Would a CPU upgrade cause heat problems for gaming computer.

[ATARI800XLfan]

Hello. I currently have a Asus CM-1730 computer that I have been rebuilding for gaming. It has a AMD 7770 GPU, Corsair GS600, 8gigs of ram, 750GB hard drive. Currently it has a Phenom II X2 560 paired with a cooler master GeminII M4 cooler.

I am thinking of upgrading to either a AMD FX-4300 or AMD FX-6300. Would the six core for 10 dollars more create that much more heat. I do plain on replacing the fan the cooler master has for one the same size but slightly better airflow.

The case currently has a 92mm thermaltake fan on the back and a 80mm on the front. While I would not mind a new case I am on a very tight budget and the dual core is holding my GPU back in games like Guild wars 2.

monitor resolution is 1600X900.

[Cronozilla]

Well, the Phenom IIs are less efficient, but that specific chip is about 15W less in power consumption than both of those FX chips. So ... it should run either the same or a little warmer based on power consumption. Whether or not that is negated by a cooling solution, I can't say. It should be similar to what it is now, though. It's not like comparing a 65W CPU to a 120W CPU or anything.

From the sound of it, it seems like the largest factor in the system retaining heat is your cases' airflow. A single set of a 92mm and 80mm fan aren't going to push that much air.

What temperatures are you getting now on the CPU and GPU?

[ATARI800XLfan]

Well, the Phenom IIs are less efficient, but that specific chip is about 15W less in power consumption than both of those FX chips. So ... it should run either the same or a little warmer based on power consumption. Whether or not that is negated by a cooling solution, I can't say. It should be similar to what it is now, though. It's not like comparing a 65W CPU to a 120W CPU or anything.

From the sound of it, it seems like the largest factor in the system retaining heat is your cases' airflow. A single set of a 92mm and 80mm fan aren't going to push that much air.

What temperatures are you getting now on the CPU and GPU?

on CPU usually after playing hours of gaming like Guild wars 2 max temp on core temp is around 48-49 degrees C, on the GPU max the AMD 7770 seems to get is mid 60's according to MSI afterburner slightly overclocked with the core overclocked by 75mhz and the memory by 25-50 mhz.

I should mention I hope to have a 92 mm on back when I upgrade, right now I just have two 80mm. power supply is top mounted. The fan I plan on putting on the cooler should get around 11 more CFM then the stock fan. when on the web it stays under 30 degrees

Should I get the FX-6300 over the FX-4300, budget limit is around $250 including motherboard.

[Cronozilla]

Well six core vs four. They seem to use roughly the same amount of power. A hexacore will last you longer for games, that's for sure. It's not even a speed or power thing, it's a parallelization thing, as they become more parallelized the 6 core would perform better further into the future.

[ATARI800XLfan]

Well six core vs four. They seem to use roughly the same amount of power. A hexacore will last you longer for games, that's for sure. It's not even a speed or power thing, it's a parallelization thing, as they become more parallelized the 6 core would perform better further into the future.

Plus the hex core is only 0.3Ghz slower, I am sure I could overclock it if need be, not sure though with a 600 watt power supply, How did my temps sound? This is the computer I started with. http://www.asus.com/Desktop/Entertainme ... io_CM1730/

[Cronozilla]

To be honest, you should design the flow such that the load temp for the GPU gets to maybe 60 or 62 under 100% utilization, and the CPU gets to maybe 50 or 55 while under 100% load. At idle, your goal should be mid-20-30s for the GPU, and 30s for CPU. Which is perfectly possible with good ventilation.

Consider putting in as large of case fans as you can. The rule of thumb is "more in than out". If there's no air to absorb the heat, there won't be any heat transfer going on. But you also can't just leave all the air inside. A CPU fan can only exhaust into the case unless you have a different sort of external flow design, but that's unlikely. So, even if it's a 240mm fan ... unless the atmosphere it's blowing into is cooler than what it is, it's not going to help as much as investing in better ventilation for the case.

I'd say, a case with better ventilation should be on your priority list at this point. You should also want to find something that has a bottom mounted power supply, just to keep that additional heat away from the CPU, and then those cases usually have top fans ports as well. There's some that are pretty reasonable in price (I got mine for $45 decked out with fans. The normal price is about $25 more)

We're getting to the point where ... parts are just being refined and made more efficient, but the next generation or the generation after that (or when you upgrade again) will not be as efficient and the power requirements are steadily going up, in general. (My current dual core CPU is a 45W chip! Now 95W is sort of the standard) So, case ventilation is more important than ever, really.

It sounds like the computer will run fine. It's not idling in the 50s or anything, so it's not in the 70s under load which is good.

[ATARI800XLfan]

To be honest, you should design the flow such that the load temp for the GPU gets to maybe 60 or 62 under 100% utilization, and the CPU gets to maybe 50 or 55 while under 100% load. At idle, your goal should be mid-20-30s for the GPU, and 30s for CPU. Which is perfectly possible with good ventilation.

Consider putting in as large of case fans as you can. The rule of thumb is "more in than out". If there's no air to absorb the heat, there won't be any heat transfer going on. But you also can't just leave all the air inside. A CPU fan can only exhaust into the case unless you have a different sort of external flow design, but that's unlikely. So, even if it's a 240mm fan ... unless the atmosphere it's blowing into is cooler than what it is, it's not going to help as much as investing in better ventilation for the case.

I'd say, a case with better ventilation should be on your priority list at this point. You should also want to find something that has a bottom mounted power supply, just to keep that additional heat away from the CPU, and then those cases usually have top fans ports as well. There's some that are pretty reasonable in price (I got mine for $45 decked out with fans. The normal price is about $25 more)

We're getting to the point where ... parts are just being refined and made more efficient, but the next generation or the generation after that (or when you upgrade again) will not be as efficient and the power requirements are steadily going up, in general. (My current dual core CPU is a 45W chip! Now 95W is sort of the standard) So, case ventilation is more important than ever, really.

It sounds like the computer will run fine. It's not idling in the 50s or anything, so it's not in the 70s under load which is good.

the computer does have side vents on the one panel for the CPU and GPU fans to be able to suck air into the case. though the front panel is mostly sealed so not sure how much air is getting in the front, might drill some holes along bottom of front panel to get more air in. as for GPU idle is around 36 while on the internet watching music videos, CPU is idea-ling around 29-30 right now. slightly off topic but I have noticed windows says I have a 1GB card but on directx diagnostic tool it is saying my available video memory is only 746MB is that normal. card is a Visiontek, Thanks for the help as for cases would probably be next upgrade after this one, looking at a thermaltake V3. which is a bit bigger my current case is only 14.25 inches in depth and 6.5 in width.

[Cronozilla]

I don't know if the disparage is normal, it's certainly not something I've ran into myself very often.

Unlike HDDs GPU memory doesn't change size for whatever reason. So, it's likely one number is more accurate than another.

I suppose it's possible the 745MB is the actual amount of memory there, and either Windows is rounding or there's system memory supplementing or something. I'm really not sure.

Those temps aren't bad. I would say ... more fans are generally better, you just need to figure out proper airflow. Holes in the front might not be the best idea. It can be tricky stuff, because you're changing the thermal design of the case, and you're also making holes which debris can get through.

It sounds like you can put more cooling in, though. So, I'd start there.