Ok guys (and girls)? here is the problem.....I have a computer based on a Gigabyte mobo with 915 chipset and a socket 775 P4 at 3,4 Ghz. No overclocking. According to the computers Bios the temperature is over 80 celsius and according to speedfan the temperature is -55 celsius (yes, really freezing cold....huh?). I would say the temperature is just fine for real, the stock cooler feels just as usual and my guess would be that the temperature is just perfect. I have applied new cooling paste with no difference whatsoever.

So, obviously the temperature sensor is just all messed up. What part would need a change, processor or mobo? Where is the sensor located, inside the processor or on the motherboard below the processor?

Try CoreTemp for proper readings.

http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

Motherboard manufacture sensor software usually don't give accurate readings.
When I first started out with computers, I used ASUS Probe which gave out weird
temps!

I'd have thought 80 degrees was about right, the Prescott Pentium 4's ran ridiculously hot.

Thanks for the advice! But unfortunately that program you linked to doesnīt work with P4īs....

But my biggest concern isnīt really to get an accurate temperature reading, my concern is that the cpufan sounds loud as a roaring vaccum cleaner because of that weird temp reported by the Bios.

Sure, i can get a windowsbased program to tune down the fan but that wont happen until windows is started and those 2 minutes to get the computer started will get me crazy (or deaf!).

But, as said, thanks for the advice! I am more curious about if the fault is on the mobo or the processor. If it is the processor that is faulty then i will just buy another dual core or whatever my mobo supports. If it is the mobo then i will throw out both mobo, processor and memory and do a serious upgrade....

Dave I said:

Dave,

yes and NO.....

When the first Prescott P4 came out... yes they ran hot... It can reach 80C under load using the stock hsf assy. That is why there is a big business in aftermarket coolers. BUT..... the later versions of the Precotts after introduction.... Intel was able to control the heat output. Take for example, I personally have a Intel 650 3.4ghz Prescott P4. With a Zalman 9500 cooler, my processor would idle at 32~34 and while at load it would go no more that 41~43. I never used the stock hsf. My brother had a Intel 560 3.6ghz Prescott P4. His temp using the same Zalman 9500 cooler was 2C at both ends. To me this was more due to the fact that his proc ran 200mhz faster than mine. So in otherwords, somewhere along the line of the Prescotts, Intel figured out how to better manage the heat output.

But in the case of Compdoc situation of the bios saying 80C and -55C at the OS level leads me to believe that some sensor is at fault, so as long his system is operating normally.




Compdoc Compdoc said:



Compdoc,

Hey... is your computer running normally??? i.e. not lock ups, random shutdowns, not powering up etc...?

Because on a Intel proc, there is a temp limit at which point where the processor will down clock from the standard freq due to excessive heat to protect itself and then if it goes further, it will shut itself off in which your system will lockup or shutdown. That limit is typically around 70C. I dont remember what that limit is for on the Prescott. So in otherwords, if that 80C is correct, your system would be lagging or there would be slowdowns in operation, if the processor was down clocking...... and if the temp got well beyond 80C, the system would have shutdown or just lock up. And if that -55C is correct... oh baby.... OC the snot out of that processor ... LOL.....

So if your system seems to be operating as normal... then I would have to say that it will be a sensor issue.

There are a couple of other utilities that you may want to try.... look up HWMonitor and Everest Home. Try those and see if it gives you any different/same readings.

As for the sensors, there is a sensor IC on the motherboard that handles all the reading of temp probes throughout the system that the bios and OS reads. These sensors are cpu, gpu, mb, psu, hdd, and so on. It could be this sensor that is malfunctioning. Or it could be the probe in the cpu that is faulty...

1. if available you could try your cpu into another mb/system to see if you get the same result.
2. try reseting your CMOS on the motherboard
3. try updating to the lates bios for your motherboard
4. try getting an external temp probe and place it as close to the IHS (integrated heat spreader) on the cpu to see if it gets anywhere near the 80C reading in bios. "if" bios is correct, then I would expect the external temp probe would read around 70C.

But then again, you mentioned that you would do a "Serious Upgrade" if it is the motherboard.... Well...... my bet it will be the mb that is the issue...

Hey..... what a better excuse to get on the train for that upgrade than a faulty mb?????? Any excuse for an "upgrade" is always fun... plus, you probably had that P4 system for quite awhile now..... and a upgrade is due...

Listen to G.G.'s advice above, and...

Compdoc Compdoc said:
For that, you can always install a manual fan controller (rheostat), so you can control the fan speed by simply twisting a control dial with your hand.

This really is a great forum! Thumbs up for all excellent advice!

So, as i see it there isnīt really any other way to figure out if it is mobo or processor that is faulty than to try it in another rig. Actually that could be done pretty easy since i do have 2 computers with socket 775 computers, both running dualcoreīs. Really bugs me that i didnīt think of that myself, am i stupid or what!!??

