Pc cleaning

[Kadri]

I was rendering a long animation and got CPU temps near 91-93 Celsius. It was clear that the pc needed cleaning.
After the cleaning i got maximum 81 Celsius.
Yeah you all may know this, but just wanted to remind if there are people who don't care or know this.

[D.A. Bentley (SuddenPlanet)]

I blow the dust out of my PC every 4 months or so.  I find it easy with an electric leaf blower.  Compressed air in a can can get kind of cold on your hands.
I also have a good no-static duster attachment for my vacuum that helps.

I also built a filter box PC platform (similar to an air hockey table), but I am still working on the dust cover.  I'll post some photos when I get it done.  It basically makes a small area into a "Clean Room" or something similar to a server room with climate control/filtration.  Mine just filters the intake air though through about 8" of 24"x24" furnace filters.  It's big enough to fit 4 mid-tower PC stacked 2 wide, and 2 high.  It uses a fan like this:  https://www.amazon.com/Vortex-Powerfans-VTX800-739-Powerfan/dp/B001I49Q84

When it's all done I expect I will never have to clean my PC's again.    Just replace the filters probably once per year.

Derek

[digitalguru]

if you are having issues with your PC temps, you can also try undervolting your CPU.

Some CPUs run with more voltage than needed and you can actually reduce the voltage to reduce temps when the CPU is maxed out during rendering (even with a modest overclock), and also increase its lifespan.

There are programs that can do this (which I've never used) and I recommend doing it manually via the BIOS, but - massive disclaimer - but only after doing a bit of research - especially find articles related to your particular CPU and BIOS.

I did it on my PC when a BIOS reset (after updating) made it run very hot, even with liquid cooling. I reduced it in small increments, stress testing each time. Now it runs almost 12 degrees cooler.

[Kadri]

Thanks guys. I thought doing those things too in the past.  We blow out the dust mostly 2 times a year.
The filter box platform would be nice but our home pc use isn't much suited unfortunately.

I tried many things except undervolting the cpu. I restricted the cpu to 3.6 Ghz even it is actually a 3.7GHz AMD cpu 3.5 GHz AMD cpu ( Ryzen 9 3950X).
Without that it runs to 4.2 GHz and the temps were too high for my liking. Under 3.6  we didn't get much lower temps too.
So this looked like a good spot. This is with a good air cooler.
I don't like water coolers but it could be better maybe with this kind of cooler...
There are different takes on this on the web so not sure about that.

But i should try to test undervolting too. Even 5 degree less would be nice and maybe i could find a sweet spot with 3.7 Ghz or higher.

[WAS]

Do you have forced air? One thing I recommend when you're dealing with a workstation is using Speedfan, or similar software to create a custom fan arc. You want to be at maximum RPMs well before higher temp thresholds, to try and be on top of heat spikes, especially during 100% usage. Default system often responds to heat, rather than being preemptive, as most consumers want a silent system. Which makes sense in some cases, but I've never really had an issue with my PC being too loud. GPU is much louder than system fans. It helps a bit with TG, but for stuff like Blender, and other software that can hit 100% load for a few minutes and fluctuate all over with tasks your performing, it actually helps a lot in maintaining a cooler temp. CUrrently my case fans will go to 100% when CPU is at 74c, and when at 76c the CPU fan goes 100% (from 75% at 74c), lower end of the fan curve is default. 

I also clean my system about every couple months. I do want to get a better air solution. Cans are expensive, and I do live in a enclosed RV and worry about buildup of those fumes before being vented out.

[Kadri]

Jordan if you mean by forced air something like a compressor, yes i use a cheap but good enough one for dust blowing.
I had changed the fan utilization kinda the way you said in the bios already. The fans are kicking sooner then default at least.

if you are having issues with your PC temps, you can also try undervolting your CPU.

Some CPUs run with more voltage than needed and you can actually reduce the voltage to reduce temps when the CPU is maxed out during rendering (even with a modest overclock), and also increase its lifespan.

There are programs that can do this (which I've never used) and I recommend doing it manually via the BIOS, but - massive disclaimer - but only after doing a bit of research - especially find articles related to your particular CPU and BIOS.

I did it on my PC when a BIOS reset (after updating) made it run very hot, even with liquid cooling. I reduced it in small increments, stress testing each time. Now it runs almost 12 degrees cooler.

This was interesting to do. I had no luck in the past with overclocking so i lost any enthusiasm about it.
Maybe it was because of me or just bad luck with hardware.

