Help with CPU Temp Please (Opteron 170)

[Blurred Reality]

Allright, below I'll paste what I wrote on another board, it pretty much explains whats going on, except they know a bit more about my rig I built recently, just to clue everyone in (if it matters) I picked up a Opteron 170 the other day, and these come with pretty damn good HSF's, well, I hear all over the internet, "This temp is too high" Or "It's fine." etc.

I'm trying to get a good grasp on what really is too high, and whats just nitpicking. I don't need this processor to last me more than 2-3 years tops, so I'm not overly worried about it having a long life expectancy, however I don't want it to crap out in 6 months easier. Anyways, heres the post:

Been messing around tonight and pretty much found the sweetspot of my Opty 170 to be 2.6 to 2.7GHZ. I'm going to run it at 2.6 just for saftey. However I have a problem with the temperature of the processor.

I disabled Cool n' Quiet, and it shows the CPU fan running @ 2722RPM according to Everrest. Well, I turned the voltage all the way from 1.45 to 1.37, and the only noticeable difference came between 1.45 and 1.425.

Running both cores under Stress Prime 2004, with 1.45V it hit 72C. Obviously too much, went down to 1.425, and it was still running stable and went down to about 62-63C on average with both cores under 100% useage.

Went all the way down to 1.375 and with both cores under max its still running 58-62C. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong here, is it possible the reading is wrong? I just don't see how Collection can have his Opty 170 on air at 2.8Ghz 44C Load or whatever he said in one of his posts, when mine are running this hot.

I'm not sure what to do here, is it likley a faulty chip? I find that hard to believe as it's running "Stable" Just too hot right now. Granted alot of processors idle @ 60-65C, but there not AMD 64 type chips... any suggestions on what to do here?

I'm really at a loss here guys. I can run one core torture test with the voltage at 1.375 or 1.4 even, and it'll sit at 43-45C. Which seems about right. However when I kick that second core up, according to Everrest at least, it INSTANTLY jumps the temp to 58-62C with that voltage. The case should be getting pretty good ventiliation, its a ASUS VENTO 3600 case, allthough it tends to run just a tad hot on average.

Should I really be worried if it hits 60C or so with both cores running maxed if Stress Prime 2004 lists them both as stable? Could I still attain the OC from 2GHZ to 2.6GHZ if I dropped the Core down to even 1.35 or 1.32 and actually dropped below factory voltage?

Just need some help here guys, it would be very appreciated.

 

[lopri]

First of all, you want to make sure that your board's temp sensor is reporting correctly. What you can do is:

1. When you go to bed, shut your machine down. So, say, let it cool overnight.
2. In the morning, turn your machine on, and go immediately into the BIOS.
3. Check the temps the BIOS reports. It should be somewhere around your room temperature.

If the difference between room temp and the CPU/Board temps is more than 5C, then I'd suspect the board's sensor is messed up.

 

[Blurred Reality]

Thanks... Yea I can let it cool overnight. The thing is I'm not sure if the sensors could be right, I mean it's got a pretty quality HSF with Heatpipes, and 1.375V isnt really above stock hardly at -all- if any. And for it to run 60C? Granted thats only with both at Torture Test levels...

If it -was- accurate at 60C, and I was able to run SP04 for 8 hours or so straight without errors on both cores, would that still be safe? I read somewhere I believe there rated to run stable up to 70C and should have no problem at 60C.

 

[Blurred Reality]

How accurate is SPEEDFAN? I just downloaded that and am testing it, and that reports TEMP1 (Processor) running @ 49C... now is that the actual temp of the processor according to fanspeed, or is that just what the fan itself is detecting as the heat? Everest still shows at 59C.... so theres a 10C different here. If it's really only running 49-50C right now with both cores at 100%... I feel fairly safe.

It also shows Temp 2 (My chassis) @ 33C... I assume thats the Ambient temperature of the computer? Temp 3 (PSU?) is at 60C... but that shouldn't be a biggie, and the HDD is @ 52C. Mobo @ 35C. GPU@45C (1900XT).

Do these look about right? I'm thinking SPEEDFANS numbers look a bit better than Everrests, but not sure which is right. Speedfan reports Fan 1 is running @ 2679RPM... think I can increase that at all, or do you guys assume thats about max?

 

[LittleNemoNES]

Hmm that happened to me when I put my current rig together, albeit not as high temps. I once hit 60C, though!
DOnt know, man. I reinstalled windows due to another reason and when I started checking my temps, things changed.

 

[Blurred Reality]

Erm so re-installing Windows might help? That seems a little strange. Any reason for that? Would I really damage anything running at 60C for awhile? I mean I can't imagine too many things stress one core to the max let alone both (for what I do anyway.) Any more reccomendations?