Serious Temperature Question (and new guys, read here to learn with me...)

[Delsphynx]

Hey all,

I just recently finished building my own computer, and am having some serious issues with the CPU temperature. The specs of the computer are below (I will make a system rig as soon as I remember my password )

Athlon T-Bird 1.33 @ 1.4 (1.85 V, 10*133 - nothing too bad)
MSI K7 Master (MS-6341)
GeForce 2 Pro 64 meg
SB Platinum 5.1
Antec SX830
Swiftech 370-0A with Delta Fan
256 DDR Ram

Now for the issues - when I go into the Bios and check the temperature, I am seeing a System Temp of 26 C, and a CPU Temp of 75 C. Of course, that is insanely high - I might get that if I had no cooling on the thing at all. I have the Swiftech on the chip however, and two fans on the back and one in the front, which, although loud, should be more than enough cooling on the chip, although I am still seeing this temperature. My ambient temperature is somewhat high - it is in a loft that in the afternoon may reach the high 70's for a temperature...but that is still much cooler than the chip temperature, so the heat exchange should still be more than adequate.

I installed Motherboard Monitor (MBM) and am getting 3 temps returned - Temp1 = 26 C, Temp2 = 75 C, Temp3 = 40 C. I am seeing a discrepancy however with what temp corresponds to what. I went to the MBM website to check my motherboard, and it is listing, under # MS 6341, that the CPU temp, corresponding to Via 686A, is Temp3. However, in MBM I have the sensor listed as Via 686B, and all of the mobo's on the website that have 686B on them show Temp2 is the CPU temp, which is bad. Plus, there is the issue that the bios is returning 75 C for the CPU temp as well. I couldn't locate any documentation on what temp sensors correspond to what on Via's or AMD's websites...

And basically, that is where I am at. That temperature is extremely high, and hopefully I am not frying my chip - I have seen no instability issues whatsoever in Win2k though.

Any suggestions or advice about what could be happening/what I could try/what could lead me down the path of enlightenment would be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Mikewarrior2]

The K7T, K7master series of boards reads higher temps than other motherboards(save the a7v series). That being said, your large margin between system temp of 26C and 75C cpu read temp is quite large.

Are you using thermal paste?

Temp 2 is the socket-thermsitor on your mb

How is your case cooling?



mike

 

[Delsphynx]

I think case cooling is fine - I have 2 fans going in the back, and one in the front, plus two fans on the PS and the Delta on the CPU. My front fan isn't working yet (as well as my case LED's, reset button and stuff, so I need to reexamine my connectors that link those devices to the mobo - maybe I have them backwards??)

Either way, there is plenty of air movement going on...

 

[Mikewarrior2]

are you using thermal paste?



Mike

 

[Delsphynx]

I am not using any thermal paste - yet. Would that really explain that temp though? (Thermal paste is definitely something good however, but would it cool it that much??)

I also find it weird that there is a similar issue with that other post in this forum by Qualin....hmmm.

What is a good TP that you recommend? Or site to check out about it?

 

[Green Man]

<< what is a good TP that you recommend? Or site to check out about it? >>




Get arctic silver II.
You can find it here KD Computers

 

[Compellor]

<< I am not using any thermal paste - yet. Would that really explain that temp though? >>



Yes, since there may be some gaps between the HS and CPU. This would decrease heat transfer dramatically to the HS. Get some thermal paste.

 

[Delsphynx]

Thanks a lot for those suggestions guys - I will get some on order now - can you pick this stuff up retail anywhere?? CompUSA etc.?? As to avoid shipping which is as expensive as the TP...

Also, have I risked anything on the chip? Is OS instability caused from excessive heat not necessary true then (I would call this excessive heat, yet I didn't see any instability issues...)

Again, thanks so much and I will keep you posted on what I find...

 

[Richardito]

<< I am not using any thermal paste - yet. >>



You are going to fry your chip. Go and get some thermal compound from a local electronics store and please, do not use your computer without it!!

 

[heffe734]

woah...doesn't the instruction manual for the swiftech tell you that thermal paste is literally a must? It did in mine...BTW...Artic silver II all the way.

