Power supply for 25.00. Sketchy, much?

[JillyBean]

The max it's hit (today) is 71 (was a few hours ago) but it is seems to hover naturally in the high 50's/low 60's. It's fully dusted and clean. The load I gave is I guess all the "load" as all I play is this game

I think the temps are perfectly "safe" but for future proofing I was just thinking about getting an aftermarket cooler.

[Shura]

The max it's hit (today) is 71 (was a few hours ago) but it is seems to hover naturally in the high 50's/low 60's. It's fully dusted and clean. The load I gave is I guess all the "load" as all I play is this game

I think the temps are perfectly "safe" but for future proofing I was just thinking about getting an aftermarket cooler.

Before i can recommend a cooler, was wondering if you have access to the back of your motherboard; tried to look online but all the pictures are of the front side panel and not the back. Open the back side panel and check if there is a hole/opening on the motherboard tray opposite of where your CPU is. It would look something like what you see circled in red, in the pictures below.

Some CPU coolers require access to the back of the motherboard to install so knowing if you have access or not will help pick out a cooler. Assuming you don't have a opening in your motherboard tray, you can still install those coolers by taking out the motherboard; if that's an option you would pursue, let know and i'll widen my search.

[Riv]

How long have you had that computer? Before spending any real money, like I said you could always take the current heatsink off and clean/re-grease it with the thermal compound. I do that every year or so and I believe most people recommend it every 2 years. A tube of Arctic Silver and the cleaner is like maybe 10 bucks? You're going to want to use that before putting an aftermarket cooler on anyway.

[JillyBean]

Riv, I should do that ... can you link me to the cleaner to buy? I know I have some arctic silver, unless it expires, lol. Beats taking out the motherboard and all that, might lower the temps. Worth a try! Shura, I'm pretty sure the motherboard will come out and I could install an aftermarket cooler, not 100% sure, but I'd definitely make sure before ordering (as well as the size).

EDIT: Oh, the PC is 3.5 yrs old. It played XI for a year and 1.0 and XIV (Beta) probably... 6-9 months total. No other games. Other use just ordinary computer use.

Also EDIT: Amazing how much room temp has to do with it. House thermostat got to 78, I noticed it was warm in the house (I'm in Fla lol), and the max temp on the CPU had gotten up to 73 and it was working at a little warmer like 62-65 so I turned the AC on and got the house temp down and reset the application and now the max temp is back to 70 again with running high 50s low 60s again.

[Shura]

Riv, I should do that ... can you link me to the cleaner to buy? I know I have some arctic silver, unless it expires, lol. Beats taking out the motherboard and all that, might lower the temps. Worth a try! Shura, I'm pretty sure the motherboard will come out and I could install an aftermarket cooler, not 100% sure, but I'd definitely make sure before ordering (as well as the size).

Oh i think you misunderstood me, not all Aftermarket coolers require you to take out the motherboard, some of the higher rated ones do though. Some Cases have a opening in the back of the motherboard tray so you can install Coolers that need access to the back of the motherboard without taking out the board itself; for an example of what the opening would look like, look at my above pics.

There are some aftermarket coolers with push-pin options that install like the stock Intel coolers and don't require you to remove the motherboard. If your motherboard tray has an opening in the back, then you can install most CPU coolers that support your motherboard without taking out the board. If it does not then your limited to 2 options; The first being take out the motherboard to install the higher quality coolers or second being go with a Push-pin option that does not require you to remove the board.

So i have two questions for you:

1. Does your motherboard tray have an opening like the ones in the pic? you can confirm this by simply removing the back side panel of your case.

2. If it does not have an opening, which of the 2 options listed above would you prefer? go with a higher quality cooler that requires you to take out the motherboard or go with a push-pin setup?

[JillyBean]

Hmm, I'm not sure I've ever had that side of the case off. At the moment, I don't know what it looks like under the motherboard. Sorry about that. I would say then limit your recommendation to the simpler (yet lower quality) option that is easier to accomplish. Hope I am making sense with my answer. I very much appreciate your advice ^^;

[Shura]

Hmm, I'm not sure I've ever had that side of the case off. At the moment, I don't know what it looks like under the motherboard. Sorry about that. I would say then limit your recommendation to the simpler (yet lower quality) option that is easier to accomplish. Hope I am making sense with my answer. I very much appreciate your advice ^^;

Simple Push-Pin Aftermarket Coolers:

Rosewill RCX-ZAIO

Rosewill RCX-Z90

Assuming your Motherboard Tray does not have a hole and your willing to take the motherboard out, then i recommend this CPU Cooler:CORSAIR Hydro Series H60

Also for Thermal Paste, while AS5 is good, there are some better options that will lower your temp by a few Cs. Here are some examples:

ARCTIC MX-4
GELID Solutions GC-Extreme
G751 Shin-Etsu This is a really good Thermal paste but is thick making it a bit more difficult to apply.
Prolimatech PRO-PK1 Currently out of stock at newegg

PK1 and Gelid seem to be getting some really good reviews, followed by Shin-Etsu then MX-4.

[JillyBean]

Shura, again, thank you! /bow

[Shura]

Shura, again, thank you! /bow

Np and feel free to ask if you have any more questions.^^

[Dhalmel]

Simple Push-Pin Aftermarket Coolers:

Rosewill RCX-ZAIO

Rosewill RCX-Z90

Assuming your Motherboard Tray does not have a hole and your willing to take the motherboard out, then i recommend this CPU Cooler:CORSAIR Hydro Series H60

Also for Thermal Paste, while AS5 is good, there are some better options that will lower your temp by a few Cs. Here are some examples:

ARCTIC MX-4
GELID Solutions GC-Extreme
G751 Shin-Etsu This is a really good Thermal paste but is thick making it a bit more difficult to apply.
Prolimatech PRO-PK1 Currently out of stock at newegg

PK1 and Gelid seem to be getting some really good reviews, followed by Shin-Etsu then MX-4.

+1 for not recommending that old and crappy arctic silver 5