cpu sensor VERY inaccurate?

[mee987]

I dont have very many specifics on the system, but I dont think that will make too much of a difference.
a friend of mine has a p3 733 system with a shuttle mobo, and his cpu sensor reads from 75-80C while idling and in bios.
Im quite sure this isnt accurate. I have tried 3 different and all very adequate HSF's and the results are all about the same. No, I didnt forget to remove the plastic over the thermal pad. yes, they were all applied correctly with thermal compound.
it isnt a software problem, because, as I said, the temps are reported this high in bios.

there is no way his system could actually be running this hot, because he is able to game for hours on end without any lockups. If it was idling at 75C there is no way the system would be able to make it through a 3 hour game of empire earth

anyone know why the sensors are reporting such outrageous temps?

 

[AndyHui]

For Pentium III processor motherboards, the temperature is supposed to be read from the internal diode. Depending on how the BIOS is written, it may incorrectly report the diode temperature.

Check to see if you have the latest BIOS version for that Shuttle motherboard.

 

[mee987]

thats actually a good idea, i bet a bios update would do it... thanks

 

[Richardito]

Is it a socket of Slot 1 motherboard? Slot 1 mobo's are known for having a thermistor very far from the actual CPU. Is the temperature stable? If it is it may be that it isn't the real temperature (phantom reading). How many monitoring programs have you used? Try a couple and see if one can actually read the correct code from the mobo.

 

[mee987]

its a socket370 mobo

I have tried motherboard monitor 5, thats it for windows software... I guess I will try to install a few other apps and see what they say