Whoa! My newly setup PC has CPU temp 23 C (non-load)!

[Muse]

I fired up my new Gigabyte K8N Pro (old board, but I bought it new recently), with an AMD Athlon Venice 2.2 GHz 3200+ and Arctic Cooling Alpine 64 HSF, using Arctic Silver 3 (I removed the original MX1 thermal compound that I was using until my MSI mobo died a month ago), and I have a case temp of 25 and a CPU temp of 23 right now, according to MBM 5. Just Wow! I was running at least 10 C hotter before. My room temp right now is 62 F.

I figured I should do something about my case temps, which I figure had something to do with my mobo dieing. So, I installed two 120mm Scythe S-Flex SFF21D's, one exhausting at the back and the other intake on the side (with a homemade filter), and the effect is quiet and reassuring. Cut holes in the case this week for the fan-mounts.

 

[Tim]

Gotta love the low tems right?
Question, how quiet do those S-Flex's seem to you. I'm looking into getting 3 of them.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: thepladfad
Gotta love the low tems right?
Question, how quiet do those S-Flex's seem to you. I'm looking into getting 3 of them.

The S-Flex's I have, the SFF21D's, are very very quiet. I just stopped the one at the back of my case, but I couldn't compare... I'd forgotten that I'd set my BIOS to have an alarm go off when that fan stops! But I did it before and I couldn't make out the sound above the other fans in the system, which are pretty quiet fans (The HSF on the CPU and my vidcard fan, which is also very quiet for a vidcard fan). The SFF21D's are 8.7 dba, run stock. They aren't good for undervolting because they require at least 9v (I'm told) to even start. They're fine with me.

The CPU is still 23 C. Man, cooler than even the case. I'm impressed. I think I did a real good job attaching my HSF to the CPU. I cleaned the HS very very thoroughly, applied the right amount of AS3, did a good job of attaching the HS, or so it would seem from my results. I'm going to have to run some stress tests and see what temps I get. Never done that before.

 

[Binky]

So....you think that's correct? Your CPU is cooler than inside the case. Hmm. And your CPU is running at 73 degrees....

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Binky
So....you think that's correct? Your CPU is cooler than inside the case. Hmm. And your CPU is running at 73 degrees....

I don't know if the sensors are accurate but at the moment the case is holding steady at 25C and the CPU is going between 23 and 25C! Room temp is 65F. The case side-mounted fan is blowing right in at the MB, specifically at the HSF, and it's completely unobstructed.

 

[aigomorla]

you probably have the sensor located in a spot where the ambients are a bit higher.

And your sink is probably drawing in colder air somehow from the outside.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: aigomorla
you probably have the sensor located in a spot where the ambients are a bit higher.

And your sink is probably drawing in colder air somehow from the outside.

Oddly, MBM reports both a CPU and case temperature, but in the Award BIOS's PC Health menu, only the CPU temperature is represented. I wonder why they wouldn't also show the case temperature in there. Also, I thought that mobo's usually have 3 temperature sensors, or at least sometimes.

 

[Rodknock]

Originally posted by: thepladfad
Gotta love the low tems right?
Question, how quiet do those S-Flex's seem to you. I'm looking into getting 3 of them.

Just to let ya know, I picked up several of the S-Flex SFF21Es, which spin a bit faster, and they're still completely silent. I would imagine even the F's are still basically inaudible. They're really great fans.

 

[Muse]

The temperature in the room is now 77 F and the CPU is 29-30 (ie about 85 F). Not bad.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

what are you using to get ur "case" temps? and where is that thermometor/sensor located?

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
what are you using to get ur "case" temps? and where is that thermometor/sensor located?

I'm using Motherboard Monitor 5.2.7.2 (i.e. updated). The BIOS doesn't show case temp but somehow MBM is getting it, so I assume there's a sensor. I have no idea where it is on the motherboard.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

u sure its not your NB temp?

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
u sure its not your NB temp?

QFT! Had to get custom programing for my DFI to work in MBM and it still had stuff labeled wrong at first.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
u sure its not your NB temp?

I have no idea what it is. How can I find out? Like I said, the BIOS's PC Health area displays one temperature only, and it is indicated as CPU temperature. There's got to be at least one more temperature sensor in there somewhere because MBM is showing two distinctly different temperatures, one represented as CPU and the other as Case.

I modded the NB before installing the MB in the case. The fan was too loud for my taste, and I removed it and installed another one I had, putting a couple of 5 watt resistors in series with the fan, one 27 ohm, the other 47 ohm for a total of 74 ohm. It's nice and quiet now. Probably cooler than it would have been with the original fan because that fan had a very restrictive grate mounted on it. I figure there's a good chance that no fan is necessary at all. There is a heatsink on it. My last mobo (died a month ago, like I say) didn't even have a heatsink on the NB. That mobo was an nforce3 250, and my current one is an nforce3 150. I think I'm going to stay away from OEM budget mobos from now on. The one that died was the only one I've ever had. It died after less than a year, taking out two video cards and a PSU. Then I discover that MSI wouldn't warrant the mobo because it was OEM.