As i don't know much about it i searched around and made some adjustments.
Including getting blue screens of course

I tried to go to 4.1 ghz but that was too much. Someone who knows what he is doing could go higher most probably as it looks.

4 looks promising but i wanted to go safer as i am rendering mostly full for weeks or for months even.
So i settled for 3.9 ghz.

I tested with cinebench as it looks like you can get fooled without real tests even the system looks as it is faster by the bios numbers.
A score of 23 300 (Cinebench R23) isn't bad i think. Worst part is, you kinda wait in anxiety for a couple of days for bluescreens.

The great part is the system is faster but the heat is lower. I see maximum 73 degree now while rendering.
So thank you very much

[Dune]

Interesting thread. Thanks guys. Undervolting sounds like an intriguing adventure, so, I'll have a go.
I have an air compressor, left over from my painting period - it even has an 'oil catcher'. So blowing out the case is done in a minute. Good reminder, as I tend to forget and only remember when my screens get black due to GPU failure.

[WAS]

Serious FYI do not overclock or underclock your system if you're on a warranty. It will flag your BIOS and void your warranty.

I'd try custom fan curves before playing with power to the die. Often heat spikes issues is because the CPU fan may be at 100%, but the case fans may be cycling as they vent the case, causing additional CPU heat buildup that's hard to maintain when CPU fan is already as fast as it can go. My mobo thermostat is at the bottom right of the mobo, meaning it's reading mainly intake air as temp, not good for case temp management.

[Nala1977]

ahah this is so funny, i just left my computer render over night and noticed hwmonitor reaching cpu tmp 100C°. usually my cpu runs at like 50c°, so i opened the case and there was a whole lot of dust clogging the cooler vent, removed that cleaned everything back to 50c°.
at least i didnt fry it 

[Kadri]

Wow  

I saw ones 100 degree when my  pentium cpu fan died.

[Kadri]

We tried the same undervolting with my sons computer.

That was quite another challenge. The bios was nearly similar (MSI boards).
I don't know why but the pc didn't even booted. Mostly mainboards can go to default after 1-2 unsuccessful starts.
But we had to manually reset the bios from the mainboard jumpers to boot unfortunately.
There is an option for a software reset after a problem in the bios. But this gets disabled after an unsuccessful start.
You have to enable it ones again.
This can be very different for other mainboards of course.

This happened 2 times.
Not a nice thing if you can not get to the jumper under a big graphic card and have to short it with a screwdriver.

So a little scared we ended up just by changing the fan curves for the cpu.
This got us 3 degree better results at least and a very very small burst of speed that we don't know from where it came

So be cautious.
Learn where the bios reset jumpers on the mainboard are, have a look for some settings like i mentioned above
and in general of all the settings etc.  and have a screwdriver around too before you try...
Your mileage may vary.

[Dune]

Mmmmm, scary. I'll leave it alone, thank you. Everything works, so why bother anyway.

[Kadri]

Mmmmm, scary. I'll leave it alone, thank you. Everything works, so why bother anyway.

Yeah i was going to write something like that.

This last experience was more in the line like i had in the past. That was the reason i lost my interest in overclocking.

But my own computer overclocking-undervolting was very smooth. So i have no regret

[digitalguru]

So be cautious.

That is the watch word, also as mentioned do a bit of research on any particular CPU/Mobo/Bios combination, you never know what peculiarities each combo will have.

I did a lot of research before I jumped in to undervolt, and found as many posts as I could to build up a picture of what I could do and what the pitfalls might have been. As it stands the only pitfalls might be as Kadri mentions that your machine won't boot if you set the voltage too low, though it might have been an older Bios/Mobo that wouldn't restore  to safe settings.

Be very conservative with each reduction of voltage.

From my research, I got a good picture of what increments people were trying when undervolting the same machine config (iin my case Threadripper 1950X/Asus mobo) in the end I found a very knowledgeable and helpful person on Reddit who talked me through it.

As far as overclocking goes mine is a very conservative 3.7ghz from the default 0f 3.4 and works well with the current undervolt.
It has to said, I'm not a huge fan of overclocking - the returns are marginal in a real-world scenario and I'd rather have a PC that
has longevity rather than wringing the last bit of speed (as well as being quieter!)
Also, just to note I attempted all this when the PC was out of warranty.

[Kadri]

Yeah. from 3.5 to 3.9 is kinda ok i suppose especially with heat like 73 degree.

Still as i said good that you mentioned undervolting. Thanks. Moving around a little even in the house isn't bad in this covid age