I started having troubles recently with my 320Mhz G3-upgraded Comet. The machine would suddenly turn off while running VPC or in the midst of monster spreadsheets. Thanks to the recent discussion here of Goolsbeing (sp?) the machine, I started noticing the temp as shown on my G3Strip: as steady usage persisted, it ran up towards 200 degrees F.
I made the trip to Fry's for some heat sink goop ($5.95, IIRC), and appropriately fortified w/ my favorite single malt, opened up the box again. There was a very little bit of heat-transfer goo on the CPU, and the pellet on the bottom of the chassis, which contacts the CPU, was clean as a whistle. (The pellet/heatsink is affixed to a rod that is eventually welded to the alum. sheet on the bottom of the case.) I gooshed a bit on the CPU and also between that pellet and the case-bottom-hugging sheet . But not a lot; there's enuf left for another dozen similar jobs, at least. Underneath the sheet -- it is not fastened into place -- I placed a small square cut from an old credit card, to ensure (just) a bit of extra pressure to keep the pellet next to the CPU. This seems likely to disperse the heat across the sheet better than the copper between the pellet & the sheet, at the expense of the (less-critical-seeming) contact between the sheet and the plastic shell. With the Scotch polished off and the case closed, the 'book came back to life @ 70 degrees. It now tops out somewhere around 100... even after running VPC overnight on some non-stop number-crunching. The bottom of the case feels no cooler -- not a problem for me -- but that's understandable since I've merely provided a wider exit door for the CPU heat to get out, which it mostly does thru the bottom. I'd recommend that anybody who experiences problems that might associate with over-warm CPU's consider checking the heat sinking. I imagine -- but am open to better info from this list -- that this should protect the longevity of my machine far better than the shut-down circuitry does. Nb: the goop sez it may change consistency @ 170 F or higher. I guess that means, "run." Since it now gets nowhere close to that, I'm assuming all's well. BTW, I'm surprised at the variances that Listas report between different CPU temp s/w guages. The G3, I think I recall, has a digital temp circuit built in that works in something like 2 deg Celsius increments. Hard to interpret that very creatively, I'd have thought. Perhaps some s/w likes to "adjust" for reading that somebody measured at the top of the case, or ??? ---------- Duo/2400 List, The friendliest place on the Net! A listserv for users and fans of Mac subportables. FAQ at <http://www.themacintoshguy.com/lists/DuoListFAQ.shtml> Be sure to visit Mac2400! <http://www.sineware.com/mac2400> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Need help from a real person? Try. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ---------- Dr. Bott | 10/100 Ethernet for your 2400 is finally here! MPC-100 | <http://www.drbott.com/prod/mpc100.html> RoadTools $30 PodiumPad available at Apple retail stores, $20 Traveler CoolPad at Staples. Both in white for iBooks at <http://roadtools.com> Midwest Mac Parts ][ <http://www.midwestmac.com> After-market parts for Macs. ][ 888-356-1104 ][ MacResQ Specials: LaCie SCSI CDR From $99! PowerBook 3400/200 Only $879! Norton AntiVirus 6 Only $19! We Stock PARTS! <http://www.macresq.com>
