K7VME temps way off...?

[homestarmy]

I just installed this motherboard with an athlon XP 2600 in a small antec aria case. The included SOYO HW Monitor is telling me that my CPU is running at like 78-80 degrees C and the case is at 52 C. This can't be correct... can it? I know this is a small case, but I am using a cooler approved for the CPU, its a Speeze cooler, I'm not sure exactly which one off hand, but it was shipped in a package with the processor and this mobo.

Any info appreciated!!

 

[o1die]

Be sure the heatsink is mounted correctly. With some, you can actually put them on backwards, causing poor contact with the cpu. Also, if the heatsink came with a thermal pad, you might have to remove the plastic film that covers some of them.

 

[homestarmy]

I am sure that it is mounted in the correct direction, and I am also using Arctic Silver II paste, I removed the paste that came with the heatsink.

What should this processor be expected to run at normally (range)? And what is considered dangerous?

 

[o1die]

Most amd cpus run at 45-55 celcius. Your hardware monitor may be off. Sometimes a bios flash will fix it, but if your system is stable, I wouldn't worry about it. Did you apply just a wafer thin layer of arctic silver? Too much can cause problems. Check the bios hardware monitor, and see what the cpu temp is there. I trust the bios monitor more than any other.

 

[homestarmy]

Yep, I applied a very light layer (haze) to both the top of the processor and the contact patch on the heatsink. I used a ziplock bag as to not contaminate it with my finger.

 

[Brule]

Had the same board with the same high temps. I think it's the board as the same chip with the same cooler running at the same RPM dropped 20-30 degrees on my new board.(in the same case)

 

[homestarmy]

Very glad to hear!!! I knew SOMEONE had to be using this board!

BTW, I reapplied the Arctic Silver II following online instructions to a T and I think its dropped a degree or two on average (I might be wrong).