P4 overheat *not* confirmed

[R Clint Whaley <rwhaley@cs.utk.edu>]

Guys,

Just a quick note on the P4 thermal throttling I was reporting a couple of
days ago.  After those timings, where I was causing it to happen at will,
I took the machine apart to make sure everything was installed correctly.
In getting the case open, I made several rather crisp impact adjustments.
Finally having figured out the case, the heat sink checked out OK, but the
model I have has an air duct that fits over the heat sink's fins, which 
channels the air to a case fan.  That duct appeared to be askew, in a way
that would not block air flow, but would fail to channel it optimally.  At
the time I put down its misplacement to my rather vigorous case opening.

Since then, however, I have been completely unable to reproduce the overheating
problem.  Now, it would seem to be a easy conclusion that the problem was
obviously misinstalled ductwork.  It is not that simple, however.  The P4
is in my office.  My office does not possess a thermestat, and while supposedly
a controlled climate, the temperature varies enormously.  When the overheating
occurred, the times I was in my office, it was as hot as it ever gets; I would
guess roughly 76-78F.  I corrected the ductwork Friday, and did my first
retry Saturday.  Everytime I've entered the office this weekend or today, my
office has been as cold as it ever gets, my guess is 72-74F.

So, all this is to say that I still do not know if the P4 we have, when
properly installed, will overheat in a human-habitable office.  I don't have
plans right now to figure this out further; it's impossible to do at work,
where only the gods seem to control the office temperature.  To do this
experiment correctly, I'd need to take the machine home, and use the
AC & heating units, along with a thermometer to put this question to rest.
Right now, it doesn't seem like something I need to do (surely others on
the web will);  I'll let you know if I learn of anything further.

Cheers,
Clint