Bios Temp. Accuracy and other nonsense.

[Still_Naive]

Hey guys.

 

I've been struggling for a while with my old FX-55 Clawhammer, and I was wondering how you generally treat BIOS-spewed core temperatures. At stock settings, the BIOS and motherboard-provided monitor tell me that the processor idles at 51c (!!) and loads at 75-80c (!!!!!!!). That'd be all well and good, I know that the FX-55 runs hot, especially 120nm processes, but I'm running it with a friggin' XP-90c at stock vcore and frequency. My case temps are 38c (according to the BIOS anyway), and I'd think hitting 80c frequently would've probably fried my processor by now, so I'm wondering how I should read into that.

 

FWIW: I've got Core Temp and Speedfan on the system, and both read my idle temps closer to 34 and my load temps closer to 45. That sounds about right, but I'm not sure which to believe, especially when my motherboard monitor is freaking out, displaying the temps in red and stuff.

 

I'm pretty sure I need a new motherboard anyway, but I'm getting by while I wait to buy another C2D build (the one I had been testing and OC'ing was one I was building for my aunt). But, what do you think? Should I believe the motherboard or the third party programs?

Edited March 22, 2007 by Still Naive

[hardnrg]

that's a massive delta of idle-load... regardless of the accuracy, it looks like maybe the heatsink isn't seated properly due to this massive difference

 

try CoreTemp... it's the most likely to be accurate out of everything as it uses the CPU's internal thermal reading rather than the motherboard's interpretation of the cpu temp... even SpeedFan's readings look a little high for an XP90c at stock vcore/speed

Edited March 22, 2007 by hardnrg

[Verran]

Well, if your BIOS is reporting different temps from CoreTemp and SpeedFan, then something is goofy. They're all using the same sensors.

 

As for those temps, yes they do seem very high, especially for stock voltage on the cooling you've got. Something tells me they're not right. If your case temps are really 38c, then you either need to turn your thermostat down in your house or rethink your airflow in your case.

 

I'm sure you can find plenty of people to talk your ear off about how terrible onboard sensors are, but really I've never found them to be that bad. Maybe it's because I don't buy cheapo motherboards, I'm not sure. But unless you want to run your PC with a thermal probe sticking out the side 24/7, you don't really have a lot of choice anyways. You just have to apply a certain level of common sense. Your temps, for example, just don't seem right. A lot of times problems like this are fixed down the road with BIOS updates for the board. That's something to look into.

[Still_Naive]

Swear to God though, I've re-seated the thing three different times with little change in temp. Recently, I lapped the HSF to a mirror finish and got the IHF pretty flat, too, so I would hope it's not seated too poorly. Hope.

 

Is the delta still high on the CoreTemp readings? (34-45) Even though the numbers freak me out, I'm pretty sure the BIOS is wrong, so if CoreTemp seems is generally accurate, I'll accept those numbers.

[Still_Naive]

The board is a Soltek SL-K890Pro939, which I picked out before I really had any friggin' clue what I was doing. It's based on an old Via K8T890 chipset, and Soltek hasn't updated the BIOS in about two years.

 

As for the pretty high case temps, for one, the temp sensor is placed in a stupid area (right next to the hard drive) which heats it up pretty completely. The air flow is very good, generally; I mounted two intake 80mm's and two exhaust 80's with another intake on the side (I'm indifferent to that fan, I'm not sure it makes much of a difference), and the cables are generally routed behind the motherboard tray so they don't get in the way of the fans. I wouldn't be surprised if the case temps are affected by my video card, which is an x850pro flashed to x850 XT PE levels, which runs hotter than I'd like (45 idle, 75-80 load), and only has a stock cooler. Still, though.

[cchalogamer]

34-45 sounds warm for stock everything and the cooler you're using, but it's MUCH more likely to be your temps, also you'll have a larger temp variation if Cool'n'Quiet is left on meaning that the CPU down clocks to 800mhz when not under real use (aka web browsing, doing nothing, etc)

 

Actually thinking about it a little bit, the core temp reading scould be 100% right, afterall i dont knwo what your case/room temp is (and the board reading could be a sensor ANYWHERE aka in the flow of hot air comming from CPU or lower corner of the board)

 

EDIT: ok extra post while i typed/did other stuff

 

Based on the x850 temps and the x850xt that i had your case temp is a bit warmer than what I'm used to so I would say youre load temp for the FX is around 3-5C higher than it should be. I'm sure youve got a thermometer around there somewhere you can slap in the case for 15mins running load to see just how hot it gets

 

Also did you follow the directions on the AS5 aplication and has it had time to cure?