 

[xtech]

I wouldn't worry about the CPU temperature to much. Just ask yourself if it's stable? My cpu hits above 150F all the time, but refuses to crash. I think if CPU temp would be a problem your cpu would lock up before you even knew it. Face it the Thunderbird just runs hot, use a nice cooler and just let it be. I am running 2.1V at 1661MHz all day long without a hickup...

Emil Kacperski
emil@atrivo.com

 

[Xp]

What sensor is Temp3 displaying? My MBM 5.07b reads only Temp1 and 2. The board is A7V

 

[jscobie]

Yeah Radio Shack sells good thermal paste...and in tests on my computer it keeps it cooler than Arctic Silver 2...but thats only my computer

 

[Delsphynx]

Thanks for the responses guys.

I don't remember seeing anything about thermal paste on the Swiftech instructions (they consisted of just a sheet of paper with a drawing of how to put it together) - I will definitely re-look at that however to determine how much of an idiot I am

I have only had my computer on a short time in order to determine these results, and haven't had it on since - and won't have it on again until I get this stuff taken care of.

What would I do without these forums??

Thanks again guys!

 

[DAGTA]

A lot of you are about to get a laugh at my expense (and I hope you do, since I laugh about it now) but I'll relate this story on the chance that it may help. Last week, I put a new heatsink/fan on my T-Bird. It came with a heatpad on the bottom (Volcano II). I left it on the heatsink and attached it to my cpu. I booted into the bios and watched as my cpu temp quickly passed 130F. This alarmed me since my previous heatsink/fan (generic) had kept my cpu temp to a max of 130 even after running at 100% cpu for over a week. So, i shut it down and took the heatsink off, preparing to put my old one back on. I decided I had nothing to lose so I would scrape off that thermal pad and see how it ran with the heatsink pressed directly against the cpu with nothing in between. Now, i go to scrape this off and what do I find? There was a piece of tape covering what was really a very soft thermal pad. Wow, did I feel dumb. I took that tape off and put the heatsink back on and my cpu temp has not passed 120F and I have been running at 100% cpu since Thursday.
So, if you have a thermal pad on there, make sure there is no tape in between.
-DAGTA

 

[AppleTalking]

Hey, great story DAGTA!

Although that's not as bad as what one of my collegues did once. We were building about a dozen computers relatively quickly (in like 2 or 3 hours) and we forgot to plug in the CPU fan on one of the machines! Imagine my surprise when, after running for about 5 minutes, the computer shuts off. I open the case and am confronted with a horrible smell of something burning. So I reach into the case, and my thumb happens to touch the metal heatsink . . .

Let's just say I made sure he always plugged the fan in after that!

Nick

PS: Surprisingly, the chip (a Duron 750) was okay. The motherboard must've shut it down just in time.

 

[moorehed]

hey! i've never used this thermal paste before... never OCed before either. im wondering if i put thermal paste on a duron and then later decide i want to unlock it... will the paste have made a big mess? or does it come off easily?

 

[Peridium]

Thermal paste is not very easy to clean off. As long as your careful you won't make a mess...

 

[Texmaster]

Dont trust the Bios temp reading guys. EVER. Its always wrong. The best way to know is to buy a sensor temp reader like the digital doc 5

 

[Gilby]

Not easy to clean off? Arctic Silver II comes off pretty easily when done right. According to the AS website, you can use a few different soaps (no water, I assume) to take it off the ceramic. I used dish soap on a used Duron I bought that was quite silvery. Stuff came off with minimal rubbing, I just had to keep switching to a new part of the cloth. Then use rubbing alcohol to clean up the soap and let dry. Chip looks almost new.

 

[WildeBeast]

AS2 comes off with dawn, my friend got so pissed at me when I was putting on as2 and it squirted all over, but n/p, just use dawn! That guy is lucky not to have fried his chip!!!!

 

[Gilby]

Right. Dish soap works fine. (DO NOT USE DISHWASHER DETERGENT!)

 

[ajb35]

I am shocked by how many ppl are saying they are not using thermal paste. I guess these cpu's are a bit tougher than I gave them credit to be. Then again, why take the chance.