I didn't build my computer myself, because it was cheaper to give the specs, and have a website (Cyberpower Inc.) to build it, and ship it to me. I haven't checked the BIOS for an exact temperature, but I have it in a NZXT Nemesis Elite case with a thermometer on the heat sink for the CPU, and that thermometer is currently reading 123°F. I have an AMD Athlon XP 2800+ Processor, and that just seems a bit too high of a temp. for it to be running all the time. Also, when they set it up, it was overclocked, so my POST voice thingy tells me. But this is my first AMD processor, and I'm pretty much a noob at the hardware business, so I was just wondering if this was safe, and if not, how do I fix it?
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CPU Heat. 1
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I'm not sure that I would take too much notice of this readings accuracey.
Do us a favour and go into the bios (press f8 on initial boot) you will fing the motherboards own hardware monitor there.
What does it say?
123f is around 51C and depending on your enviroment this isn't too bad (the kind of idle temps I would expect to see from this setup in a warmish country)
As a general rule you want to keep XP's 60C or less (max) as they can start to become unstable once in the mid 60's C
Although note* actual damage won't occur until much higher than this (80+ C)
Martin
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I'm not sure that I would take too much notice of this readings accuracey.
Do us a favour and go into the bios (press f8 on initial boot) you will fing the motherboards own hardware monitor there.
What does it say?
123f is around 51C and depending on your enviroment this isn't too bad (the kind of idle temps I would expect to see from this setup in a warmish country)
As a general rule you want to keep XP's 60C or less (max) as they can start to become unstable once in the mid 60's C
Although note* actual damage won't occur until much higher than this (80+ C)
Martin
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Ok, well, I took my computer apart and cleaned all the dust and such out of it, and checked the BIOS when I turned it back on, and it was reading an even 100°F, and after running for a bit, my temp. control is reading a 111°F after having it running for about 3 hours.
Oh, and about my environment, I'm in southeastern US, so, yes, it is not cool, its been around 85-90°F for about the past week.
From the sounds of what you said, it doesn't seem too awefully bad. I just had the side of my case off, inspecting dust buildup and I touched the heatsink and noticed my fingertip basically melted, so I was just concerned.
Oh, and about my environment, I'm in southeastern US, so, yes, it is not cool, its been around 85-90°F for about the past week.
From the sounds of what you said, it doesn't seem too awefully bad. I just had the side of my case off, inspecting dust buildup and I touched the heatsink and noticed my fingertip basically melted, so I was just concerned.
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111f is around 44C and for an XP2.8+ under these conditions I would say thats pretty good.
Surely you are exagerating when you said "fingertips melting" at this sort of temp the CPU heatsink normally feels warm, certainly not hot by any stretch of the imagination.
As a side note* to actually feel that the heatsink is getting warm is a good thing, it means that the CPU core is properly transfering it's heat to the heatsink, infact it's a pretty bad sign when the heatsink is cold and the temp readings still report high figures, this means the CPU core for what ever reason isn't imparting that heat efficiently to the heatsink (no paste applied or the heatsink fitted incorrectly)
Martin
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111f is around 44C and for an XP2.8+ under these conditions I would say thats pretty good.
Surely you are exagerating when you said "fingertips melting" at this sort of temp the CPU heatsink normally feels warm, certainly not hot by any stretch of the imagination.
As a side note* to actually feel that the heatsink is getting warm is a good thing, it means that the CPU core is properly transfering it's heat to the heatsink, infact it's a pretty bad sign when the heatsink is cold and the temp readings still report high figures, this means the CPU core for what ever reason isn't imparting that heat efficiently to the heatsink (no paste applied or the heatsink fitted incorrectly)
Martin
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Ya, I was exaggerating a bit when I said that, but it was pretty hot.... and the temp. control on my case reads the temperature of the heatsink, not of the CPU, so it's the heatsink that was at 123° and 111°.
Anyway, after I cleaned all the dust and everything out of it, it's running quite a bit cooler. Thanks again for your help!
