Tbird temperature... again:(

[Kodiak]

OK, I followed the CPU threads for some time, and it seems overall that 40C temperature is great, 50 is acceptable.

I just got a Athlon 1.1Gig machine. It has chrome ORB installed on it, a big case with jagged, double alluminum/plastic covers (the whole case is like a big heatsink.
Besides the chrome orb, I have a blowhole at the top getting the hot air out, the regular power supply fan, and two sunnon 80mm fans. (also a CAF 120 mm fan blowing over the PCI cards

Now, this things should run COOL, no?
No... I have AsusA7V mobo, and my idle temperature is between 59&61 Celsius. The funny thing is, after I load Seti@home and get CPU up to 100%, it initially goes up to 65C, but then goes down and stays at 62C. So almost no difference between idle & 100% CPU usage.

I am assured by the person who built the computer that the temperature is safe and was observed on other similar systems. The company is VERY professional, (the Canadian equivalent of Falcon Northwest, and I believe him 100% (well, all right, 99%, nothing is ever a 100%). I have more cooling then even the average Tom's Hardware board member, so I'm fairly confident that cooling wise, we've done what we can...

However, I'm wondering what could cause the discrepancy between my temperature readings and the ones usually reported here. I am using the Asus probe software, and I haven't yet checked the revision of mobo, so I'm not sure if I have a built-in sensor or one of those cable thingies.
My mobo temperature is around 28C...
Is it possible that the temperature reading is incorrect?
The top blowhole puts out mildly warm air, maybe a little warmer then room temperature but not much...

any explanation or advice would be useful and appreciated
Thanx,
Kodiak

 

[Kodiak]

btw, I spent an hour searching over the net and AMD's website, but besides some broken links I haven't been able to find an *official* guide, specsheet, table, whatever, on how hot Tbird can or should run... I know it runs a lot hotter than the Durons, even overclocked ones, but how hot SHOULD it be? Pointers are welcome

 

[Guest]

My Thunderbird 1000 runs at around 31 celcius idle and 40-45 under load. I use a GlobalWin FOP38 and it's in a full tower with 3 7200RPM HDDs (no extra case fans).

 

[Kodiak]

which mobo/temperature reading do you use?

I don't have anything close that that much difference between idle & 100%...

 

[Bubba]

That's a little toasty so lets see what we can do.
Make sure that the HSF is on the chip properly. I know, I know, but one time I was messing around in my case and then check my temp and it was up in the mid 60s and it was because the HSF was tilted on the chip and not flat on top of it.
Do you have any Arctic Silver? If not, get some.
Maybe, you should think about a different HSF. Maybe the GlobalWin FOP32 or if you really like the orbs, you could get the latest which is a superorb. Its really tall and seems to do a pretty good job according to the reviews.

What revision of your mobo do you have and what bios are you using?

 

[Bubba]

Also, what version of the Asus probe are you using? If you are using version 2.12, it reports at least 10C higher than what the temp really is.
Check in the bios to see what the temp is.
And use probe version 2.11, its the most accurate as far as I know.

 

[Kodiak]

this morning I checked the BIOS, it was at 51C.... that does sound better, I think the probe IS 2.12x...
well, we're halfway there
The builders used Arctic Silver AFAIK... I'll check it when I get home from work... it is possible that the UPS guys banged the machine too hard and dislocated the heatsink... it is so beautifully built though, I'm afraid I'll just ruin it if I start messing too early

 

[Bubba]

51 is not to bad for the A7V and a 1GHz. The A7V with bios versions of 1004 and 1005 have higher temps than any other boards. Please get rid of that 2.12 probe. If you get some Arctic Silver, it will probably get you down to around 44 or 45C. This is a totally acceptable temp for this board and that processor.

 

[Kodiak]

its 1.1, not 1Ghz, maybe accounts for extra few degrees...
I'll try to find 2.11 probe...
Thanx for your help!

 

[Kodiak]

on a related note, will applying Arctic Silver on non-heatsinked chips (like some chipsets etc) help any, since it theoretically increases their heat transmission to air? Just wondering

 

[Bubba]

I don't know, never tried it.
Never even thought about it.
How would you even monitor it?
What chips do you want to put it on? And why?

 

[Kodiak]

I really wouldn't be able to monitor it... and for the fun of it
just as a hypothetical idea, that's all

don't worry about it, this kind of thing happens in my brain

 

[Bubba]

Well, in that case, go for it.
Let me know what happens.

 

[jlbigguy]

I have a Tbird 900, and wrote to AMD about the proper operating temperatures for the chip. They responded the next day, saying the chip is designed to operate anywhere in the 0 - 90 degree Celcius range.

My own temps are 32 degrees idle, 49 degrees under full load after 3 hours.

I have 1 intake fan, 1 exhaust fan, and the powersupply fan.

 

[Guest]

AMD has released an "AMD Thermal, Mechanical and Chassis Cooling Design Guide" in PDF format... It's a big 5mb doc, put I uploaded it especially for you to http://home.concepts.nl/~basvdam/Athlon23794.pdf .I know this is illegal (distributing other's work), but I'm not refinding that document on the AMD website.

This guide tells you exactly what everyone needs to know about cooling and max. temperatures etc.

Have fun reading the 38 pages.

BTW:
Tbird 750 + MSI KT7 pro 2a + OEM cooler + 2 case fans = 40"C
Duron 650@850 + CT 7AJA + Coolermaster DP5-5H51 = 38"C

Both at 100% CPU usage

Keep it cool.