 

[Jessica69]

Originally posted by: Muse
The SFF21D's are 8.7 dba, run stock.

Despite what's written on the package of the S-Flex fans, the "D's" don't run at 8.7dBA......more like 24dBA at 12V in open air. Testing at XS plainly shows this.......

Even at 7V they produce like 22dBA.....and around 15cfm.

But that's still damned quiet........

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Jessica69

Originally posted by: Muse
The SFF21D's are 8.7 dba, run stock.

Despite what's written on the package of the S-Flex fans, the "D's" don't run at 8.7dBA......more like 24dBA at 12V in open air. Testing at XS plainly shows this.......

Even at 7V they produce like 22dBA.....and around 15cfm.

But that's still damned quiet........

Hmm. I have no way of testing myself other than my ears. Well, I have a Radio Shack Movel 33-2050 Sound Level Meter, which gives analog readings but I don't know that it's up to specing case fans. Maybe if I know how to do it.

Anyway, at the moment, with room temperature 71 F, the CPU is registering 26 C, case 25 C on MBM. I figure it should only get better as the AS3 cures. Not sure how best to cure it. I think it's supposed to take 200 hours of use, and some on/off cycles. Normally, I turn off the PC when I don't think I am going to use it for the next couple of hours. Right now, this is probably the quietest computer I've ever had, with the exception of my laptop.

BTW, the "D's" aren't supposed to even be able to spin up at 7v. I'm told they need 9v to start.

 

[Net]

sounds accurate to me. i have a 4000+ with a zalman 90mm and artic silver 3. i get 27C no load.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
u sure its not your NB temp?

Actually, I'm thinking now that it's bogus! Yesterday, I watched as my room temperature escalated from an initial value under 60F up to 83F and the case temperature remained steadfastly at 25C. WTF? My opinion of MBM is in the dumpster. I don't know where it's getting that value.

The CPU temp right now after just turning on the machine 10 minutes ago is 24C. Yesterday with room temp at 83F the CPU temp hovered at 36C, which I guess is reasonable. The case temp is, of course, being reported as 25C. :disgust:

I'm amazed that Gigabyte apparently only has no temperature sensors on this GA-K8n Pro mobo. Even my almost 10 year old MSI KT3 Ultra2 has extra temp sensors. My opinion of Gigabyte just took a hit.

 

[Davegod]

MBM, Speedfan etc are usually good at guessing the cpu sensor but they seem clueless about other sensors (Speedfan doesn't even pretend, just "Temp 1", "Temp 2" etc). Try a stress test and see what temps change to see what's what.

On top of that I don't believe that the sensors are very accurate, and last I read they don't work as simply as you'd think, so are open to... interpretative calculations to arrive at the temp figure.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Davegod
MBM, Speedfan etc are usually good at guessing the cpu sensor but they seem clueless about other sensors (Speedfan doesn't even pretend, just "Temp 1", "Temp 2" etc). Try a stress test and see what temps change to see what's what.

On top of that I don't believe that the sensors are very accurate, and last I read they don't work as simply as you'd think, so are open to... interpretative calculations to arrive at the temp figure.

I would think that the CPU sensor reading isn't subject to guesswork but is sent by the CPU itself. So far, what I see in MBM for CPU temp apparently corresponds to what I see in the BIOS for it, and I figure it's getting it from the same exact source.

The accuracy of the sensors is of course dependent on how well they engineered them. I have a lot of digital thermometers. I even have one that lets me calibrate it with a screwdriver. It has two sensors. One of them is pretty OK, the other is the one I've tried to calibrate and I simply had to throw my hands up finally and accept that getting it to exhibit useful readings (this is just to get room temperature) was useless, and I turned off that sensor.

I've compared all my digital thermometers by putting them in a controlled temperature space, and labeled them according to what they read compared to what I believe is the "correct" temperature. I'm going to put a sensor from one of these in my case, and that will be my case temperature. I'll just dangle it in there somewhere.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Muse I'm going to put a sensor from one of these in my case, and that will be my case temperature. I'll just dangle it in there somewhere.

So I dangled a sensor in there and my current temps with room at 67F:

CPU 25C
Case 24.5C

Just wow!

This is no load. Can someone suggest what to run to get temps for load conditions?

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Orthos or prime95 work well.

 

[Muse]

I was getting a consistent reading for case temperature of 25C from Motherboard Monitor and I went into MBM control panel and changed the sensor a couple of times. I had no idea which one might work. There are around 10 different things to choose from. The first one did nothing (zero I believe), but the second looks to be working. It's set to ITE8712F-2. Well, it's measuring something and it's varying between 20 and 25 C so far.