AMD II x4 B97 unusually low temps

[Adec001]

Hello all,

Recently I built my budget gaming rig based on AMD II X4 B97 CPU, which is basically bussines version of x4 955 with lower TDP of 95W.

Am using Noctua heatsink on it NH-u12p which I got for 5$.

Now, the strange part are the temperatures. They are very low.
Idling at 22-25C and under load barely peeking over 40C.

I tried all popular temp. monitoring softwares I could think off (MSI afterburnes, HW info, HW monitor,Speccy, Speed Fan etc)

Is it possible that readings are wrong. Theese are Core temps.
When I first boot into BIOS the sensor there is reading 10C higher temps though.

I have micro ATX case with one 120mm intake and one exhaust fans, lined up with Noctua's heatsink fan.

 

[spdragoo]

Have you tried AMD's Overdrive program? It'll actually read the thermal margin on the chip -- rather than a reading of "this is the temp your CPU is at", it's a reading of "this is how much room you have before your CPU hits its thermal limit".

If AMD Overdrive shows a huge thermal margin -- i.e. 30C or more operating, 50C or more idle -- then your temps are being reported correctly.

 

[Adec001]

Have you tried AMD's Overdrive program? It'll actually read the thermal margin on the chip -- rather than a reading of "this is the temp your CPU is at", it's a reading of "this is how much room you have before your CPU hits its thermal limit".

If AMD Overdrive shows a huge thermal margin -- i.e. 30C or more operating, 50C or more idle -- then your temps are being reported correctly.

http://prntscr.com/f73ecg

Does this look ok?

 

[spdragoo]

Yes, a 46C thermal margin is more than OK.

 

[kgt1182]

If all the temperature monitoring software report the same temperature, you can be 90% sure that temperature is correct.
Getting AMD overdrive and checking the thermal margin: if your thermal margin is >20°C your CPU is far from overheating/thermal throttling. You can rest assured the CPU would work reliably.

If you really want to confirm, touch the heatsink yourself to check if its really peaking at 40°C. If you can keep your finger there for 3 seconds/feels warm, your CPU is definitely reporting the right temperature. If its so hot your reflexes pull your finger back then thats a faulty CPU temperature reading. This is when you trust your senses more to confirm.

 

[Adec001]

Ok, thank you guys, CPU heatsink doesnt feel hot really. I guess its combination of low TDP office class CPU and totally overkill Noctua cooler thats keeping the temps down. My case is well cooled aswell. Thanks again