P5Q Temperature Question

[mrw0nka]

When running PC Probe II I'm getting motherboard temperatures of 45 degrees which is in the red zone. This is without overclocking.

I have a P5Q Pro in an Antec Sonata Plus case. It doesn't have awesome airflow but I don't think it is bad. My CPU (e8400) idles around 40 degrees on the stock cooler.

I've read different things - some say the P5 series boards get high temps from the heat pipes and stuff. I'm not sure.


Is this something to worry about?

Also - what exactly is that the temperature of?

 

[AmberClad]

I'm assuming it's northbridge temperature. I get around 45C on average as well (no stability issues).

 

[mrw0nka]

Thanks for the response. Is there a temperature I should worry about?

Also - what software do you use to for readings?

 

[AmberClad]

For CPU, I find CoreTemp and SpeedFan to be the most reliable -- I've seen some very dodgy CPU temp readings from PC Probe, like 124C. For GPU, I use GPU-Z and RivaTuner. For northbridge, it doesn't really matter which program you use, they will still read the same sensor that PC Probe does, so SpeedFan works fine there as well.

SpeedFan will show your CPU temps as "Core 0" and "Core 1" readings. Ignore the "CPU" reading, because that uses the same dodgy sensor that PC Probe reads. SpeedFan's "System" reading is the same as the northbridge reading that PC Probe takes.

If it starts to get over 50C, I would probably either tie a 40mm fan to the side of the northbridge heatsink just to be safe, or buy some aftermarket chipset and MOSFET heatsinks to replace the stock ones with.

 

[mrw0nka]

Under load it gets to about 50-51 degrees. Overall no stability issues but it worries me a bit.

3.2 Ghz is a pretty good OC on the E6600 - do you have an issues AmberClad?

Right now I'm doing 3.6 on my e8400 - the voltages on auto are pretty high. Do you use auto settings?

Sorry if these are noob questions. I'm pretty new to overclocking and intel in general.

 

[AmberClad]

Originally posted by: mrw0nka
3.2 Ghz is a pretty good OC on the E6600 - do you have an issues AmberClad?

Nope, it's been completely stable (had to give it a small bump in voltage). Around this time of year, when it's pretty hot, the chip idles around 30C and loads around 50C.

Originally posted by: mrw0nka
Right now I'm doing 3.6 on my e8400 - the voltages on auto are pretty high. Do you use auto settings?

I don't use the auto settings. Depending on the board, it's going to cause some serious and unnecessary overvolting, which leads to high temps and can possibly degrade your CPU (especially the case with the 45nm CPUs like the E8400).

Here's a thread that's a good example of why auto settings for OCing aren't recommended.