[Still_Naive]

Yeah, it's in the lower corner of the board, next to my HD. It picks up the heat off the hard drive, which is a pain in the ., because I don't know how to fix that other than buying a 5.25" converter and throwing the HD up into the top of the case.

 

It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, really, because the C2D build I have in my sig was running at a case temp of approximately 22c in the same room; I worry about the two intake fans on my case, because they're mounted on top of a meshed metal plate, which I can't imagine draws air through it too well. However, I don't have the tools to cut out the meshing, so I'm stuck with that for now. Still, it should be blowing something, and there's nothing in the way of the air flow that should logically block it.

 

Would you guys reccomend I try re-seating the HSF for the CPU again, perhaps give it another lap? I'm warming up to the idea of going naked with the CPU, but if I'm not convinced it's going to help too much, I don't think I want to waste my time. Ultimately, I'd like to push the CPU a bit and see if I can get it up to 2.8 or so, but I'm not going to touch it with the temps the way they are right now.

 

EDIT: It hasn't, no. From the directions I read (and I read them a long time ago, so if I'm off base, let me know), I'm supposed to put a BB-sized amount on the center of the IHS and seal the two together without letting them come back apart. It hasn't had time to break in (I just did this a few days ago), but nonetheless, the temps seem high.

Edited March 22, 2007 by Still Naive

[Verran]

Is the delta still high on the CoreTemp readings? (34-45) Even though the numbers freak me out, I'm pretty sure the BIOS is wrong, so if CoreTemp seems is generally accurate, I'll accept those numbers.

34/45 seems a LOT more reasonable, especially for the chip. I know a lot of people were having trouble keeping the 90nm FX-55s cool, so I can only imagine the 130nm would be the same or worse. I'd like to think that an XP-90c would do better than 45c for stock speeds and voltages, but I know that chip can be hot, so it seems pretty reasonable.

 

The only thing that concerns me is that you're getting conflicting reports. When that happens, you can't really be sure what's going on.

[Still_Naive]

You guys rock, by the way. I'm addicted to this website now.

 

Do you think it's worth it to go after a new 939 motherboard?

Edited March 22, 2007 by Still Naive

[Verran]

You guys rock, by the way. I'm addicted to this website now.

 

Do you think it's worth it to go after a new 939 motherboard?

Honestly, no. I mean... more specifically.... yes, but no

 

There are some AMAZING 939 boards out there and not too long ago they were VERY reasonably priced. The problem now, is finding them. It's VERY hard to find even "decent" 939 boards anymore. It seems that they're pulling the plug on the 939 stuff (it's the only way to get people to move on to AM2 for the -same- performance). So as far as I've seen, most of the good 939 boards are impossible to get now (save for eBay and such, which is a gamble).

 

So if you can find one, then I'd say it's not a bad idea. If you plan to push that FX, a good DFI 939 board would compliment it well. But if you're just going to leave it at stock (with those temps, I don't know that anyone could blame you), then a new board probably won't offer you much.

 

If you're really interested, I think I saw a DFI nf4 Ultra-D in the for sale area here a while ago for a very decent price. I'm not sure if it's there anymore or not, but that's a GREAT 939 board.

[Still_Naive]

So, after some investigation last night, I discovered a few things:

 

1) My intake fans aren't blowing much air at all. They're sitting against a metal grating that must severely restrict airflow, but I'm not sure how to cut a hole in it. Any suggestions? (this isn't the modding section, obviously, but it'll help me out a lot!) Keep in mind that I'm not exactly a hardware store, haha. Will an exacto knife work, or do I really need a dremel to do it? It's maybe 1/8 - 1/16th of an inch, very thin, but obviously it's thick enough that I can't pull it apart with my hand or anything.

 

2) I tried some basic overclocking with the FX-55, just for .*s and giggles, and I got it up to 2.7ghz but had to raise the vcore from 1.55 to 1.6 to keep it stable. Is this normal behavior for this kind of processor (obviously, I know every processor is different, but typically?) The temps with a higher vcore are drastically higher, 40c idle and 55c load. Is this enough evidence to suggest my mounting and/or lapping job was poor, or is this kind of a temperature increase common with raising .05 of a vcore on a 130nm processor? 35-45 on stock settings, 40-55 overclocked seems like a drastic jump to me, but what do I know?

Edited March 23, 2007 by Still Naive

[bigdaddy25fb]

It is a clawhammer so the voltage increases are normal for your OC, as far as the temps go, you have a Soltek board so I'd guess its fubar. Doesn't explain why you are getting 2 different readings though. Then again no bios updates in 2 years could be the reason for that.