XFX 790i Ultra Temperature Question

Guys,

First post, got a question. I built the following system (actually my wife did, what a gal!):

XFX 790i Ultra
Intel Q9300 CPU
2x1GB Corsair DDR3 1333 RAM
XFX 9600GT 740MHz
Samsung 80GB SATA hard drive

Here's my question. Speedfan constantly reports system temp at or around 90C . The system runs completely stable for hours on end, even during heavy gaming and other intensive activities, and has since it was built in mid-April. I'm assuming SpeedFan is reporting the temperature incorrectly. My question is, is there a reliable benchmarking and diagnostic tool that will give accurate readings on this motherboard?

Thanks in advance!

BW

Try
Coretemp http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/
Realtemp http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/1080/Real_Temp_2.60.html
Hwmonitor http://cpuid.com/hwmonitor.php

@ meionm,

Thanks for the quick response! I tried those after you posted them up, and here's what I got:

Coretemp: Shows both system and CPU core temperatures 10C-15C higher than SpeedFan

RealTemp: Shows CPU core temps the same as SpeedFan, doesn't show system temp.

HWMonitor: Shows CPU core temps the same as Coretemp, doesn't show system temp.

I'm wondering if any of these programs are accurate for this board. Not sure what else to do except to accept that the temps as reported are wrong, but proportionally accurate, and go from there.

Any other thoughts? Again, I appreciate the help.

BW

Speedfan and Realtemp probably use lower TJmax than coretemp and hwmonitor. When you open coretemp it shows what tjmax is being used. I personally use Realtemp but it doesn't not show any other temps than cpu. O, yeah, realtemp and coretemp only show cpu temps.

There is also program called Everest that you could try.

Sometimes when a program shows high temp like 90c and up it might be an error. I think speedfan mixes up system temp with something else on nvidia boards. You should have ONE more temp reading in speedfan which might System temp not labeled as it but as something else. Same thing with hwmonitor. I think aux is your system temp.

@ meionm,

Thanks again. I tried Everest, and it reports the same system temp as SpeedFan. I think you're right that they're reading the wrong sensor for system temp. I do have a "CPU" and and "AUX" reading. They are both around 35C-38C under normal load conditions. I'm thinking one of those is the actual system temp sensor.

I wonder what sensor is reading 90C? Could be any of them, I suppose.

Anyway, now that I know what to look for (or I'm assuming that I do), I'll keep an eye on them until these apps are updated to properly read the system.

Thanks for your help!

BW

These new Wolfdale Dual-cores run hotter than hell especially at full load. My E8400 at stock goes to 80 degrees Celsius when using Prime 95 to test the CPUs for stability. I'm using the absolute **** heatsink-fan combo that came with my retail E8400 so I'm going to try a good $60 Noctua to see if it makes any difference.

If your worried about SPP and MCP temps, don't really .. nVidia's chipsets run very hot but can handle it (well from all my experience with them). Currently only the newest beta's of Everest can "read" the SPP and MCP temps but the temps reported are useless because in most cases they never fluctuate. I'd recommend you pop off the stock heatsink and replace the thermal paste on the SPP and MCP with something better (and non-conductive) .. Then you don't need to worry. I run my SPP @ 1.45v with a HR-05 and 80mm fan, the heatsink is bloody hot to the touch but my system runs perfectly stable.

False Christian said:

These new Wolfdale Dual-cores run hotter than hell especially at full load. My E8400 at stock goes to 80 degrees Celsius when using Prime 95 to test the CPUs for stability. I'm using the absolute **** heatsink-fan combo that came with my retail E8400 so I'm going to try a good $60 Noctua to see if it makes any difference.

Click to expand...

Oh absolutely. You will see a HUGE difference as the stock fans don't handle overclocking at all.

BigWorm2005GT said:

I wonder what sensor is reading 90C? Could be any of them, I suppose.

Click to expand...

There is probably no sensor at all.


I think in speedfan you resign temperature reading point, I never tried.

I think I found it... In SpeedFan, I changed sensor 1 from Thermistor Diode to PII Diode. Now "System" temp reads ~30C.

Think that was the problem?

BW

I couldn't imagine any temp in my system go that high, ever! If you ask me, something's fishy. Ow and "stock fans don't overclock?" How about my previous E6600 running at 3.4GHz with 55°C on max load and 31°C idle? That was StockFan. In my opinion it's always a matter of placing your heatsink properly and applying the past properly. Anybody that doesn't will find his CPU idle above 40.
Another thing. nVIDIA has a thing called nTune. This isn't the most perfect, but the latest version has a pretty good working System Monitor in it. I'd give that a shot if you truly want to know what component is what temperature. Don't forget, this motherboard ESA compliant (Enthusiast System Architecture) and will allow for a lot of components to be monitored.

Check nVIDIA's site here

nTune doesn't show the temp of SPP or MCP .. It gives a "System Temp" which is roughly the ambient temp in your case + some heat given off by the chip the sensor is embedded in.

As I said, the only program that can "read" the SPP and MCP temps (so I've seen anyway) is the latest beta's of Everest .. However these temps are useless .. Just replace the TIM on the chipsets, make sure the heatsinks are screwed down nice n tight n forget about them ...