opinion.
Thought someone might know something else that I may have over looked.
Z71
Reply #7 Friday, November 10, 2006 9:46 PM
Reply #7 Friday, November 10, 2006 9:46 PM
I'm just guessing about the board.
The fan doesn't stay on, but it does go on from time to time.
The fan doesn't stay on, but it does go on from time to time.
yrag
Reply #8 Friday, November 10, 2006 9:58 PM
Reply #8 Friday, November 10, 2006 9:58 PM
The heat could be caused by any number of things. Case fans, power supply, dirt and even room temperature. Make sure all the fans are running and leave the side of the case off and see if the CPU fan goes back to normal. If your machine is hot, it will slow it down. I don't agree about the CPU update versus the memory.....I'd go for the RAM. Very honestly though, your setup is fairly well balanced...I'd leave it be.
I typed the above before I read that. That's your 'heat' problem right there. It should be running all the time. Either take the fan off and clean it or use compressed air with it on.
| The fan doesn't stay on, but it does go on from time to time. |
I typed the above before I read that. That's your 'heat' problem right there. It should be running all the time. Either take the fan off and clean it or use compressed air with it on.
Larry Kuperman
Reply #9 Friday, November 10, 2006 9:59 PM
Reply #9 Friday, November 10, 2006 9:59 PM
You might want to try to download SpeedFan to see what is going on:
WWW Link
WWW Link
Larry Kuperman
Reply #10 Friday, November 10, 2006 10:01 PM
Reply #10 Friday, November 10, 2006 10:01 PM
Oh and more details:
SpeedFan allows you to have a deeper view of the status of your computer. Almost every computer includes support for hardware monitoring. Accessing digital temperature sensors is really useful. If you are trying to figure out why your pc hangs when under heavy load or after some hours of usage, SpeedFan might help you to find the real cause. Very often it is a poor power supply, or an improperly installed heatsink that lead to behaviours that we tend to associate with errors from the operating system, but that are not. SpeedFan automatically searches your computer for interesting chips: the hardware monitor chips. SpeedFan can expose voltages, fan speeds and temperatures. On rare occasions, the BIOS doesn't activate such features. SpeedFan tries to enable them as long as this is a safe thing to do. Not only the motherboard is searched, but also some video cards and almost every recent hard disk. SpeedFan can access status info from EIDE, SATA and even SCSI drives, showing, in a consistent way, internal data that can be used to diagnose current and future hard disk failures. This is known as S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology). At the lowest level, SpeedFan is an hardware monitor software that can access digital temperature sensors, but its main feature is that it can control fan speeds according to the temperatures inside your pc, thus reducing noise.
SpeedFan allows you to have a deeper view of the status of your computer. Almost every computer includes support for hardware monitoring. Accessing digital temperature sensors is really useful. If you are trying to figure out why your pc hangs when under heavy load or after some hours of usage, SpeedFan might help you to find the real cause. Very often it is a poor power supply, or an improperly installed heatsink that lead to behaviours that we tend to associate with errors from the operating system, but that are not. SpeedFan automatically searches your computer for interesting chips: the hardware monitor chips. SpeedFan can expose voltages, fan speeds and temperatures. On rare occasions, the BIOS doesn't activate such features. SpeedFan tries to enable them as long as this is a safe thing to do. Not only the motherboard is searched, but also some video cards and almost every recent hard disk. SpeedFan can access status info from EIDE, SATA and even SCSI drives, showing, in a consistent way, internal data that can be used to diagnose current and future hard disk failures. This is known as S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology). At the lowest level, SpeedFan is an hardware monitor software that can access digital temperature sensors, but its main feature is that it can control fan speeds according to the temperatures inside your pc, thus reducing noise.
Z71
Reply #11 Friday, November 10, 2006 10:10 PM
Reply #11 Friday, November 10, 2006 10:10 PM
Thanks yrag. Good points.
And thanks Larry. I'll check it out. Very useful advice.
And thanks Larry. I'll check it out. Very useful advice.
kona0197
Reply #12 Friday, November 10, 2006 11:04 PM
Reply #12 Friday, November 10, 2006 11:04 PM
That speedfan program can't be right. says my HDD is running at a temp of 122F. That's not right at all.
Z71
Reply #13 Saturday, November 11, 2006 3:47 AM
Reply #13 Saturday, November 11, 2006 3:47 AM
Sorry to say, I had to delete it.
You don't want it running while you're doing "anything".
Computer kept seizing up and major delays.
Maybe, I was just using it wrong.
You don't want it running while you're doing "anything".
Computer kept seizing up and major delays.
Maybe, I was just using it wrong.
Lantec
Reply #14 Saturday, November 11, 2006 10:55 AM
I wasn't recommending a CPU update I just meant that for the Fan issue it was a more likely candidate than the amount of ram if DSL service is causing the fan to ramp up.
Reply #14 Saturday, November 11, 2006 10:55 AM
| I don't agree about the CPU update versus the memory.....I'd go for the RAM. Very honestly though, your setup is fairly well balanced...I'd leave it be. |
I wasn't recommending a CPU update I just meant that for the Fan issue it was a more likely candidate than the amount of ram if DSL service is causing the fan to ramp up.
