Jim Meagher writes:

>The "whine" that you hear is most likely an alarm built into the
>motherboard & BIOS.  And it is probably set too low.
>AMD specifications for my K6-III/450 state the max temperature is 65 C.
>I would assume that your 550Mhz model is not much different.
>Go into your BIOS and select the ADVANCED options.  You should find
>at least three different temperature readings.  One is for the case
>(ambient) temperature, one is for the CPU temperature, and the third is the
alarm
>threshold for the CPU temperature.  You can increase the alarm to a
>higher settings.


  Thanks for the info. I have been aware of this new trend of BIOS
manufacturers to include this information. It's a good idea. On my Award
BIOS I don't have an alarm setting though, just a temperature monitoring of
CPU and motherboard. Those two settings can only be altered to set to Ignore
so I guess I have a built-in minimum CPU temperature that can't be changed
without shutting off the monitoring totally. I also was aware of the 65
degree limit for the AMD chip so I'm not really worried about a blown CPU,
but the alarm whine is a nuisance I'd like to curb with cooling tricks.
Apparently so far so good, the new 80 MM double fan is cooling the CPU
enough to stop the whine.

  As for cases running cooler with cover always intact this is a long-held
belief by computer users and authors (the Dummy book for A+ Certification
espouses this belief). However, I doubt it is true for every computer case
based on practical experience. IMHO in many cases heat flushes out quicker
with open cases and dissipates quicker. Certainly this should be only a
temporary solution if cosmetic appearance is an issue. One of my friends
also reports that burglars are also less likely to steal computers when
their guts are hanging out. *;-) (His apartment was robbed and they left
behind his open case computer which he constantly works on).

   On my son's computer it runs cooler with doors removed. But on other
computers with certain fan design the reverse may be true. Another factor is
room air temperature. My house stays at about 70 degrees Farenheit in summer
and that cool air helps cool an open case.

All the best,

Russell Smith
Edtech Consultant, Journalist
A+ Technician
http://www.rustysmith.com

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