Yup, the CPU heatsink was cold and the fan was running as well.
Proud owner of a Shuttle HOT-555A 430VX motherboard and two wonderful retro laptops, namely a Compaq Armada 1700 [nonfunctional] and a HP Omnibook XE3-GC [fully working :p]
This is my first Socket 7 motherboard with a giant voltage regulator. My thermal scanner also reads 80C on mine. I burned myself touching it without realizing beforehand how hot they can get.
I guess this is normal?
I read an article on Digi-Key's forum about this. The heat generated is a product of the voltage conversion and the only think you can do about it when it's a linear regulator is improve the cooling. There are however switching Linear Regulator Replacement DC-DC converters.
The voltage regulator on my board is a LT1584 in a TO-220 package.
The closest I could find is part number V7803-2000. The maximum output is significantly less at 2A vs 7A. I don't know how to calculate the power requirements to know if this is adequate.
Ahh, nevermind. I think my specific voltage regulator model is adjustable and these switching regulators only provide a fixed voltage.
