PIII 700@933 w/ PAL35t temps range from 36° - 51° - too high?

[Shag]

I added an Alpha PAL35t to my PIII 700e @ 933, 1.85v yesterday, but temps are a bit higher than I expected. At idle, the temp hovers around 36°C/96°F and when under full load usually goes up to around 49°-51°C. This is running with the sides of the case off. This seems higher than most people running alphas.

When I got the alpha, the lowest part of the copper did not hit the cpu. I sanded the feet to the point where (I think) they make contact with the cpu. I was unable to be 100% sure of contact due to lack of light, but it looked like it was making contact. I used some sort of gray/silver thermal grease supplied with the alpha (from coolerguys).

How out of the ordinary are my temps? Any thoughts on reducing them? What is the max temp I want to see?

 

[Mikewarrior2]

Hmm... those load temps seem a bit high. You should, at best, be getting CPU temps within 12-14C of ambient case temp. What mb are you using?



Mike

 

[Shag]

I'm using an Asus CUSL2 w/ 1002 bios. According to PC Probe v2.12.02 my cpu temp is 36°/96° and my mobo temp is 35°/95° right now (basically idle).

 

[abracadabra1]

well the cpu temp is OKAY. but they mobo temp is super high!
it should be about 10-20 degrees lower than your cpu (talking fahrenheit here). and if your mobo is 95 idle right now, she's gonna get really hot unless you have active cooling on the northbridge.

 

[Shag]

What would cause the mobo temp to be so high? I have a lot of stuff in my case, but with the sides off, I would think it would stay cooler.

Strangely, when I fire up Prime95, the cpu temp quickly shoots up to 46°/114°, but the motherboard temp doesn't move. That seems a bit abnormal. I wonder if it's not reading it properly...

What is the average temp running a PIII 700@933 with an Alpha PAL35t?

 

[Mikewarrior2]

wait, now that i know your mb temps, your cpu temps are fine. They aren't great, but htey're fine.

That's exactly what any good cpu stresser will do to cpu temp and is also a good indication whether the cpu is reading temp off the diode or via a thermistor. only diode is capable of reporting quick changes, such as going from idle to prime95.

There's a possibility that it still isn't making good contact, so you may want to take off the grease and check with a bright flashlight... that's the only thing that could really be causing the high temps, but it sounds like your ambient is pretty high, too.


Mike