DFI P965-S high NB temps

Just got the new system in and having odd issues with the mobo. Anytime I change settings in the bios and save them, the whole pc shuts down -- rather than just a soft reset. i notice the NB and system temps in the bios are around 66C and the CPU temp is around 39C. Doesn't this seem very high for STOCK settings, completely IDLE at the bios level?

DFI P965-S
E6420
Arctic Freezer 7
PCP&C Silencer 610
G.Skill 2x1G PC6400
EVGA 8800 GTS 640Mb

The board does hard resets a lot like asus boards with some bios setting changes when "exit setup shutdown" in the gene bios section is set to mode 2. If you set it to mode 1, the system will do soft resets. It's best to leave it on mode 2 until you get your memory settings sorted out, then change it to mode 1. As for your temps--they are very hot and quite unusual. The 965-S NB cooler is pretty good and I'd expect your temps to be around 35-40 unless you're pumping a whole lot of NB volts and FSB. I have a 40mm fan on my NB with stock thermal paste and my temps usually run 33-37.

What should I do about the temps? They seem horribly high compared to everyone else's. I pulled off the NB heatsink and cleaned it off and applied some AS5 but it only dropped the temp a few degrees. Should I RMA the board? How is DFIs tech support?

I would go with an aftermarket sink if you can. Mine Loads around 50-55C and around 40C in a 85F room temp.

there isnt much room for one with the Arctic Freezer in the way but I guess I could give it a shot. any suggestions on brand?

also, where is the "System Temp" being pulled from in smart guardian? i noticed that temp did not drop when i put on the arctic silver.

also let me reiterate that i am getting 67C on the northbridge and the system temp at idle and it doesnt go up very much under load --- only to around 69C -- seems very weird to me.

My NB doesn't go up too much under load either, so I don't think that is too odd-- but your temps are way out of line. I'd rma the board if I couldn't get the temps in line or I couldn't find a good reason why they were so high. At very the least, you've got probably got a board with a bad thermistor. Have you tried clocking the machine? Does it seem to run ok other than the temps?

i checked the temps in bios from a cold boot and everything looked normal - around 45C on the NB and the System. the temps climbed steadily to the mid 60s once i booted into windows.

i was able to clock it up to 400 FSB and it ran 6 hours orthos stable with no errors. temps maxed around 68-69C under load.

its frustrating getting the board to boot at all after any changes in the bios. that mode2 shutdown thing is a hassle. it never boots back up after 3 seconds like it is supposed to. i have to pull the power and let it sit a few minutes and then try booting it back up.

the NB heatsink was definitely burn-inducingly hot to the touch. i can pick up an active cooler tomorrow but i'd hate to waste the money if i end up RMAing it anyway. should i RMA it to DFI or newegg?

Your board is definitely a strange one. I've never had any issues with mode 2. You shouldn't have to power it off like that at all unless you're doing something really extreme on the ram. The bios isn't resetting like its supposed to. And your NB temps are just crazy. RMA it. Send it back to newegg rather than DFI if newegg will give you an RMA number for it.

Picked up a swifttech NB cooler today. NB temps plummeted to 47C load and only a degree or two cooler at idle. "System" temp is still up to 60C load but I have no idea where that measurement is being taken from. it can't be the southbridge can it?

cpu temps are a bit higher than what i expected at 400FSB -- i'm getting around 35C idle, 57C load from my arctic cooler. was very tempted to pick up the swifttech ultra water cooling kit when i was at the store today...

Not worth it. 57C is very normal. My temps are near 70C atm. I think my IHS is not completely flat. Keep pushing till temps get to 65C.

Your temps sound normal for 400FSB... The P965 is one of the hottest chipsets I've ever felt. Mine ran @ over 65C without active cooling...

I guess I will keep the board for now and see how far I can push it. The "System" temp reading is still bothering me but everything else seems under control. The G.Skills don't want to post at 1000Mhz so I am running them 1:1 for now. I suppose I will have to lax the timings before they will do that kind of speed -- right now they are still set to AUTO.