Z71
Reply #15 Saturday, November 11, 2006 11:08 AM
Reply #15 Saturday, November 11, 2006 11:08 AM
OK, after all this fantastic feedback, what I'll probably do it boost my ram up 1GB and update the prosessor.
With Vista coming, I'm probably alright, but I think it couldn't hurt.
Thanks everyone.
With Vista coming, I'm probably alright, but I think it couldn't hurt.
Thanks everyone.
bakerstreet
Reply #16 Saturday, November 11, 2006 11:13 AM
Reply #16 Saturday, November 11, 2006 11:13 AM
I think you are overthinking this, frankly. Most likely what is happening is your fan is either dirty inside or dying, and instead of kicking on and off, it is just spinning down because it isn't working properly. I've seen computers run with a fan like that for a long time, and with processors far hotter than should be survivable.
I wouldn't upgrade anything until I needed to. It would be a shame to waste money on upgrades only to find that you'd be better off just building/buying a new machine for Vista. Once you have your fan issue fixed, I'd assess whatever else might be wrong.
It should have nothing whatsoever to do with your connection speed, though.
I wouldn't upgrade anything until I needed to. It would be a shame to waste money on upgrades only to find that you'd be better off just building/buying a new machine for Vista. Once you have your fan issue fixed, I'd assess whatever else might be wrong.
It should have nothing whatsoever to do with your connection speed, though.
Z71
Reply #17 Saturday, November 11, 2006 11:30 AM
Reply #17 Saturday, November 11, 2006 11:30 AM
I've found that whenever I watch movie trailers one right after the other, 4 or 5 times that the fan kicks on.
OR, if I run Skin Studio and reapply a wb skin multiple times, then the fan will kick on, just for a few min.
I know I'm eating up the memory....
I will agree on the connection speed. It's not what it's doing. It's what I'm doing, that's the problem. Need to get my computer compatible with ME.
OR, if I run Skin Studio and reapply a wb skin multiple times, then the fan will kick on, just for a few min.
I know I'm eating up the memory....
I will agree on the connection speed. It's not what it's doing. It's what I'm doing, that's the problem. Need to get my computer compatible with ME.
bakerstreet
Reply #18 Saturday, November 11, 2006 11:38 AM
Reply #18 Saturday, November 11, 2006 11:38 AM
ME? Well, that could be part of your problem right there.
I guess one thing I'd have to ask is what the real problem is. If your fan is supposed to be kicking on, and it kicks on, why worry about it? If your performance isn't degrading, then you don't have a problem.
If you computer is running hot, again, you don't know how many fans I've replaced from people over the years who had me there to "overhaul" a slow system. If your fan is clogged or wearing out, you'll have system slowdown as the computer gets hot. If you aren't having problems, and you think the fan thing is your computer purposely controlling it, I don't see really what there is to fix.
I guess one thing I'd have to ask is what the real problem is. If your fan is supposed to be kicking on, and it kicks on, why worry about it? If your performance isn't degrading, then you don't have a problem.
If you computer is running hot, again, you don't know how many fans I've replaced from people over the years who had me there to "overhaul" a slow system. If your fan is clogged or wearing out, you'll have system slowdown as the computer gets hot. If you aren't having problems, and you think the fan thing is your computer purposely controlling it, I don't see really what there is to fix.
bakerstreet
Reply #19 Saturday, November 11, 2006 11:45 AM
Reply #19 Saturday, November 11, 2006 11:45 AM
Maybe I'm not being clear about the fan.
You see if your computer controls the fan, it gauges the RPM. A new, well behaved fan might maintain a good RPM without much noticeable effort. As it wears out and get dirty inside, it slows down and is more difficult to turn.
The computer sees the RPMs drop and sees the system temperature and decides to throttle it up. This would make it seem like your computer is hotter and working harder than normal, when in reality your fan is just slower and having to work harder to keep the RPM the motherboard is requesting.
Regardless, it would be a serious mistake, imho, to put more money into this system before a) you know what is really wrong, and
whether not it CAN be upgraded to work well with Vista.
You see if your computer controls the fan, it gauges the RPM. A new, well behaved fan might maintain a good RPM without much noticeable effort. As it wears out and get dirty inside, it slows down and is more difficult to turn.
The computer sees the RPMs drop and sees the system temperature and decides to throttle it up. This would make it seem like your computer is hotter and working harder than normal, when in reality your fan is just slower and having to work harder to keep the RPM the motherboard is requesting.
Regardless, it would be a serious mistake, imho, to put more money into this system before a) you know what is really wrong, and
whether not it CAN be upgraded to work well with Vista.
Z71
Reply #20 Saturday, November 11, 2006 2:54 PM
I meant to say, need to get it compatible with (myself), not "WindowME".
Too funny.
Thank BakerStreet. I'll take it into concideration.
Reply #20 Saturday, November 11, 2006 2:54 PM
| Need to get my computer compatible with ME. |
I meant to say, need to get it compatible with (myself), not "WindowME".
Too funny.
Thank BakerStreet. I'll take it into concideration.
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Reply #1 Friday, November 10, 2006 9:30 PM
yrag scratches head......
What, exactly is the question???????