Best way to monitor temperatures...

[onesNzeros]

Hi all. I just finished my first computer-build and so far things have fine - no crashes (other than half-life 2, but that's expected because it's half-life, right?) or involuntary shutdowns/restarts so I think temps are probably okay, but what are the best ways to monitor the temps of the CPU, ambient temp in case, video card, PSU if possible, ...? There's a program that came with my motherboard (DFI) but when it loads, one of my fans (the CPU fan I think) gets loud for some reason so I'd like to find something else that just monitors and alerts me of problems if they arrive.

Any suggestions?

 

[akira34]

For mobo and ambient, use MBM (MotherBoard Monitor) 5. For the video card, depending on which you have, it should have a temperature read-out as part of the software package (in the control panel). I've not used additional software to monitor video cards before, since they typically run cool enough to handle what I toss at them. Especially with the Arctic Cooling products installed on them.

MBM does have settings that will sound an alarm if items (you set which sensor) reaches a specified point... Since it's free software it's worth at least checking out.

 

[onesNzeros]

Thanks. I have the eVGA 6800GT with stock cooler (loudest thing in my system, easily )

 

[akira34]

Originally posted by: onesNzeros
Thanks. I have the eVGA 6800GT with stock cooler (loudest thing in my system, easily )

Get the Arctic Cooling NV Silencer 5 then... I did, and it made the card a lot quieter. I reused the back plate from the stock cooler for the AC unit, since I read that you'd want to. What are you getting for temps on the card (check during idle)?

What else do you have inside your box???

 

[onesNzeros]

System is an Athlon 64 3400+ with Thermaltake A1838 HSF (because monarch wouldn't preassemble and ship Zalmans) mounted in Antec Lanboy case. HDD is seagate barracuda (with a surprising and annoying high-pitched buzzing/whining much of the time - may have to do something about that). See my signature "The New Toy" for the full low-own.

Is the temperature of the GPU listed in the display properties or somewhere else?

 

[akira34]

The GPU temp is listed under the settings tab (I believe) where you can get access to the card specific items, and where you would find the overclocking settings... As for going to that link, it wants me to log in (yet again) so I'm not going there... What mobo did you get? Is the Seagate PATA or SATA?? If it's one of the newer generation, it has a 5 year warranty, otherwise it has only a 3 year warranty (don't know of any other consumer hard drives with a 5 year warranty on them). Contact Seagate and see about getting the whine taken care of. They'll probably just replace it for you (make sure you pull off anything important before sending it out, and wipe it clean).

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: onesNzeros
Thanks. I have the eVGA 6800GT with stock cooler (loudest thing in my system, easily )

I would get this Zalman.

 

[akira34]

Originally posted by: Operandi

Originally posted by: onesNzeros
Thanks. I have the eVGA 6800GT with stock cooler (loudest thing in my system, easily )

I would get this Zalman.

I wouldn't...Much better off venting the hot air from the GPU heatsink outside the case then just swirling it around inside it... Think of it as a clogged toilet full of waste that you keep flushing... :shocked: :disgust:

 

[onesNzeros]

You should be able to just retype the person's username to view their "rigs" though I have no idea why it doesn't just pass that info through and take you straight there. Either way, here's what I had ordered for this build:

Case: Antec Super Lanboy ATX Case
PSU: SeaSonic Super Silencer 400W ATX (Output: +3.3V@28A, +5V@30A, +12V@22A, -12V@0.8A, +5VSB@2A)
Motherboard: DFI MB LanParty UT NF3 250GB S754
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3400+
Heatsink/fan: Thermaltake A1838 AMD Opteron/Athlon 64
Memory: Corsair Value Select (Dual Pack) 184 Pin 512 Mbx2 DDR OEM
Video Card: eVGA nVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT Video Card With Free Doom 3Bundle
Hard Drive: Seagate 160GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive ? Retail
DVD+/-RW: Sony Internal 16X DVD+R / Double Layer/DVD+RW Drive, Model DRU710A, Retail
Floppy: SONY Black 1.44MB 3.5inch Floppy Disk Drive, Model MPF920, OEM
Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS GAMER Limited Edition PCI Sound Card, Model "SB0350" -RETAIL
OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional With Service Pack 2 -OEM


The hard drive is PATA. I'll have to compare this drive to the 120Gig I bought for my old computer but I haven't noticed the noise on that machine like I do on this one. I'll remove the side next time I fire it up and see if I hear anything more. If I have to return it, I'll zero it out first - probably twice.

