Looking for some help with my P 6860

Hello everyone, this is my first time posting, but I've been lurking around for a while and gathering information about my computer. I have two questions regarding my computer and I'm hoping that I can get some input from someone more knowledgeable than I.

First off, I've been having some issues with heat lately. Admittedly, I don't keep it as clean as I should, and I know that I need to get the dust out of the cooling system. The other day I removed the RAM cover and attempted to blow the dust out of the exhaust vents with a can of compressed air. It didn't work. While the fans seemed to be running a little less than before, the computer unexpectedly shut down. I felt along the bottom of the computer, and it did feel rather warm (I don't have any monitoring software on my computer, so I don't have any information about the actual temperatures). Anyway, I'm thinking that I probably have some dust and crap caked up against the heatsink that is removed in this picture (thanks to azrickster and his great disassembly write-up)



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

I'm just wondering if this is a reasonable assumption. The only other heatsink I notice is the one located near the GPU, but I don't really suspect it to be the culprit seeing as how I was just doing some light web browsing when I experienced the shutdown. Also, removing the heatsink seems fairly straightforward, but I've never done anything like that before. If anyone can offer any input or advice I would really appreciate it.

As for my second question, I am considering upgrading the CPU in my computer. I'm not a hardcore gamer, but I do enjoy playing a few and my computer has to really work at it to handle Civ5. Because I'm not aiming for a crazy gaming powerhouse, I'm considering a more mild upgrade to a T8300 or maybe a T9300 processor.

My question with this is can I expect a significant increase in temperatures inside my computer? Obviously, heat is something that I am having to deal with, and I really don't want to exacerbate the situation. I, of course, welcome any suggestions of a different CPU that may be better suited for my needs.

If you have somehow managed to make it to the end of the novel I've just written, I commend you and offer my sincere thanks for any input you may be able to provide.

 

You can download a free program called SpeedFan and it does tell you what your system temps are. However your processor/chip set needs to support temp reporting. One thing that I did, THAT APPARENTLY YOU SHOULDN'T DO, is take compressed air and spray it directly into the fan intake on the bottom of the system. The dust flew right out of my system. After doing it a number of times, I never noticed any issues. I had to fully dismantle my notebook due to a graphics failure and the system was virtually dust free. You last option is to purchase either a cooling pad or a small usb fan to help cool the system.

 

Other issue is the fan could have over spun or siezed. Be sure the CPU and GP fans do kick in. If they don't then eventually even doing light work it will overheat..............

 

Thanks for the replies. Admittedly, after the computer shut off, I just gave up and took it to my university's IT Helpdesk because it was free . I figured that dust was up in the internals, and I didn't want to go trying to disassemble the whole thing without someone who had done it before to help.

Anyway, I just got the computer back and the first thing I did was download speedfan. I'm getting temperatures while browsing the internet in the 44C-53C range. Correct me if I'm wrong, but based on what I'm reading, that does seem to be a little on the high side. I can also confirm that the fan is operating; it kicks on rather frequently and sounds like a jet taking off. After the fan has run my temperatures will drop as low as 37C. I may go ahead and check again though just to make sure that there isn't anything impeding the movement of the fan.

At this point, I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to have to remove my heatsink for cleaning and to apply some new thermal paste. Best case scenario this may solve my temperature issues, and at worst I'll have a clean heatsink and new thermal paste. The thing is that if I'm going to go through the trouble of removing all of that, I might as well look into upgrading the processor, which (I'm pretty sure) is starting to become a slight frustration for me. So, in regards to my other question, does anyone have any idea about how significantly a T8300 or T9300 processor would affect my temperatures? I would expect something like the X9000 to cause some issues, but I'm just curious if one of these would create similar issues. This computer is going on four years old, and it has served me well. I'm hoping that I can squeeze a couple more years out of it before I replace it with a desktop.

 

Your temps are fine. What do you do with the computer? A CPU upgrade might not do much.

 

I do some gaming. Specifically, I play a lot of Civ5, and it my computer definitely has to work at it. I don't do a whole lot of PC gaming beyond that, but I just want to have a nice, smooth experience when I decide to play it.

 

Yes, a cpu upgrade would help you out. A hard drive upgrade might be something to think about as well.

 

Upgrading the processor could provide some benefits, though don't look for a huge improvement over your current processor. The temps readings are fine as ckwbff mentioned. Those are similar readings that I get on my notebook, which under load will jump to 65C+. On my prior notebook I used an external usb fan from Thermaltake that did a pretty decent job to help keep my system cool and it cost around $10 on Amazon.