Gigabyte GA-7N400 Pro2 + Athlon 2600 XP = Hot? 2

[keyser456]

To start out, I've built a few AMD systems and know how to apply the silicon paste and heat sink pretty well, so I'm pretty sure this is not the problem.

Even on a cold morning after sitting turned off all night if I boot the machine and go immediately into BIOS->PC Health it shows the CPU temp at 60 degrees (Celsius) and rising fast. It stops at around 73-74, but this is at idle processing, and this sounds WAY too high. When playing games it will rise to 80 or above. If I touch the heat sink (even after the computer has been running for hours) it feels just a little warmer than room temperature, definitely nowhere near the temperatures being displayed. I've installed the latest bios (F5) for this mobo and have tried reapplying the thermal paste and reseating the heatsink with no luck. I'm using some adjustable Volcano fan as well. Could this just be a bad temp sensor on the board or should I be worried about frying my CPU? Thanks!

BTW, the system temperature appears way off too (like 60+ celsius if I remember correctly) Isn't this temp supposed to be the temperature inside the case? Now way could it be that hot in there with an open case on a cold morning.

 

[SkipCox]

It sounds like the motherboard is misrporting temps. What board do you use?

Skip

http://home.comcast.net/~scox9/index.html

 

[keyser456]

Gigabyte GA-7N400 Pro2
nForce2 Ultra400 chipset

Nice board if I could get the temp to report correctly (supposing that's the problem). After upgrading to the latest Bios (F5 I think) I read the notes for previous versions. With the release of the F2 version they "fix" the board to read the CPU temp more accurately. Funny thing is they say it was reading 10-15 degrees too LOW so they bumped it up. So I guess if I dropped back down to the F1 bios version my temp would be down around 60-65 or so (still too high IMO)

 

[paparazi]

It does sound like a sensor reporting problem and you are correct in your assumptions.
Don't mean to teach you how to suck eggs but are you sure the heatsink is fitted the correct way around? is the recess in the base of the heatsink fitted so it is positioned over the raised part of the CPU socket? I know you have taken it off several times but you may unknowingly be refitting it the same way each time.
Martin

Replying helps further our knowledge, without comment leaves us wondering.

 

[keyser456]

Yes, I have made sure the indented side of the heatsink lines up with the raised part on the mobo where the CPU mounts.

I guess I should note that I did flip around that spring (flatform) the holds the heatsink onto the mobo in order to have an easier angle to stick a screwdriver in. The flatform is not perfectly symmetrical so now the pressure will be placed in a slightly different spot on the heatsink but I'm really doubting the heatsink "flexes" at all anyway so it shouldn't matter. Right?

 

[Freestone]

From

http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/white_papers_and_tech_docs/23986.pdf

"Note: Figure 13 illustrates the end of the clip, which goes over the top of the socket
(the portion of the socket that reads “Socket 462”), is much longer than the other end.
The clip is formed asymmetrically so that the pressure point is directly over the processor
die. Although in the photo it seems like the clip is too far to one side, when the other
side is installed, the clip contact point is centered over the processor die."

Seems to me that if you reversed this, then the pressure point has moved, and the maximum heatsink to processor contact is lost.

 

[SkipCox]

That needs to be corrected. And, clean the heatsink and processor of old thermal compound and install new.

I have a slide show of the AMD install videos at the bottom of

http://home.comcast.net/~scox9/Download.html

I'll see if your board has any known issues with temp reporting.

Good luck,



Skip

http://home.comcast.net/~scox9/index.html

 

[SYAR2003]

A gap between cpu & heatsing is certain to
produce this kind of temp issues .
Please follow and check skips advice.

SYAR

 

[SkipCox]

keyser,

Yup, the board does have temp reporting problems like many GigaByte boards but I think the heatsink thing needs to be sorted out first. BIOS upgrades were intended to repair under reporting of temps and you're not the first to complain. The first url is a good read for GigaByte owners and the other errata came from GigaBytes site and, I believe, overclockers.com.

If your heatsink is not pretty warm to the touch then one of two things is occuring...you've got a good cooling solution or the heatsink is making poor contact. I agree with others here the latter is very likely in this case.

The on die temp sensor used by GigaByte is considered to actually be more accurate than a socket sensor used on many other boards and usually reports a 7-10°C higher temp. If you're unaware or just not used to it, that can be upsetting too.

http://www.amdforums.com/showthread...025e5f&threadid=266766&highlight=ga7n400+pro2

http://tw.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Support/BIOS/BIOS_GA-7N400 Pro2.htm

(bios page; bet you've been there)

"Q. Why CPU temperature rise by around 15 deg C when update bios F2?"
"A. Previous bios shown CPU temperature lower than real value. New bios improved CPU temperature monitor accuracy."

"my Gigabyte GA7N400 Pro2 Motherboard was upgraded to BIOS version F5 about 2 days ago, and the temperature shot up to 60C, compared to 37C the F3 BIOS that shipped with the board. NOT reliable" (sounds a little like your problem)

Good luck,



Skip

http://home.comcast.net/~scox9/index.html

 

[crazy888s]

Ah...yes. I have GA-7N400-L1 board. My PC using the F4 Bios (the mass production release) and it reads the processor temp at about 35C-40C. When I have tried to flash upgrade my bios to anything else, the temp reads around 60C-63C! That frightened me and i ended up putting the mass producion release back on as I had no problems with it (and it read as a comfortable 35C-40C). I did not give the other BIOSes much time to test stability though. They just angered me. I may have to test them now knowning about the common inaccuarate temp problems. I never really did research the issue like I should have. This is nice to know.

 

[SkipCox]

The amdmb forum has quite a lot of info on your 7N400 board. Seems most GigaByte owners put up with this sort of thing (among others) and also appears engineers really thrash their bios' sometimes updating weekly.

Still good boards though.

Skip

http://home.comcast.net/~scox9/index.html

 

[paparazi]

First things first, turning the pressure spring around was a bad move, the pressure point has now moved and the heatsink will probably not sit square on the core "SERIOUS STUFF" you must put the clip back the correct way NOW!
This is probably your fault! if you need to remove the power supply for access it's only 4 screws so is no big deal, much better to know the heatsink it's fitted correctly and the contact is good and sound.
Martin

Replying helps further our knowledge, without comment leaves us wondering.

 

[keyser456]

Thank you all for the wealth of knowledge you have shared. (Especially you Skip, you went out of your way!) I flipped the clip back around and, with some effort, finally managed to get the heatsink mounted (almost had to take the mobo out of the case to get it on there). Upon booting up I was pleasantly suprised by a reading of 45 (celsius). It's wandered up to 50 now but definitely better than the 75-80 that I was running at before. Again, thanks to everyone!