Hyper Media Centre Advice

greer1988 · Member Joined: 04 Jul 2004

Hey guys, i bought this media centre case http://www.eclipsecomputers.com/product.aspx?code=CAH-MCE-SI on a bit of a whim, because i had some parts around the house, but i could use some advice on where it needs upgrade,

I have a socket A micro ATX board which obviously fits, with AMD DURON (about 1.2)
an old 128 graphics card simply because it has TV out and maybe 500mb of memory,

my problem is that it keeps over heating, in a bit way. I've never had it last for more than maybe 30 minutes without shutting down because its too hot, I bought this heatsink because its low profile ( the case requires the heatsink be 40mm or under) http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=530854

I think somebody told me once that duron ran very very hot, can anyone suggest a better processor?
which runs cooler? Duron, Sempron, Athlon or XP?

and most importantly could anyone suggest a miracle heatsink which is 40mm tall or less, very quiet but very cool? Because the heatsink on at the minute is ruining my rainbow brite episodes

thanks

redwudz · Mod Neophyte Joined: 07 Sep 2002 Location: AZ, USA

Here's a listing of Socket A (462) CPUs. http://www.cpu-world.com/Sockets/Socket%20462%20(Socket%20A).html
You would have to check to see which ones are compatible with your motherboard. Availability may be a problem also, so you might have to look around to find them. The mobile CPUs are likely the lowest power consumers and would run cooler. Some of the Athlons in that series run hot also.

Check the wattage specifications for the CPUs and try to find one with lower power consumption:
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_1260,00.html

You also want to make sure your thermal compound is good quality. Also with 462 CPUs, I believe there is a 'ledge' on the cooler. If you place it backwards or a edge of the cooler is up on that ledge, the CPU will overheat and shut down very quickly. Make sure it's making full contact with the CPU die. I have done that once and it's hard to see unless you look at the cooler base at a low angle.

For low profile coolers, you may just have to look around, unless someone here can suggest one for the 462 processors. Also check your case cooling. Those type of cases sometimes have terrible air circulation. If the CPU runs much cooler with the case off, then you may need a better case fan setup.