Digital Doc 5+: Where to put all the sensors?

[DOSfan]

Background:

I will be recieving the MacPower Digital Doc 5+ in a few days, and I want to get a "battle plan" formed by the time it gets here.

I chose it because for about triple the price of smaller units, I get four times the sensors. I figure I need a remote sensor, because my new motherboard reads my CPU running aprox. 20 F higher than it was running on my old mobo, without the new 900A + 92mm fan combo. I find that hard to believe, even if my old mobo was 10 F cooler than actual temp, that make my new mobo 10 F or more above.

Question 1:

Where should I place the 8 temp probes?

I have figured on 4-5.

1) CPU (obviously.)
2) Northbridge
3) VGA chipset
4) Outside case for ambient temp
5) 1 (or maybe 2) inside for case temps.

But that leaves two or three left. Where would you suggest?

Question 2:

What is the best location for each sensor?

I have found several references for the CPU sensor. As close to the die as possible, without interfereing with the heatsink.

I would expect the same for the northbridge.

What about the Video card? Almost all of it is heat sink (nVidia GeForce FX 5900 Ultra). What would be the best location for that?

Plus, what about any other locations you might suggest.

Question 3: (Final question, I promise. )

Where can I find out proper temperature ranges for the components?

I know about my CPU.

What about northbridge?

Video card? (nVidia's website offers no help here. At least, none that I have found.)

Closing:

Thanks for any advice you can add. And if you can at least point me to a good reference for me to read up on my own, that would be great as well.

And might I suggest, a guide like this stickied in this forum? It would do a world of good.

 

[mechBgon]

Ok... one under your armpit, and one on your forehead. Now get a couple of quiet 120mm fans and set them up so that if you start to overheat in the summer, it'll kick the fans on.





<---- *thinks he's funny


Seriously though, I remember when ELSA had fan control for their GeForce2's and I seem to recall 100°C (!) being the "danger point" for the VPU. I know mobo chipsets can take some unbelievable temperatures too. If it were me, I'd monitor hard-drive temps, since they're a mechanical device and rising temps can indicate bearings are failing. And maybe your optical burner(s)?

I had a Fanmaster, and I don't want to be a wet towel here, but the reality is that it wasn't very useful to be monitoring the temps. My system was already as quiet as a system is going to get with 30,000rpm worth of SCSI drives inside, so it's not like turning fans on and off was going to alter the noise level; and it was running cool all the time anyway... so what did I really need a controller for?

~ Ok... been there, tried that.

Anyway, good luck with the controller

 

[DOSfan]

Hahaha mechBgon.

Well, for the record, I did not order the DD 5+ for the fan controls. I got it for the temp sensors. I know, it is kind of like buying a Ferrari for the key chain.... But that is all I was looking for. I like the package the sensors are "wrapped up in" too. (No, not the box it comes in. But the unit itself. )

As for the drives... That would be 4 drives total, if I ignore the floppy. Two optical, and two HD. I do not think the HD temps will be very reliable, since they are mounted right behind the intake fans. And I have no idea where would be a good spot to place the sensors on the optical drives. Top? Bottom? Front? Back? Your guess is as good as mine. Actually, maybe it is better.

But, thank you for your input. If nothing else, it tells me that there is not enough temperature information out there.

 

[mechBgon]

The other nice thing about the DD5+ is that you get voltage monitoring, which my Fanmaster didn't have.

For the optical drives, I'd tape the sensors to the tops of them, if it were me. Ditto for the HDDs, except as you say, they'll have a stream of room-temperature air coming in over them. I suppose you could insulate the sensor with a small square of foam insulation so it gets an accurate feel for the HDD's temp...