AMD 965BE temps question *update 9-21-2010**

[shatterpoints]

Hi guys !


I am new to Overclocking and Just built my first PC since 2002 !! My memory is a little hazy but I got everything assembled just fine and the PC runs no problem. I dabbled with overclocking my AMD and can get it to 3.9Ghz before cooling becomes an issue. I can go to 4Ghz but as I said I'm on stock cooling.


Anyway my question is this, what temp monitoring device do you use and which should I trust of mine?

my temp monitoring programs are as follows
PC Probe II (came with mobo) reads 46c under full load @ 3.9Ghz
3rd party program "Speccy" says my CPU temp is in the mid 60's Celsius

Which number/ monitor should I trust? I don't want my new cpu to be soup.

* it is noteworthy that even @ stock settings the "speccy" program says my cpu is in the 60's when I run prime95 torture test, but the Mobo monitor "pc probe II" says otherwise.

Also if I were to guess I would believe Speccy to be false because I do not see any evidence of the cpu reaching temp threshold and downclocking...

If anyone can shed some light that would be wonderful--- full computer specs listed below.

Mobo- Asus M4A89GTD-PRO/USB3
CPU- AMD 965be @ 3.9Ghz
Ram- 4GB 1333mhz Pny (9-9-9-24)


OC settings
CPU freq- 231 mhz
Cpu voltage -1.45
cpu/NB voltage - 1.15
DRAM voltage- 1.65

Multiplier 17.0

update**** No matter if I am set to stock settings or am overclocked, core temp says I always go over 55c I run prim95 FFT/blend and easily climb higher then 55c even @ stock everything... I don't know what to do and also am beginning to wonder how accurate core temp is. Both utilities that came with the mobo read the cpu at no higher than 51c under ~50% load and 55c @ 100% load. The only thing I can pass in prime 95 is the benchmark but it still says I peak @ 60+c.

what should I do I am at a complete loss.

case is a cooler master 922 HAF (2x 200mm fans and 2x 140mm fans) 2 blowing in and 2 blowing out. I'm stumped....

 

[xoke]

Get "Core Temp" http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

I think your motherboard's program is off a bit. See what Core Temp says...I suspect your in the mid 60s at load...which is a bit too hot. Ideally you want to keep a Phenom II under 55c.

 

[shatterpoints]

Get "Core Temp" http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

I think your motherboard's program is off a bit. See what Core Temp says...I suspect your in the mid 60s at load...which is a bit too hot. Ideally you want to keep a Phenom II under 55c.

You are right, Core Temp is exactly spot on in agreement with Speccy. Seems I'll need to back things down for a bit. But what worries me most is temps sky rocket even at stock settings

 

[beenthere]

Temps on a quad or hex core CPU typically jump way faster than dual core CPUs when placed under load. Based on my 965 BE testing your temps look about right for 1.45V. Even at default voltage these CPUs increase in temp fast when overclocked and require a good heatsink/fan and airflow to maintain good temps. You'll need better cooling if you want to OC higher.

 

[shatterpoints]

Temps on a quad or hex core CPU typically jump way faster than dual core CPUs when placed under load. Based on my 965 BE testing your temps look about right for 1.45V. Even at default voltage these CPUs increase in temp fast when overclocked and require a good heatsink/fan and airflow to maintain good temps. You'll need better cooling if you want to OC higher.

Most definitely I've run a few more tests and discovered, somehow, one of the ASUS utilities disabled one of my chassis fans (happened to be my front 200mm fan) which explains the wild spiking I've been seeing. Definitely will be buying better cooling.

 

[trents]

Some of the programs you have been using are measuring CPU temp (sensor is actually in the motherboard socket area) while others are measuring core temp (censor on CPU die). They will usually be different, sometimes by as much as 10+ c in my experience. The critical temp in overclocking is the core temp which you want to to mid 50s c.

