Building a PC
24 October ’10
Once I decided I wanted to build a PC, I started looking around for some deals. Tigerdirect had a AMD Phenom X4 (quad core) based system on sale at $299. I went for it. The kit didn't include a CPU fan. Weird.
When I booted up my computer after assembling it, there was a bios message that said that the CPU was not compatible with the mother board. Weird.
Once I installed Ubuntu and got it running, I checked the CPU temperatures and it was running close to 60 deg C. The spec sheet said 61 was the system critical temperature. Very weird.
A day later I got an email from Tigerdirect saying that (due to poor information from a vendor) they had included an incorrect rev of the CPU with the kit. The replaced my CPU at no extra charge (they also provided my return shipping label).
After I installed the new CPU the bios error was gone, but the temperature was still high. I reversed the case fan so it would blow inward, and that dropped the temp to about 55. Still not good.
Then I went back and read a review on the CPU from a year ago and they rated the chip as pretty good, but they warned that for sure this was going to be a hot one - a prime candidate for liquid cooling even, they said.
I have ordered a much nicer heatsink / cpu fan. Hope that helps.
When I booted up my computer after assembling it, there was a bios message that said that the CPU was not compatible with the mother board. Weird.
Once I installed Ubuntu and got it running, I checked the CPU temperatures and it was running close to 60 deg C. The spec sheet said 61 was the system critical temperature. Very weird.
A day later I got an email from Tigerdirect saying that (due to poor information from a vendor) they had included an incorrect rev of the CPU with the kit. The replaced my CPU at no extra charge (they also provided my return shipping label).
After I installed the new CPU the bios error was gone, but the temperature was still high. I reversed the case fan so it would blow inward, and that dropped the temp to about 55. Still not good.
Then I went back and read a review on the CPU from a year ago and they rated the chip as pretty good, but they warned that for sure this was going to be a hot one - a prime candidate for liquid cooling even, they said.
I have ordered a much nicer heatsink / cpu fan. Hope that helps.