Yes, i really am a parttime computerdoctor...! This particular computer isnīt really mine, it is a computer that a friend of mine was going to throw away, what a waste!

So, i have updated the bios and i am very sure that the 80 celsius reading is totally bizarre. I work a lot with different computers and i know for sure that if processor is, lets say 60 celsius, that stock cooler is damned hot!

So, i guess a switch of processors will settle this question once and for all. I will try that next week or so and post back.

When sensor readings are whack it's often the BIOS. My E8400 had whack readings on my ABIT IP35. Then I realised after looking carefully at the supported processor list, the board only supported E8400s with the C0 revision not the E0. No BIOS correction was available.

I assume you have pulled the cooler and made sure the thermal goop was done correctly by the previous owner and the fan was seated correctly?

Yep, first thing i did was to take the cooler off and clean both the cooler and the processor and apply the right amount of new arctic cooling silver paste carefully. And of course i also checked that the cooler locking mechanism was tight and properly seated. Made no difference at all.

About the hints for the bios....well, the problems started with the original bios some time ago and i have tried with new version of bios with no sucess. So, no luck with that one either.

I think i pretty much has tried everything except switching the processor to another rig of mine.

Compdoc Compdoc said:


Nahhhhh. not stupid at all... your brain has thought about it, you just dont know about it just yet..... but it just havent gotten around to put it on the to do "list" just yet for processing... that is why we are here to bring those thoughts to the forefront. eheheheh....

Ok everybody, here is the follow-up to my computer problem......

Unfortunately I couldnīt test the core2duo cpu in the "troublecomputer" since that mobo donīt support dualcores.

But, i tested the cpu from the "troublecomputer" in my ordinary rig. It showed over 70 degrees directly at start and went up to 85 (unloaded) before i shut it down again.

Back with my ordinary core2duo, same cooler (intel standard), didnīt even care to apply new cooling paste since it was rather fresh. Result? Starts at 35 and goes up to about 40 celsius unloaded.

So, the conclusion is rather clear, the fault is within the cpu and i have found a whole bunch of second hand cpuīs for sale and will probably buy one of them tonight.

Will mount it as soon as i get it next week and post back again!

Back in the day on my Northwood 3.06 HT, people who got Prescotts gave me lols. Great lols were had indeed.

And what you are trying to say with that post is...???? What??

sovietdoc said:


soviet..... ummmm..... that kinda flew over my head a bit..... reclarify plz....

probably how the Northwoods were as good as the prescotts (except for the extra cache) and ran a lot cooler.

I guess what sovietdoc was trying to say in his own somewhat sarcastic way was that a Prescott runs hotter that a Northwood and that people that donīt realize that is people to "lol" at.

Well, first of all, I am well aware of the fact that a Prescott runs real hot. But 85 degress unloaded? With a stock fan screaming at 5000 rpm? No way!

My guess is that it is either the temperature signal from the cpu is just messed up or that it really is that hot because of a faulty internal heatspreader.

I have bought a Prescott 3,0 and will hopefully get it next week to try it and see the result. And yes, I do know that a 3,0 will run cooler than a 3,4 so no need to tell me that.

To be continued.....

angryhippy said:

Compdoc Compdoc said:


Come on dudes....... get with the times... and stop brush stroking the whole line of Prescotts.... how many times do I need to mention that my and my brother's Prescotts operating temps are as good or any better than any previous modern cpu's when it comes to operating temps.... YES..... when the first Prescotts was released.... they ran very hot. But, Intel got a handle on it in later revisions... My Prescott 650 @ 3.4ghz ran ~34C idle and no more than ~42C load at the stock 3.4ghz..... likewise the same with my brother's Prescott 560 @ 3.6ghz.... with similar temps.


Compdoc,

In your situation, you plain just got a bad hardware issue........


geezzzz

G.G....save me a hit of that s**t you're smoking will ya? How did turn into ? Just wondering not trying to be a (_E=mc2_) .

no.... im just trying to get you guys that keep saying that Prescotts are hot... real hot or whatever to stop brushing the whole line with this stigma....... Yes, when they first came out they ran really hot.... but in the end.... they got it under control and the thermals ran just as it did with previous lines... Just like with anything... there was an issue and they have corrected it... but if you want to continue to keep pressing that the Prescotts are all hot... well.... whatever....


With compdoc's situation..... obviously there is some bigger issue that is causing the outrageous idle temps.... and it is not the Prescott's heat stigma..

Yeah I was just saying that back in the day when they first came out, that whole head issue was so bad that all the eople who bought prescott because it was new, pretty much failed. But yeah, like G.G. said, they did fix it later on. This whole thread just reminded me of those old days and the great lol's we had over friends who got a prescott and fried their mobo at a lan party.

Damn I'm mixing what doc and G.G. said.