- Joined
- Nov 6, 2003
- Location
- Denver, CO
Info regarding high temperatures, causes/solutions, and reading from the CPU diode
Ok, I have seen many many threads with people freaking out from their temperatures. I feel like addressing the temperature issue once and for all so later I can just paste a link.
What diode are your reading? Your Socket? Bad. Your CPU's internal diode if you can? Good. A 3rd party diode that you bought yourself? Depends, but probably good.
Why? Well, the socket thermistor is probably the most inaccurate reading for your CPU temperature. Your CPU diode is probably the best you can get but still not that great because motherboard manufactures alter the readings sometimes.
When a company like AMD for example says the CPU's maximum guaranteed continuous operating temperature is 85°C, that is not 85°C on the socket...it is on the CPU diode that is included in the chip!
Now, on to maximum temperatures......
If you are reading from the CPU diode, a 50°C temp will not kill you. It will not kill your CPU. It will not burn your house down. It will not create a nuclear meltdown. Your skin can most likely handle 50°C. You may get a slight slight slight burn....
Now...yes...some motherboard manufactures alter this reading, so let's put the "just to be on the safe side" line at 60°C. If you are doing extreme voltages I recommend lower.
Will the CPU instantly be a goner the split second it crosses from 84.9°C to 85°C? No. That recommendation your CPU manufacture says is the "Maximum Temperature" is what is really the highest temperature that they will guarantee the CPU will be STABLE, with no damage, for continuous operation.
I personally have ran constantly in the low to mid 80's on my AMD 1700 for about a year now. I finally got some great cooling and am doing the low to mid 50's with an SLK-900 and 160CFM of rated air moving through it. Is it less stable from running in the 80's so long? Nope....
I think it is appropriate to share the story of when my heatsink was not seated right and I smelled my crappy thermal compound start to burn a little, and that sticker start to darken. Still works fine...100% load while folding...
My fan once died too, my last MBM "every 30 seconds" log was in the 120's.
Still works fine to this day..... Really, nasty things only happen when you go above 120°C for a brief time.
BTW, when I was running in the 80's my socket temperature read in the 50's...that goes to show you, you shouldn't trust it.
The bottom line is...your temperatures are most likely better than you think.
To be on the safe side, I would keep the Socket temperature under 60°C, preferable under 55°C IF YOU CANNOT READ THE CPU DIODE.
If you can read the diode, I would stay under 70°C to be safe. For overclocking, remember, lower temps help stability, at 80C I was doing 2.4ish GHz at 1.875Vcore, now I am doing in the 2.5's with that same vcore and my temps in the 50's.
I hope this comforts some people.
BTW, just for the information I have seen 2-3 other people who most likely share my view, and my information is based off of my own experiences, and the experiences of many others in this forum that I have been reading every day for almost 2 years.
Ok, I have seen many many threads with people freaking out from their temperatures. I feel like addressing the temperature issue once and for all so later I can just paste a link.
What diode are your reading? Your Socket? Bad. Your CPU's internal diode if you can? Good. A 3rd party diode that you bought yourself? Depends, but probably good.
Why? Well, the socket thermistor is probably the most inaccurate reading for your CPU temperature. Your CPU diode is probably the best you can get but still not that great because motherboard manufactures alter the readings sometimes.
When a company like AMD for example says the CPU's maximum guaranteed continuous operating temperature is 85°C, that is not 85°C on the socket...it is on the CPU diode that is included in the chip!
Now, on to maximum temperatures......
If you are reading from the CPU diode, a 50°C temp will not kill you. It will not kill your CPU. It will not burn your house down. It will not create a nuclear meltdown. Your skin can most likely handle 50°C. You may get a slight slight slight burn....
Now...yes...some motherboard manufactures alter this reading, so let's put the "just to be on the safe side" line at 60°C. If you are doing extreme voltages I recommend lower.
Will the CPU instantly be a goner the split second it crosses from 84.9°C to 85°C? No. That recommendation your CPU manufacture says is the "Maximum Temperature" is what is really the highest temperature that they will guarantee the CPU will be STABLE, with no damage, for continuous operation.
I personally have ran constantly in the low to mid 80's on my AMD 1700 for about a year now. I finally got some great cooling and am doing the low to mid 50's with an SLK-900 and 160CFM of rated air moving through it. Is it less stable from running in the 80's so long? Nope....
I think it is appropriate to share the story of when my heatsink was not seated right and I smelled my crappy thermal compound start to burn a little, and that sticker start to darken. Still works fine...100% load while folding...
My fan once died too, my last MBM "every 30 seconds" log was in the 120's.
Still works fine to this day..... Really, nasty things only happen when you go above 120°C for a brief time.
BTW, when I was running in the 80's my socket temperature read in the 50's...that goes to show you, you shouldn't trust it.
The bottom line is...your temperatures are most likely better than you think.
To be on the safe side, I would keep the Socket temperature under 60°C, preferable under 55°C IF YOU CANNOT READ THE CPU DIODE.
If you can read the diode, I would stay under 70°C to be safe. For overclocking, remember, lower temps help stability, at 80C I was doing 2.4ish GHz at 1.875Vcore, now I am doing in the 2.5's with that same vcore and my temps in the 50's.
I hope this comforts some people.
BTW, just for the information I have seen 2-3 other people who most likely share my view, and my information is based off of my own experiences, and the experiences of many others in this forum that I have been reading every day for almost 2 years.