High Temperatures with A7V133

I just bought a Asus A7BV133+ Thunderbird-B 1.1Ghz.

The cooler i have isn't very good, but with Asus Probe i readings around 56ºC when i'm in windows and 61ºC when im playing a game, and this is with the case open.

I have a self-made case cooling (made of 3 fans) and the readings with the case closed are higher (61ºC windows, 65ºC game).

Windows has been up for at least a day now, anda i just finished playing NOLF for 5 hours and i have no signs of instability whatsoever.

Are these values right? I don't think they are since @60ºC windows or any other software should malfunction...

Please help... my only hope that there is some kind of incorrect temperature readings

Ya, its the ASUS probe that is wrong. To prove this, get your CPU hot, check the Probe temp reading, then quickly restart and check the BIOS reading. It should be about 10 degrees cooler. I recommend ditching the ASUS probe and getting MBM 5 from cnet downloads. It is much more accurate.

- I don't write Tom's Hardware Guide, I just preach it"

I am never a great fan of the idea of 'shutting down then quickly checking temp in BIOS'.

I can control my fan speed to some extent and also monitor temp.

Going from idle to loaded will heat my cpu to an indicated 44C in about 10 seconds.

Reversing will also reduce my temp - by about 10C in 15-20 seconds, of course the system is still up and running then too.

It will take my Asus mobo al least 15 secondes to get to BIOS (even if you power off, not shutdown). I reckon a system will lose about 10 degrees in that time without too much hassle.

If you are really worried about it - get an external temperature monitor...

If your system tells you 60 degrees - it's probably too hot. I'd try to keep it between 40 and 50 under load - less if you can manage.

AMD and Intel give operating ranges for their chips. That is a recommended guideline. Kit will work outside of it, but not guarenteed and not always for very long. _IF_ your cpu is at 60 degrees a lot of the time (to original poster) your system will run, but may (or may not) die in a year or two. Take your pick:

Buy a good HSF, run your CPU at stock temp, speed and voltage and use it for 5-10 years.

Cut corners, or be too aggresive, and half your life. 2-5 years is still good enough for some people.

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Win2K takes over 5 secs just to shut down - at least on my old PIII733 it does.

I just built my A7V133/1.33 T-Bird system and I see what you mean about the POST speed - much more impressive than my last POS.

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ah, I've only used a couple win2k machines at work and have yet to need to restart one since they've been remarkably stable. I can see then that restarting into the BIOS to check the temp could actually give the computer some time to cool down.

From what I've learned about CPU temperature monitoring on Socket A boards, it's not an exact science, to put it mildly. The sensor is typically not in contact with the CPU itself, but is just sitting in an air space below it. Whether the mobo maker and BIOS writers choose to report the actual temp of the sensor or try to calibrate it to an estimate of the actual CPU temp is up to their discretion.

The most recent bios upgrade to my board (Iwill KK266R) raised the reported temp by 5-8 degrees at idle, but seems to have less change under load, so now my temps seem higher on average, but more stable. Apparently they are using a nonlinear calibration curve. My temps have always seemed lower than those reported for comparable ASUS ans Abit boards most often discussed here (but then I'm not O/Cing so it's very hard to compare). But from what I've been learning, I shouldn't be too smug. Cooler is always better (to the point of condensation at the dew point that is).

I had a good discussion with a knowledgable poster (whom I'm mostly paraphrasing here) at:
<A HREF="http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,623454;root=ocusa;mode=flat" target="_new">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,623454;root=ocusa;mode=flat</A>

We discuss a many other mobo specific issues, but CPU temp is a main topic, start about three or four posts into the thread (the good stuffs from toddblah, not me, hehe).

BW

the more I learn, the less I'm sure I know... <P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by bw37 on 03/26/01 06:55 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

If it works, then no you haven't fried your CPU. Based on the drastic difference in temps I have to ask, you are both quoting in Celsius right? Also, when you get the high readings, are you the one installing the heat sink. You might be doing it wrong. How much paste are you putting on it should only be a really small amount. The pressure of the heat sink will easily spread it out into a thin even layer. Too much and you've actually created heat trapping insulation. Next question...have you touched the heat sink with it running. If it's 45C you should touch it and think it's warm. If it's 77C you should touch it and feel pain. That should help you tell if you've got a bad temp sensor on your MB or if there really is something wrong.

Hum... i must try the newest version of the Asus Probe then.


But either way i'm sticking with MBM5 ... it's much more tweakable and i use it with SHDN, since i leave the computer on all the time.



Don't believe blindly in what you hear! - Play safe! Play hard!

I was planning on purchasing a temperature sensor for my cpu and checking if Asus Probe 2.12.07 and MBM5 are really off. But, if someone else has already done it, can we just go by their testing and apply it to our setup?