Athlon 64 2800 temp problem

[DVOM]

I just put together an Athlon 64 2800+ CPU and a Gigabyte GA-K8NS MB. Runs great however the CPU temperature is 69-70 C.

Motherboard Monitor, Aida32 and Everest all report that temp.

I pulled the heat sink, removed the factory pad and applied Arctic Silver. Same problem. (the factory pad showed good contact)

When I reboot to BIOS it reports the CPU temp at about 28-29C. So I set the BIOS to warn me if the temp got to 60C. Rebooted to windows and it didn't take long to get the BIOS warning. So I reset BIOS to warn at 70C.

I haven't gotten the BIOS temp warning since, however the CPU is still running at 69-70C according to MBM. OEM fan is running at about 3100 RPM.

Any ideas? TIA

[photolady]

Was that the retail version and did you install a heatsink/fan that came with it? I would get a different heatsink/fan combo such as Thermaltake Volcano models, they come with an all copper heatsink. I like mine.

I've also heard MBM can read the temps wrong also. What's Everest say?

[DVOM]

photolady, all the sensor programs say the same thing, 69-70C. Motherboard Monitor, MBProbe, SpeedFan, Aida32 and Everest.

I'm beginning to think it's a false reading. It's just not right to have all those programs in complete agreement.

So far it's never, ever been lower or higher than 69-70C in any of the programs.

[Philgo]

I have an Asus mobo with an Athlon 64 3000 using the stock HSF and my CPU temp is 32C, which I feel is unbelievably low. I have very little confidence in the accuracy of the motherboard temp monitors.

I use a lot of Gigabyte motherboards and they always report higher temps than other makers.

If your bios temp alarm is not going off I'd suspect that MBM etc. is not reporting correctly, perhaps due to the CPU being 64 bit.

I'd check the bios after a period of running and I'd also try Gigabytes utility manager and see what temps they report.

How is the rest of the case cooled?

[DrMDJ]

Check for a bios update. It sounds like the bios may be misreporting temperature readings.

[chris wolf]

if the temperature isn't being misreported and is actually reaching 70°c, the heatsink may be installed backwards. there should be two lips in the bottom of the heatsink - one lip goes over the socket's cam, the other goes over the socket's arm. if there's only one lip, the lip goes over the cam. a backwards heatsink won't put the pressure over the cpu die. the cpu will overheat and on socket a athlons the core may crack or chip due to the incorrect installation.

[DVOM]

Well the 69-70C reading was/is wrong. Everest, Aida32 and Motherboard Monitor are reading something at that temp but it's not the CPU even though that's how they're reporting it.

Philgo, I finally found that I could see the correct temps with EasyTune4 from the Gigabyte CD. It's primarily for over clocking but has a read out for temps and fan speeds. I was wrong about MBProbe, it was and is reporting the correct CPU temp. Where it's reporting the 69-70C is listed as auxiliary.

DrMDJ, it took me awhile but I finally figured out how to flash the BIOS on this board. Interesting that it can be done from within windows. However it didn't stop Everest and others from incorrectly reporting the temps.

chris wolf, with this particular CPU and heat sink, the heat sink is completely flat on the bottom.

So the bottom line is this CPU runs between 24C and 30C. And that's with a OC from 1800MHz to 1900MHz.