[SOLVED] How can I find out the CPU temperature of my AMD FX-6300

[abhay104]

This processor has a thermal sensor which is calibrated with a proprietary technology, thus third party applications give the wrong reading. Core temp gave me a reading below room temperature. I did download AMD Overdrive and it reports a thermal margin of 35 degree centigrade. Now I wanna find its actual temperature. To find the applications maximum safe temperature I and calculate the CPU temperature, I tried looking for the user manual but I couldn't find that either. How can I find the CPU current temperature

 

[drea.drechsler]

Use HWInfo64...although I think HWMonitor is also pretty good for FX processors. HWInfo makes it pretty clear which is a motherboard sensor with their own inaccuracies (it's not die temperature but air temperature somewhere in the immediate vicinity of the CPU) and which a CPU sensor.

But you need to realize it's pretty much impossible to know the 'true' CPU die temperature of Intel and AMD processors due to the reporting algorithm's uncertainties. For FX in particular, the algorithm blitzes out below about 45C and starts reporting random values, even negative temperatures. Here's an informative article on this.

 

[CountMike]

This processor has a thermal sensor which is calibrated with a proprietary technology, thus third party applications give the wrong reading. Core temp gave me a reading below room temperature. I did download AMD Overdrive and it reports a thermal margin of 35 degree centigrade. Now I wanna find its actual temperature. To find the applications maximum safe temperature I and calculate the CPU temperature, I tried looking for the user manual but I couldn't find that either. How can I find the CPU current temperature

It's 61c minus thermal margin for core temperature.

 

[abhay104]

@CountMike Values reported by AMD overdrive using the 61 as the max safe temperature are way below ambient temperature.

@drea.drechsler HWinfo also occasionally goes below ambient temperature. HWinfo reporting tlcl and cpu package(tsi). These don't seem accurate. How may I find an accurate estimate of the CPU temperature. Is the motherboard temperature a good indicator? Also once I am able to find the right temperature which tool should I use to perform a stress test? Here is HWinfo screenshot

 

[CountMike]

61 -35= 26c so it can't be bellow ambient unless it's in tropics although it does look a bit low. FX sensors are not to accurate at low temps and if that's because of sensors all programs will read wrong.

 

[abhay104]

@CountMike Room temperature here is 29c. The BIOS shows CPU temperature at 48c without any load beforehand

 

[drea.drechsler]

...
HWinfo also occasionally goes below ambient temperature. HWinfo reporting tlcl and cpu package(tsi). These don't seem accurate. How may I find an accurate estimate of the CPU temperature. Is the motherboard temperature a good indicator? Also once I am able to find the right temperature which tool should I use to perform a stress test? Here is HWinfo screenshot

Tctl is meant only as an indicator of current thermal state, not an accurate temperature reading. As such, it's useful for controlling cooling fans. Read that article...it explains the situation. In it, Martin (HWInfo's author) explains that AMD has even backed away from calling the telemetry output (Tctl) a temperature output. Put succinctly: there is no accurate temperature measurement method that's built-in to either CPU or motherboard. That's true even today, with Ryzen processors, BTW.

The only way I know to get a reliable estimate of temperature is to locate a thermocouple on the CPU heat spreader and measure it there, then run the numbers for the thermal interface (heat spreader to die) to derive a meaningful estimate.

 

[abhay104]

Sucks to not be able to find out CPU temp easily. That aside, my BIOS reports a temperature of 48c after normal operation. I ran a stress test and these are the temperatures 35 mins after full load. 20 secs after which I opened BIOS which reported 57c. The room temperature here is 29c. I have one external fan and no thermal compound. Given this much info is the CPU running at a normal/safe/expected temperature or should I seek to improve?

 

[drea.drechsler]

... I have one external fan and no thermal compound. ...

With no thermal compound I'd have to say those temps are excellent...but I'd not run it until you get some. In a pinch, you can use any number of substitutes: toothpaste is actually highly effective. I wouldn't use any of the more humorous substitutes like peanut butter or mayonnaise as they contain salt which wouldn't be good if it contaminated the motherboard.

Even toothpaste, though, won't work well for long so get the real thing as soon as you can.

But if you mean to say you have none to re-seat the heatsink, I'd say what you have is effective enough for a 6300. I seem to remember desireable temps to be less than 65C (under all-core heavy loads) and a highest temp (of concern to overclockers, primarily) of around 75C. That's the Tctl which, as we've learned, isn't an accurate temperature but it's all we have to work with.

BTW: if you work in a technical field long enough you'll come to realize any measurement is not 'accurate', there's always inherent error. The thing to keep in mind is whether it's good enough for it's intended function and the Tctl temperature is effective for controlling cooling fans and getting an idea of it's instaneous thermal state. That's all the average user needs. For more, you need more esoteric instrumented test setup like the thermocouple arrangement.

 

[abhay104]

Thanks a lot person