Thermal Curiosities, 3200+ Venice

[DrZDO]

Hi. New member here. I posted this on Anandtech, but didn't get much new information. Any feedback? Here's the relevant data...

This is a 90nanometer Rev. E chip. And here is the data scribed on the heatspreader:

amd athlontm 64
ada3200daa4bw
lbbwe 0529dpgw
q382026g52356

See sig. for add'l specs, but I'm using the stock Coolermaster alum. hs/f for testing here (Thermaltake ran hot too, so I switched to eliminate it as the cause). I'd bet my life that both sinks were installed correctly, with Arctic Alumina paste.

I'm using Speedfan to monitor CPU temp., which it reads as "Remote." Idle ~48C, Load~61C. Shutting off Prime95's torture test results in an instant (one second) drop from around 61C to around 52C. I believe the complete range of temps I've seen at this slight overclock (2097 MHz, v1.4-1.425) is 46-64.

This screenshot shows the rapid temp. fluctuations from relatively idle to P95 back to idle. The duration of the chart is about 1 min. 10 seconds total: http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/245/heat14kn.jpg

Vcore 1.4, and Prime95 tt took it to 61 within a minute. My case has an air tunnel direct to the CPU, and temp. readings are the same or higher with the side panel off (eliminates case temp. as cause, and I have good airflow there anyway).

...As far as I'm concerned, unless the readings went wrong somewhere (Occam's razor), something's wrong that has nothing to do with me, like they forgot thermal paste under the spreader, or put a toaster in there instead of a core. Right now, at stock everything, I'm sitting at 47C, 0-2% CPU Usage. Room temp's in the mid 70sF, and I've got that cold air inlet.

Most confusing is that (as noted above, see pic link) the temp drops so fast when cpu usage drops. If the heatsink isn't working well, then where are 9-10 degrees C going in 1-2 seconds?

...The fundamental question: How likely is it that the reading is erroneous, as opposed to the chip overheating for no reason?

Thanks a lot for any advice...Other than "Check the hsf install again."


Edit: I might have spoken prematurely, since I just got this informative reply from "ho4x" at Anandtech:

ADA3200DAA4BW is the revision E6 variant at .09µm. Same D package but the A for temp and voltage means "variable" which for that revision processor is 45-65°C for operating temp and 1.35 - 1.40 vCore. Given the post in reply to mine before, I'm left scratching my head as to why the temps are that high given the setup that you have. I am starting to agree with your original assesment that the temps may somehow be artificially inflated by something past the diode adding a few degrees to that reading. I am interested to see what readings you get from the A8N32 in comparison. Just keep an eye on her for now and hope she doesn't blow. Always remember the golden rule:
All electronics are powered by smoke. Once you let the smoke out, they no longer function.

However, I'd appreciate anything else you can offer.

 

[infinitevalence]

I had this problem on my Winchester until i removed the IHS. Sometimes poor contact with the die on the CPU can cause what im going to call heat bubbles. You can either try to get a new chip or remove the IHS and see if that improves your tempretures.

here is a handy guide my friend godman did on removing your IHS

Link

 

[DrZDO]

I had this problem on my Winchester until i removed the IHS. Sometimes poor contact with the die on the CPU can cause what im going to call heat bubbles. You can either try to get a new chip or remove the IHS and see if that improves your tempretures.

here is a handy guide my friend godman did on removing your IHS

Link

Thanks. I'll consider that. Normally I'd wait until the chip was nearly obsolete before risking something like that, but the price has gone up in the 6 months since I bought it...

Edit: How much risk would there be just removing the IHS, cleaning the surfaces, and replacing the paste with Ceramique, then reinstalling?

 

[rseven]

The big temp reduction after shutting down Prime is pretty normal as the CPU stops generating vast amounts of heat quickly. I think it is pretty difficult to know for certain whether it's a faulty reading or a faulty IHS mounting. Both have been known to happen and neither is unusual. The only way to know for certain is to try your CPU on another board, or try another CPU on your board. Of course removing the IHS is another, albeit more radical way to find out.

 

[DrZDO]

The big temp reduction after shutting down Prime is pretty normal as the CPU stops generating vast amounts of heat quickly. I think it is pretty difficult to know for certain whether it's a faulty reading or a faulty IHS mounting. Both have been known to happen and neither is unusual. The only way to know for certain is to try your CPU on another board, or try another CPU on your board. Of course removing the IHS is another, albeit more radical way to find out.

I have an A8N32 on the way, so we'll see. That's why I got into this heat testing to begin with.

 

[DrZDO]

Update: New mobo, idle temp ~35 at stock clock, Prime95 at 2200MHz is 44.

Either the old mobo was reading the temp. wrong, or heating up the chip itself. Everything's fine now.