On the Arctic Cooler, I figured I might have to go with one of those. The 6800GT was a last minute change. I originally planned on a 6600GT or 6800NU but decided stretch for the next level up. Given how much I have into the card though, I'll probably give it at least a year or so before I do anything that'll void the warranty on it since I can't afford to replace it right now if it melts into a puddle of plastic on me.

 

[onesNzeros]

Hmm, I think I was wrong on the high-pitched noise being from the hard drive. I opened the case up and checked again and it seems to be coming from the rear part of the case, not the front where the drives are. I think the fan on the video card is the culprit here too, actually. All the more incentive to go for the AC sometime not too far down the road.

I downloaded MBM5 and tried it but I was getting wacked out temp readings so far. When I went back and read more carefully I found I'd selected one of DFI's nf2 boards, not nf3. I don't see mine listed so far but I'll keep working on that.

I did find the temperature monitor in the video card settings. Actually I don't know why I didn't notice it before. It's right there. Oh well. Looks like my idle temps are settling in around 53 degrees C for the GPU and 40 for the ambient temp. That sound about right?

 

[akira34]

That sounds ok... I'm seeing (under light load but my resolution at max for the display and such) 33C ambient and 46C on the GPU. I don't recall seeing the GPU go over 51C since putting on the cooler.

I've not had any problems with MBM5 supporting my MSI board (or ones I've installed for customer system builds). I had issues with DFI boards failing after not a lot of time has passed before, which is why I don't use them. Back then, they even used older technology than boards by other companies. That may have changed over the years, but I still stay clear of them. My tried, tested and true mobo brands are MSI and Giga-Byte with MSI taking top spot on the list. IF I can't get the MSI board, and time is critical, I'll fall back to a Giga-Byte board. Otherwise, I'll hunt down the MSI board and use it.

 

[onesNzeros]

Originally posted by: akira34
. . . I've not had any problems with MBM5 supporting my MSI board (or ones I've installed for customer system builds). I had issues with DFI boards failing after not a lot of time has passed before, which is why I don't use them. Back then, they even used older technology than boards by other companies. That may have changed over the years, but I still stay clear of them. My tried, tested and true mobo brands are MSI and Giga-Byte with MSI taking top spot on the list. IF I can't get the MSI board, and time is critical, I'll fall back to a Giga-Byte board. Otherwise, I'll hunt down the MSI board and use it.

Well, the system has been very stable so far and I got the 2-yr warranty with the combo through Monarch so we'll see how it goes. If it croaks prematurely, I'd be inclined to negotiate for a different one, but we'll see. I've owned some pretty crumby computers before this last Dell and as much as I would have liked a couple of them to, they never suffered a hardware failure at my hands.

Oddly though, I noticed when I opened MBM5, it shows my 3400+ is running at 2.409 GHz. Could have sworn they were supposed to run at 2.2 (not that I mind any speed boosts). Umm ...hehe... not really sure what to make of that one. I know I didn't OC it because I really don't even know how at this point.

 

[akira34]

I'd suspect a faulty read for the CPU speed there... I have a 754 pin 3400+ and it's reading 2212MHz +/- (call it the 2.2GHz). I know I'm not overcocking my processor, especially since my goal is cool, quiet, and stable AT stock speeds. I know where the settings are on my mobo, but I chose to leave them at stock. I also selected to not install the overcocking and such software on my system (with the latest reinstall) so that I wouldn't even have to worry about it trying to OC my system.

BTW, I picked up the retail processor... Combine that with the MSI mobo, and the two have a 3 year warranty (through the manufacturers). I didn't have to spend a penny more to get that either...

 

[onesNzeros]

Good deal. Being that this is the first time I've put a computer together myself I liked the idea of having someone assemble the motherboard, CPU, and HSF for me and ensure they're set up and working properly before I got my paws on them. Given that this build went smoothly I might be inclined to do it myself next time, but factor in the software bundles and I was breaking even with Monarch and lessening the risk I was taking by not just, say, ordering another Dell. There are benefits and drawbacks of course, but this route seemed to be a good fit for me right now.