mobo temps higher than cpu, cpu temps higher than core o_O;;;;;;

[imported_shaddix]

Does that make any sense or do i not know what I'm doing o_o;

i have a p5n-e, e6600@2.8ghz + tuniq tower

asusprobe saying cpu@40, MB@50. Coretemp saying cores at 34-35, speefan agrees.

w/ orthos: cpu@46, MB@50. Coretemp saying cores at 57-58, speedfan agrees. ;;

motherboard says idle temps @40-42 o_o;;

room temp isn't the best is like 24. I have a 120mm intake which is pretty much blocked by my hdds, and i have a ghetto rigged 80 mm fan where my drive bay converter thingy is going to be when it gets here.


edit!: I took the side door off and ran a huge room fan on high straight at the mobo for about 3 minutes and the mobo temps on asusprobe dropped from 50-44, cpu dropped 1 degree, core temps dropped 1 degree.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I've got an E6600 @ 3.35 -- vCore @ 1.4625V (monitor shows idle 1.42V).

I'm using the ThermalRight Ultra-120-Extreme cooler with IC Diamond paste, in an open test-chassis.

@ 75F room (your approximate room temperature), my motherboard temperature is somewhere between 30 and 32C. The mobo temp increases at most 1 or 2C at full load.

The CPU idle value for 75F room might be between 28C and 30C. The load value would climb to around 46C with an average load value of maybe 43C.

The Tuniq Tower runs about 5C hotter than the TR-Ultra-120-Extreme under highest over-clocks according to Anandtech's May 5 review -- using their test-configuration for all coolers tested.

I'm looking at your motherboard, and I can see that it's bereft of the heatpipe-necklace for the chipsets and Mosfets -- similar to the one that can befound on the Commando, Striker, and P5N32 motherboards. I'm only wondering if this might account for your higher temperatures.

As for your monitoring software, I'd trust the CoreTemp values over the other sources. You might want to download nvidia's nvMonitor software and see what it says. Comparetti's Speedfan seems to be "unready" for either the 680i or 650i chipsets at the moment. Certainly, Probe should give you some decent results, but check some forums here and elsewhere -- including ASUS -- to see if some particular BIOS version for your motherboard is giving inaccurate temperature readings.

Under the circumstances, and if the higher temperatures are connected to the minimalist cooling solution for the chipsets and Mosfets of the P5n, I'd consider using a cooler like the SI-128 or even the SI-120, unless you can find a way to blow some air on the motherboard and duct it to the exhaust post-haste. Also, look into sinking the Mosfets with some thermal adhesive (epoxy -- it's permanent!) and sinks from SidewinderComputers.com.

The nVidia chipsets are notorious for higher chipset temperatures, and the nVidia-based boards use more power than do the boards with Intel chipsets.

You haven't said what sort of case you have. If it's a midtower and you have a single 120mm intake fan blocked by cables and drives and running at low rpms, your temperatures probably reflect that situation as well.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Here's what a Newegg customer review cited as "Cons" for your motherboard:

"Cons: Poor cooling design. Passive cooling on northbridge. No cooling (!!) on southbridge. Runs hot at stock. 8x8 SLI. "

This can be fixed, if you're willing to pay for some "doo-dads" for enhanced chipset and mosfet cooling, and mod your case and fan choices to get some air rushing past those mobo components.

 

[imported_shaddix]

Thank you for the excellent reply. I am going to add another 120mm fan and move some of the drives up to get more air going through. The case is a raidmax smilodon and I wish it had a 120mm exhaust. I put an 80mm fan that I control manually and it can put out some air, although it is quite loud . I mounted a fan on the northbridge heatsink but I may reseat it with some better TIM.

The main thing i was worried about was if Core Temp was giving me the correct numbers, since I have read that tcase is supposed to be higher. tcase was at 39-40 when idle and coretemp was showing 34~35! But as long as core temp is accurate and tcase doesn't show as over 50(if it's reporting right?) I am fine .

It has two fans on the side blowing in near the rear and another blowing in the side near the front on the back side if that helps anything. I would much rather have a larger exhaust fan, I was thinking about mounting a fan on the outside of the case where the PSU vent is lol. The fan in the psu is an OCZ and it's blowing up from the bottom into the psu instead of out the back.

Thanks again for the excellent post, when my second intake fan gets in I will post new temps

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I'm not sure as to the limitations of the 80mm exhaust for the approach I'm suggesting here. I assume you want to keep the Smilodon.

I'm guessing that air is warming up inside your case. I'm guessing that you don't have a fan hanging on the Tuniq Tower.

Consider rethinking -- even scrapping -- you intake fan configuration except for the 120mm intake fan. Consider putting either another 120mm fan for intake on a sidepanel near the front -- better yet, the bottom of the case, if you can raise the case with rubber feet or casters. Seal off everything else.

Buy some foam-art-board at Michael's or Target -- Target's price is less than $2 per 2'x3' sheet. Get a razor-knife and carefully cut panels to build a duct around the Tuniq to admit air from the front side, tapering the duct so that it mates up with the 80mm fan-hole -- with as little leakage as possible.

On the front side of the Tuniq, hang a 120mm fan, and build a duct that bends down toward the motherboard to pull air off the chipsets and Mosfets. In fact, you could mate that end of the duct with a flat panel that covers the motherboard, pulling air from the sides across the RAM, chipsets and Mosfets. You could extend that panel with a vertical piece that fits close and parallel to the VGA card, so that air is pulled across that surface as well.

If this is a feasible "design," I leave it to you to improve or change. Lexan is prettier, gives you the sense that you can see your components, but takes longer to cut. You can SHAPE and bend it with a heat-gun, though! Just be sure you rig it up so that it can be removed easily enough when you want to replace a RAM module or service something else on the mobo.

 

[imported_shaddix]

wow very nice! i had not considered putting any homeade ducts in there, my new 120mm intake should be getting here friday and I will let you know how the duct-(ing) goes

thanks alot for this by the way you've been a great help

 

[BonzaiDuck]

It can be tedious, and a Saturday's work. You'll know for sure you've got it right either modeling it in scrap cardboard or constructing something semi-permanent in foam-board. After that -- the Lexan can look pretty good through a side-panel window.

The foam board is light as a feather, Lexan a tad heavier. In my new build, I was planning to use nylon standoffs to secure the parts, but you can also get an adhesive roll of Velcro and use small squares of it to secure the pieces. The foam board pieces can glue well with contact cement, and the Lexan requires a welding glue like Poly-Zap (find it at a hobby store.)

Figure you'll probably spend at least as much time doing it as installing a water-cooling kit, but you won't need to service it once it's done.

Here's a source for ideas and empirical proof of results:

"Cheap as Free" -- John Cinnamon on Mobo and CPU Ducting

I'm hoping for a 2 to 5C drop in my temperatures when I'm done with my own ducted-air system. I've spent four months modding and painting the case while testing the components in a test-chassis. I wanted to build the ducts before I installed the components, but it looks like it won't work out that way.

I did it to my over-clocked Prescott 3.4E @ 3.85 Ghz system, and it's definitely worth a few degrees Celsius reduction in temperatures, and certainly cools down the Mosfets and chipsets.