HWMonitor is a nice program that gives both core temps and CPU temps, for comparison's sake. In HWMonitor the CPU temp line (depending on what version of the program you have) may be labeled in an obscure way but its there.

 

[shatterpoints]

update

 

[trents]

update

and . . .

 

[shatterpoints]

and . . .

added it to my original post

 

[trents]

Oh.

 

[shatterpoints]

Oh.

any suggestions? I'm stumped

 

[trents]

Actually, your core temps in the mid to high 50s at stock settings are probably not that far from reality for a 965. I would trust PCProbe for CPU socket temp since it's supplied by the motherboard manufacturer and one would hope the software is synced well with the sensor calibration. The unknown here is how much different is the core temp than the CPU temp? If you knew for instance that the core temp ran 6c hotter than the CPU temp you could extrapolate but you can't be sure of that in this case. Sometimes core temps are higher than the CPU temp and sometimes lower. It varies from one setup to the next.

The fact that your core temps show the same whether at stock or overclocked settings with third party monitoring programs is curious. One wonders if there is some sort of thermal throttling going on behind the scenes.

 

[QuietIce]

to OCF!


Maybe I missed this but when you say "stock" what exactly do you mean by that? Do you mean BIOS Auto or have you manually set the stock values in BIOS?


What does CPU-Z show as the vCore when loaded and idle at "stock" ...?

 

[beenthere]

My 965 BE on a Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4 shows a 7 C diff between the CPU core and Mobo temps until you stress test the system for an hour or more. Then the mobo temp comes closer to the CPU core temp.

 

[shatterpoints]

to OCF!


Maybe I missed this but when you say "stock" what exactly do you mean by that? Do you mean BIOS Auto or have you manually set the stock values in BIOS?


What does CPU-Z show as the vCore when loaded and idle at "stock" ...?

By stock I mean out of the box defaults.

auto bios

at idle Vcore is between 0.9 and 1.0

 

[trents]

My 965 BE on a Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4 shows a 7 C diff between the CPU core and Mobo temps until you stress test the system for an hour or more. Then the mobo temp comes closer to the CPU core temp.

Which way does that go? Are your core temps higher than your CPU temps, I would assume? Are you using the stock cpu cooler?

 

[shatterpoints]

Which way does that go? Are your core temps higher than your CPU temps, I would assume? Are you using the stock cpu cooler?

Yes I'm using the stock cooler ( all the reviews of it said it was decent for a small overclock) Even still it should be atleast good enough for normal settings/use with no OC

On my PC the cpu temp at idle is in agreement with all utilities and programs. MB temp is also in agreement both at idle and under load, so I'm not worried there.

The issue I am having is, when stress tested Core Temp shows my temps being 10+c higher then the utilities that came with the mobo. The difference is shown in seconds under a prime95 test and as my own benchmark when encoding a video. So again all 3rd party programs show a high reading and all the mobo utilities say everything is fine and everything agrees at idle.

 

[QuietIce]

By stock I mean out of the box defaults.

auto bios

at idle Vcore is between 0.9 and 1.0

If the (motherboard) CPU temp is showing 50°C at idle with 800 MHz @ 1.0v then there's got to be a problem with the heatsink somewhere or you have no case airflow to speak of. I'm voting for the former since I've seldom seen cases with airflow bad eonugh to cause that.


Is SmartFan enabled or something else that would slow down the CPU fan???


Edit: (crosspost!)
If CoreTemp and Probe II agree at idle then chances are everything is reading correctly.

As a test take the side of the case off and use a room fan to blow air into the case, then check the load core temp ...

 

[shatterpoints]

idle temps across all monitoring utilities and programs agree system at 800mhz and idle is 32C. When its at 3.4ghz and idle temps are at 38C


Under load is when things start to disagree. Air flow is not an issue I can say that atleast. Cool and quiet is enabled, should I turn that off?

 

[shatterpoints]

After backing the voltage as low as I could go without changing it in the bios, I set all the fans to 100% and max cpu temp of 60c and this is the result I got.