What Temperature should I pay attention to?

[fathairybeast]

I'm in the process of attempting my first overclock on an fx8120 set in a 990fx UD3 mobo.

I'm trying to keep things reasonable for my first go-around and I've got my initial settings at 215 MHz x 20 with Vcore at 1.375.

Anyways, I'm using CPUID Hardware monitor to keep an eye on temps while stress testing/benchmarking my settings, but there are multiple different temp gauges and I'm unsure which ones to focus on.

There are the 8 temperature gauges for the Processor:
Core#0 through Core#7
These are pretty self explanatory

Then there are 3 temperature gauges under the Mobo listing itself:
TMPIN0
TMPIN1
TMPIN2



TLR - TMPIN2 has me the most concerned. I've read that for this CPU I should keep my temps under 60C at all times and under 45C for 24/7 use. I'm assuming all I need to worry about are the CPU temps themselves and not the TMPIN (mobo) temps... but I"m having a hard time ignoring the mobo temps since TMPIN2 is consistently 10 degrees hotter than the CPU cores themselves.

Should I be concerned about the mobo TMPIN2 temperature at all? Or should I just pay attention to the CPU temps and to hell with the others?

 

[twelve25]

Those are motherboard monitoring temps and some of those can be chipsets or a sensor under the CPU socket. So I wouldn't ignore it.

Have you compared with another utility to see if they match? I have one program that always measures one of my cores at 7C, which is obviously wrong.

 

[fathairybeast]

Those are motherboard monitoring temps and some of those can be chipsets or a sensor under the CPU socket. So I wouldn't ignore it.

Have you compared with another utility to see if they match? I have one program that always measures one of my cores at 7C, which is obviously wrong.

Hi there,

I'll run a quick 5 min IBT with both cpu-z and CPUID HWMonitor to make sure they're giving consistent data. I'll get back in a few minutes.

Edit: I'm getting my OC programs confused because there are so damned many.... I meant SIW not CPU-Z.

 

[fathairybeast]

So the refresh rate on SIW is much lower than the refresh rate on CPUID. CPUID is basically real time results while SIW only refreshes about every 30 or 45 seconds, but the numbers are pretty consistent across the two.

The other downside to SIW is that it doesn't list CPU temps, only the TMPIN values.

But what you're saying is that the TMPIN values may be related to the CPU so don't ignore it? Okay, thank you for that tip - I'll be sure to try to keep that number in the mid 50s while stress testing!

 

[lowjack989]

Use speedfan v4.46 it will help you see the correct temps

 

[fathairybeast]

Also - Am I wrong or have I just bottlenecked my GPU?

While overclocking I went from 3.1GHz stock to roughly 4.0GHz and had some incredible results (well, for my first go at OCing). I had some decent gains in all of my benchmarking software: Cinebench FPS increased about 20%, GPU test score increased from 4.5ish to around 5.5ish, wPrime scores increased about 30%, as did SuperPI tests.

But what I noticed was that once I increased my cpu to 4.5GHz, or even 4.3GHz my gains started becoming less noticeable. I started having diminishing returns in raw processing power (SuperPI and wPrime) and my gains started to drop slightly in Cinebench.

Have I bottlenecked my GPU? Or perhaps too much heat is degrading results?

 

[fathairybeast]

Use speedfan v4.46 it will help you see the correct temps

Thanks! Getting it now.

 

[lowjack989]

No, you have just reached the maximum practical clockspeed of the chip, this is common.... GPU's are the same way, once you get it up above the sweet spot performance actually deteriorates

 

[lowjack989]

Using speed fan you can config it by omitting things you don't need ...you will also notice one erroneous reading it will be like -128c or something just omit that by clicking the config button

 

[fathairybeast]

Using speed fan you can config it by omitting things you don't need ...you will also notice one erroneous reading it will be like -128c or something just omit that by clicking the config button

Speedfan is much better for comparison than SIW. It, like CPUID, is basically realtime.

Values are consistent across the three so I'm inclined to say that they're accurate?

 

[lowjack989]

Thanks! Getting it now.

Yeah speedfan is the most user friendly program for monitor temps

 

[lowjack989]

So the problem may lie with the heatsink on the NB or the VRM's if your MOBO temp readings are high

 

[fathairybeast]

Yeah speedfan is the most user friendly program for monitor temps

Thanks again. I'm fairly confident that I've reached what you called the 'sweet spot' for my CPU. Approximately 4.0 or 4.1 GHz. Any higher than that and my results start to degrade in practical testing (cinebench, 3dmark). I've got an aftermarket enermax fan but that's about all it can handle safely. Any more on the CPU multiplier and my results degrade, any higher on the FSB/HTT and it starts to overheat. I'm going to go back in, ramp down voltages and mess around with the other settings listed in the guide I'm using.

 

[fathairybeast]

So the problem may lie with the heatsink on the NB or the VRM's if your MOBO temp readings are high

Is it safe to assume there is nothing (practically speaking) that can be done about that? I'm not really wanting to crack open the case and add more fans and I'm happy with my results unless there is something relatively quick and easy to be done about it.

 

[twelve25]

Cracking open the case and adding more/better fans is the most practical and easy way to help temperatures. Inexpensive, too.

Which case do you have and how many fans?

 

[lowjack989]

Quick and simple is a matter of perception...You could pull the MOBO out and change the NB and VRM heatsink with an aftermarket solution...If you are happy with it already then IMO I would just monitor it on a regular basis and commence to playing with it.

 

[lowjack989]

BTW...That MOBO has a crappy NB heatsink...I do suggest getting an aftermarket cooler for it....I have had major NB heating problems from that UD3.....It is just cheaply made and the thermal tape is pure crap

 

[fathairybeast]

Cracking open the case and adding more/better fans is the most practical and easy way to help temperatures. Inexpensive, too.

Which case do you have and how many fans?

Rosewill Challenger. 3 chassis fans.

Here is the enermax cpu fan (the thing fit in my case with about 2mm to spare)

In hindsight I should've gone with watercooling. A little bit more money could have potentially given me quite a bit more breathing room in terms of overheating. I think...

 

[fathairybeast]

BTW...That MOBO has a crappy NB heatsink...I do suggest getting an aftermarket cooler for it....I have had major NB heating problems from that UD3.....It is just cheaply made and the thermal tape is pure crap

Yeah I get the feeling the whole mobo/cpu setup I went for is a bit dated in terms of performance all around. However, it was pretty cost effective and I had heard that the bulldozer series have a pretty high OC ceiling which got me randy. I'm new to the whole OC scene and I'm fairly happy with what I've gotten for a beginner setup.

As for the NB heatsink - I'm not going to lie, I don't even know where to begin with that. I think I may just leave it alone for now and later on if I want to beefcake my system I'll do some more studying and crack the case open again.

 

[lowjack989]

The NB heatsink on that board wraps around the CPU socket as it also doubles as the power section cooling..Its like greyish and has like a serrated finish shaped like an L