Temp gauge says 135F for processor.....I think this is too hot!!!

Hi-

You are running right at the border of CPU freezes with that temperature.
With 4 hard drives, and the heat from the CPUs, you are really taxing the cooling ability of your machine.

Do you use CHUD tools for Nap mode in the processors? CHUD will help with CPU temps, normally, but under load, and during heavy hard drive activity, the heat from the hard drives will combine with the processor heat to keep temps high.

You might consider getting an external firewire housing or two, and moving the drives from the ATA/66 bus to the external housings.

The large case fan, 120 x 120 x 38mm may be slowing down, or dirty, or may just need to be replaced with one of higher CFM. The 3,000RPM Scythe Ultra Kaze will boost the airflow inside the case over the OEM fans 90CFM ability.

Another possible aid would be a 32CFM (or more) PCI slot fan to exhaust some of that hot air from the case.

At a minimum, make sure all intake and exhaust vents in the case are free from dust and lint. The same is to be said for the CPU heatsink, all components, and the interior of the PSU.
Compressed air will help the process.

Hi-

CHUD tools are part of the Developer tools from Apple.
Read up on the program at Xlr8YourMac.
This Thread has a script that you might use.
Check this site for the program.

Hi-

There are two fans in the power supply.
Info here:
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/g4mirrored_drive_doors/noise_reduction/g4_ddr_noisereduction.html

You can use any fan of the appropriate specs.
The Verax kits are long gone.

As for the 120mm fan, get a 120x120x38mm fan of at least 88CFM. Easy to find with that size.

As for thermal compound, Yes, reapplying is a great idea.
Definitely use Arctic Cooling MX-2.

Don't Panic.

135F is about average for the MDD, mine runs at between 135F and 138F.
143.6F is shown as the "Specified Upper Limit".
Mine never goes below 128F, and that was only in mid-winter after it had been off for 3 weeks. As soon as I fired up Entourage and Firefox, it was up to 137.5F.

I have 4 hard disks too, between 93F and 101F. And don't worry about the upper limit, I've had my MDD CPU temp up at 145-146F. But when it does, I stop everything and let the fans bring it back to normal.

But, as advised, don't get overconfident, I give my MDD a thorough cleaning every couple of months.

Hi,

Purchase a 120mm fan and mount it on top of the optical drive roof. Make sure the fan is facing towards the back. You will notice your temps going down real quickly. But, you should also install chud tools 3.5.2 and click on napmode.

Hi Beazley,

I sure don't have any photos at the moment, as I have made the switch to my Mac Pro. But, all you have to do is purchase a 120MM fan and mount it on top of the roof of the optical drive housing. Since it uses a molex for powering it, you then need to connect it to the molex connector on the bottom inside the front drive housing.

You don't have to drill any holes of any kind. Heck, I never even attempted to put small fans behind my processor's heatsink, as that does require some kind of drilling.

For extra cooling, you can also add another small fan on the bottom and stick it underneath the front drive cage. Just make sure its positioned to blow air out the back.

With the combination of a 120mm fan, smaller fan in the front drive area, and a PCI slot fan - my temps were around 120 degrees under heavy load, and light load was around 98 degrees. I don't use celsius, so this is in fahrenheit.

As an option, you are more than welcome to take out the power supply and remove the stock fans, but I wouldn't as you are dealing with a danger territory there. I do have one other question for you.

Your PSU(Power supply unit) - is it one of the quieter ones, or is it the 400 watt noisy one?

So Nadav got himself a Mac Pro ? Well done.

Yes, I got myself one. It was not easy, but the only way I could have done it was through a G5 Quad. Traded that up for the 2006 mac pro.. then just recently traded up that for the harpertown 3ghz 2008 8-core for like a difference of 300 dollars.