FX-6300 and Biostar A960D+ Bios and Settings are cool and quiet.
FX-6300 and Biostar A960D+ Bios and Settings are cool and quiet.
I discovered this site recently and it’s my first post.
I own an older PC equipped with the FX-6300 and a Biostar A960D+ motherboard.
I haven’t used the machine much lately, but it would freeze when I needed it.
It turns out both the case fan and the video card fan stopped working.
After cleaning the dust and swapping these parts, I became curious about the heat since the computer would crash several times afterward.
I realized I should run the CPU fan at maximum instead of using smart mode to prevent overheating.
Now, when smart fan is off, it stays in the 30s or low 40s during idle.
I have the original cooler and don’t overclock.
I’ve been reading about it though.
I enjoy fixing things and can’t resist trying to improve its performance.
My issue is that my BIOS doesn’t include any options for this cool and quiet mode, or turbo setting.
I’m using Windows 10 64-bit.
I updated the BIOS from the Biostar website via USB and pressed F12.
I haven’t noticed any changes except the system time shifting to military time and the BIOS date updating.
How can I access the advanced settings for this chip?
The motherboard claims it supports cool and quiet, but I can’t find it.
Perhaps I’ll consider overclocking someday and install a new CPU cooler.
It's really a very simple motherboard. According to the user guide, there are no adjustable Cool N Quiet options in the BIOS, meaning it's probably not something you can modify or is already active. Still, there are ways to handle it. You can adjust the power settings through Windows. Start by opening the control panel via the start menu, type "control" in the run dialog, and select Power Options. If the Performance plan isn't chosen, pick it. Under that, click on "Change plan settings." Then go to "Change advanced power settings." Continue scrolling to the processor power management section and click the plus sign next to minimum, then modify the value as needed.
It's really a very basic motherboard at its core. According to the user guide, there aren't any adjustable Cool N Quiet options in the BIOS, which suggests it's either already active or not available for change. However, there are still some adjustments you can make. Start by tweaking the power settings in Windows. Open the Control Panel via the Run dialog on the Start menu, then navigate to Power Options. If the Performance plan isn't selected, pick it. Under that, click on "Change plan settings." Then proceed to "Change advanced power settings." In the processor power management section, increase the minimum value to 5%, set the maximum to 100%, and ensure the system cooling policy is active. Save your changes and close the control panel. After that, consider upgrading your cooler—the original FX coolers didn’t perform well. There are many more affordable alternatives available. Understanding your case model and its cooling capacity will help you decide what’s best. If you’re looking for an AMD Wraith cooler, it would be a step forward, but avoid overclocking until you confirm the thermal performance is stable. Also, take off the side panel of the case to check if it influences your temperatures. If so, it might indicate insufficient case cooling; ensure there’s at least one intake fan and one exhaust fan, with intake near the front and exhaust at the back. Ideally, adding two intakes and a top exhaust would be ideal, but testing without the side panel can give you a clear picture.
If budget allows, exploring used motherboards for reasonable prices could be worthwhile. Purchasing a new board is unlikely to be beneficial given its age, limited availability of AM3 and AM3+ parts, and the fact that investing in more expensive components may not yield good returns. Still, constrained budgets sometimes require making compromises, so optimizing your existing setup might be the most practical path forward.
Darkbreeze :
Honestly, that is an extremely basic, lower end motherboard. Based on the user manual for that board there are no user configurable Cool N Quiet settings available in the bios, so it's likely that it is not an option you can change and is either enabled already or not present.
There are some things you can do though. First, customize the power profile in Windows.
Go into control panel by typing "control" in the run command on the start menu. Open power options. If the Performance profile is not currently selected, then select it. Next to the performance profile click on "Change plan settings".
Next, click "Change advanced power settings".
Scroll down to processor power management and click the + next to minimum, change the value to 5%. Make sure the maximum is set to 100%. Make sure the system cooling policy is set to active. Save settings and exit the control panel applications. Restart the system.
Also, getting a better cooler now might be a good idea. The stock FX coolers were not very good. There are MUCH better options available for very reasonable prices. Knowing your case model and what height of cooler it can support will be necessary in order to make a recommendation.
If you can get an AMD Wraith cooler, that would be an improvement but you will not want to do any overclocking with it. In fact, if you are overheating currently, you likely would be wise to not even consider overclocking until you are sure that the thermals are within expected range for normal operation first.
Furthermore, you would also be wise to remove the side panel of the case and see if that affects your thermal readings. If it does, you need to address the fact that you do not have sufficient case cooling and that no CPU cooler, no matter how good, is going to work well unless you have at the VERY least, one intake fan and one exhaust fan. Intake should be at the lower front of the case, exhaust should be at the back of the case.
Better still would be two intakes and an additional top exhaust aside from the rear exhaust. Testing with the case side panel off should tell much of the story though.
You might also want to seriously consider getting a better motherboard, if one can be found used for a good price. There is very little point in buying a new motherboard for that platform as it is already fairly old, supplies and stock for new AM3 and AM3+ boards is extremely limited due to the fact that they are not being manufactured anymore and the additional consideration that any money you put into it beyond a used board or cheap cooler is probably a waste, since it could have been put towards something much newer.
Still, sometimes limited budgets dictate what we can and cannot do, so making that system work better/right might be the best choice.
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Darkbreeze,
Thank you for your detailed response. Your time is appreciated.
I plan to adjust the advanced power settings and test with the case open. Only one fan in the back is blowing out, but the air feels cool rather than warm.
I purchased this computer five years ago from Amazon for light gaming; I mainly use PS3 and PS4.
If I can prevent it from crashing, I’m fine with the fan noise. If better power settings help, maybe I can reduce the fan speed.
I also added some silver thermal paste to an Amazon order. Is it really beneficial to apply new paste to the processor? It seems like a small effort for a potential improvement.
Thanks!
The cooler requires the paste to be applied accurately and in sufficient quantity. It must also be cleaned with isopropyl alcohol and re-applied periodically. Use no more than what equals two grains of long-grain wild rice, centered or roughly the size of a new #2 pencil eraser. That amount is sufficient.
Numerous online tutorials demonstrate correct procedures for removing old paste. I advise against using Q-tips for this task, even though videos may suggest otherwise, because they often leave behind fibers that can interfere with the thermal paste placement when installing the CPU cooler.
It turns out I didn't clean the processor heatsink properly. I attempted to vacuum everything during the fan replacement, but it wasn't sufficient. Last night I removed the air compressor and cleared out the heatsink. There was an overwhelming amount of dust inside, so I had to hold my breath to avoid inhaling it. It was hard to see anything under the fan. Now it's running just above room temperature with the fans turned down. I still have the side cover, but I'm confident my heat issue is resolved.
In the future, don't ever use a vaccum on ANY computer system or component. Glad you got it sorted, hopefully, but THIS is an important consideration.
Avoid using a vacuum if possible as vacuums are known to create static electricity that can, in some cases, zap small components.
Other areas that may benefit from a cleaning include fans, power supply internals, storage and optical drives, the motherboard surfaces and RAM. Keeping the inside of your rig clean is a high priority and should be done on a regular basis using 90 psi or lower compressed air from a compressor or compressed canned air.
Use common sense based on what PSU your compressor is set to. Don't "blast" your motherboard or hardware to pieces. Start from an adequate distance until you can judge what is enough to just get the job done. When using canned air use only short blasts moving from place to place frequently to avoid "frosting" components.