How to get reliable CPU temps in Windows?

[archcommus]

So I know there are programs like SpeedFan and CoreTemp that report various temperatures, the question is which ones can I trust. For example CoreTemp tells me that my Athlon 64 3200+ Core 0 is at 37 C, but when I reboot and go into BIOS it reports a "system" temperature (where is that measured?) of 37 C, and a CPU temp of like 45 C. Is that "CPU temp" supposed to be equivalent to the Core 0 reading in CoreTemp, or is core temperature something different than overall CPU temperature? I'm not sure if this 37 C "core temp" in CoreTemp is my CPU's "idle temp", or if the "CPU temp" in the BIOS is.

Any info would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[v8envy]

It's not that simple. Here, check out

http://www.xtremesystems.org/f...howthread.php?t=179044

In essence, the on-die monitoring reports a difference to 'tjmax', the point at which the CPU starts throttling. Nobody but Intel knows what this value is for any of the CPUs, and these values vary by CPU model. The reason you see different temperature readings is different software uses different theories re: this value.

I use realtemp and coretemp. The values at idle vary, but all tools should converge on the correct temperature at load.

edit: oops, this goes for core2 processors. Beats me re: AMD

 

[archcommus]

Interesting, thanks for the link, very good info there. I'll be building a Q6600 system this week so the Intel info is what I really care about anyway. So should I use Real Temp to check temps with an appropriate calibration factor for this specific chip?