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Temperature Question

P

PetrolMan

n00b
Joined
Apr 24, 2009
Messages
8
My Q8200 is running a bit hot it would seem. At idle the core temperatures hover around 40-50C which, from what I've read, is pretty much meaningless because often times the sensors stick or are largely inaccurate at lows temperatures. The problem is that at full load the cores are in the 70-75C range. The Tcase only gets up to around 55C though.

I can't seem to find any consistent information on whether I should even pay attention to the core temperatures or not. The max temperature for the processor is 71.4C but that seems to be with regards to Tcase and not the individual core temperatures.

The temperature guide on Tom's Hardware even suggests calibrating the core temperatures based upon Tcase at full load.

One part of me feels that ignoring these temperatures is stupid but the information but I can't find any consistent information.

Thanks,

PetrolMan
 
If this is on the stock cooling, that is going to be about normal, the TJMax for that chip is 100C, all you should look at is core temp. Also, if you are not using it already pick up RealTemp.
 
That chart actually just reinforces my problem. The chart lists a max cover temperature for the Q8200, which is not actually the same thing as a core temperature reading. I've used real temp but my understanding is that the core temp readings are not particularly accurate and are more useful to the processor itself than to me.

Either way, I worry and I've since messed around with the Vcore setting since the original 1.2 or 1.225 or whatever it was seemed a bit high. I've since lowered it down to .975 and the individual cores are running much cooler (62, 56, 60, 60). Now, I just need to make sure it's stable.

If the cover temperature is all I need to worry about (and so says Intel) then I have no problems playing around with some mild overclocking. Again, the problem is the information is far from consistent. Specifically the Tom's Hardware Article: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/221745-29-core-core-temperature-guide

I plan to get a decent CPU cooler at some point but this would still be nice information to know.

Thanks,

PetrolMan
 
PC_User said:
What exactly is the max cover temp?
Click to expand...

I believe they are talking about the the thermal specification

"The thermal specification shown is the maximum case temperature at the maximum Thermal Design Power (TDP) value for that processor. It is measured at the geometric center on the topside of the processor integrated heat spreader. For processors without integrated heat spreaders such as mobile processors, the thermal specification is referred to as the junction temperature (Tj). The maximum junction temperature is defined by an activation of the processor Intel® Thermal Monitor. The Intel Thermal Monitor’s automatic mode is used to indicate that the maximum TJ has been reached."

That temp is 71.4C, however this is not the TJMax, these are two different readings taken from two different places. Your core temps are within spec, don't worry about it.
 
After a year or so looking into temperatures, I finally concluded that they are not that important. If your Intel CPU is running reliably at full load and it is not thermal throttling then you can ignore your core temperature. These things do a great job of looking after themselves. Your core temps are well within spec so no worries. Enjoy your Quad.

Here's the latest version of RealTemp for those that like to keep an eye on the numbers:
http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/3/3/1794507/RealTempBeta.zip

Run your CPU as cool as possible but don't worry too much about specific numbers since most sensors, core and Tcase, are far from 100% accurate.

Thermal throttling doesn't start until your core temperature is up to 97C. You have plenty of head room. If Intel thought you were going to damage your CPU at this temperature then obviously they would lower the thermal throttling point. Intel did the opposite. After the original 65nm chips came out, they raised the temperature by 10C before thermal throttling begins with the second generation 65nm processors.
 
unclewebb,

You know, I think you just said what I've really been wanting to hear all along. Stop worrying.

Probably the best advice I could get on most issues but the problem is that this is the first computer I've built and it's almost like my baby.

Thanks for the advice,

PetrolMan
 
I used to have a big fear too. I wondered, what would happen if I was overclocking and running a stress program like Prime95 Small FFTs, testing for stability, and something bad happened like my CPU fan failed. Would my computer have a nuclear melt down and light the house on fire?

To test this I unplugged my CPU fan while running Prime95 and waited for disaster to happen. 3 hours later I got bored and stopped this test. Nothing happened.



Prime95 continued to run fine. The temperature would get up to the thermal throttling point, it would drop the multi to 6.0, cool off half a degree, send the multi back up to 9.0, heat up and then do the same cycle over and over again to keep the CPU from getting damaged. Make sure you have TM2 enabled in the bios for this feature to work properly.

My E8400 is also Prime stable for many hours at 4000 MHz but when I tried the disconnect the CPU fan test, it would stop Prime95 within a few minutes with an error at about 70C or so. From this I learned that the harder you push your overclock, the more temperature head room you will have to leave yourself to maintain Prime stability. I call this the thermal envelope. You can reliably run an Intel Core CPU very hot or very fast but not both at the same time. Your CPU will lose stability and let you know if you are pushing either variable too hard. When you lose stability you will either have to back off your overclock or find a way to run your CPU cooler.
 
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