Anyway, after I cleaned all the dust and everything out of it, it's running quite a bit cooler. Thanks again for your help!
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Like I said, look at the CPU temp in the bios.
A temp reading taken from a sensor attached to the heatsink can be very innacurate, especially if the sensor wire is mounted topside of the heatsink (which it normally is) and is being blasted with cool air from the CPU fan.
Also as I described, the heatsink can be cold and the CPU overheating if the contact between the CPU and heatsink base is poor, SO HOW ACCURATE IS THAT READING? LIKELY NOT AT ALL ACCURATE!
Martin
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Like I said, look at the CPU temp in the bios.
A temp reading taken from a sensor attached to the heatsink can be very innacurate, especially if the sensor wire is mounted topside of the heatsink (which it normally is) and is being blasted with cool air from the CPU fan.
Also as I described, the heatsink can be cold and the CPU overheating if the contact between the CPU and heatsink base is poor, SO HOW ACCURATE IS THAT READING? LIKELY NOT AT ALL ACCURATE!
Martin
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That's exactly my point.
The temp reading from this attached sensor by it's very nature will always be lower than the actual CPU temp (or at least it should be if it is accurate)
Factors like:
1)Cool air being blown onto the sensor by the CPU fan
2)Poor thermal contact between sensor wire and heatsink
3)Heat transfer between core and heatsink base being inefficient
4)Location of sensor pickup in relation to the actual CPU core (by the time the heat reaches the sensor it will have cooled down considerably
All the above factors mean that this reading will always be (or should be) several degrees lower than the actual CPU temp
If anybody every mounts one of these sensors there are several tips to attain a degree of accuracy.
The sensor needs to be attached as close to the CPU core as possible, underneath the heatsink so it isn't being directly cooled by the fan, some users even apply a small application of paste so that efficient heat transfer occurs between heatsink and prope (note* do not trap the sensor between core and heatsink) mount as close as you can to the core but without sensor causing improper seating of the heatsink to core surface.
Sensors just pushed down between the heatsink fins will not give you an accurate reading.
OK so the bios is reading the CPU temp lower than this probe, thats good.
Although both can be innacurate, I would certainly believe the bios reading more than this case probe.
Martin
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That's exactly my point.
The temp reading from this attached sensor by it's very nature will always be lower than the actual CPU temp (or at least it should be if it is accurate)
Factors like:
1)Cool air being blown onto the sensor by the CPU fan
2)Poor thermal contact between sensor wire and heatsink
3)Heat transfer between core and heatsink base being inefficient
4)Location of sensor pickup in relation to the actual CPU core (by the time the heat reaches the sensor it will have cooled down considerably
All the above factors mean that this reading will always be (or should be) several degrees lower than the actual CPU temp
If anybody every mounts one of these sensors there are several tips to attain a degree of accuracy.
The sensor needs to be attached as close to the CPU core as possible, underneath the heatsink so it isn't being directly cooled by the fan, some users even apply a small application of paste so that efficient heat transfer occurs between heatsink and prope (note* do not trap the sensor between core and heatsink) mount as close as you can to the core but without sensor causing improper seating of the heatsink to core surface.
Sensors just pushed down between the heatsink fins will not give you an accurate reading.
OK so the bios is reading the CPU temp lower than this probe, thats good.
Although both can be innacurate, I would certainly believe the bios reading more than this case probe.
Martin
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paparazi:
That's exactly what I run, a temp probe inserted into the fins of the heatsink (with CPU paste). I compare the temp reading with the BIOS reading. The way mine is set up, I have 9f between the real temp, and my setup. I look at the readout, and add 9, and have the real temp of my CPU. It's OK just to keep tabs on when to turn on the room air conditioner!
That's exactly what I run, a temp probe inserted into the fins of the heatsink (with CPU paste). I compare the temp reading with the BIOS reading. The way mine is set up, I have 9f between the real temp, and my setup. I look at the readout, and add 9, and have the real temp of my CPU. It's OK just to keep tabs on when to turn on the room air conditioner!
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