Hi all,

I ran MBM tonight as it seemed like my fan was noisier than usual. It told me that my CPU temp was 72C, and the case was 44C. Rebooted, went into bios, in there, it says the processor temp was 44C. Took the side off the case, and got CPU temp (with MBM)down to 67C and case to 34C. I also ran SpeedFan and PC Wizard, with the same results. Can anyone tell me what is acceptable temp for p4, 1.7ghz? I ran CPU-Z, it tells me it is a Willamette, mPGA-478 (don't know if that is relevent or not). The board is MoBoStar(ASRock)M266A. As you can probably tell, I really don't have much of a clue here, hoping one of you can help me out!

Ladybug

No CPU shouldn't run much above 60°C.
Usually the sensor isn't totally acurate so
you may add 20 to 25°C to get the actual
core temperature inside the cpu and that's
really hot then.

Is the fan noisy because it turns at such a
high speed or is it damaged?
Also check if there's a lot of dirt inside
the heatsink. If there is blow it out with
canned air.
The cpu fan should blow onto the heatsink
and not the other way around. I've seen it
more than once that a fan was mounte in the
wrong direction!

72c is dangerous to the life exp. of your chip. Idealy you want 38-42c Idel and 48-54c with Load(like gaming).

If your serious about getting temp down, Look for a Low RPM fan with deeper fins (quiter moves more air, CoolMaster makes a heatsink and a fan combo) and pick up some Artic Sliver or Antec Formula5 as a heat transfer paste. You should be able bump the temp down 10-15c.

Unitam logica falsa tuam philosophiam totam suffodiant

The temp reading is high (if it's accurate), but I wouldn't say it's dangerous because of the P4's thermal protection circuitry. I would trust the BIOS temps over the software readings. Did you check the CPU temp in the BIOS with the side panel removed?

ASUS A7N8X-X
Athlon XP 1800+
8.5 x 200MHz
1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7
Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB
WinME/WinXP Pro SP2

Hi again,

I just checked the temps again this morning from a cold boot, and the bios reads CPU temp at 31-37C (fluctuating up and down) and it says the M/B temp is 25-27C. Booted to windows and MBM says CPU is 68C and case is 33C. Surely I must be getting incorrect readings from MBM to be 68C on a cold boot?

...btw, MBM also tells me that the fan is running at 3245 rpm, which corresponds with the bios reading, if that helps.

sorry for multiple posts, just woke up and brain is functioning in stages...lol.

A couple of weeks ago, I removed the fan/heatsink (they are stuck together?) and blew the dust out of the fan. So I don't think the fan is on backwards, unless it was built that way. The labeling in the middle of the fan (Intel) is facing out, so I'm assuming it is on right?

Certainly sounds like the temps readings are inaccurate. Have you tried touching the heatsink to get an idea how warm it is? It's a crude method but may help ease your mind. Simply bring the CPU temp up, then quickly shutdown, pull the plug, & carefully reach in & feel the heatsink. If your CPU is really 72C+ (162F), the heatsink should very pretty darn warm

ASUS A7N8X-X
Athlon XP 1800+
8.5 x 200MHz
1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7
Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB
WinME/WinXP Pro SP2

Missed your post about removing the HSF. Did you remove the old thermal material, clean the CPU core & bottom of heatsink, then apply a fresh layer of paste?

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions_big2.htm

ASUS A7N8X-X
Athlon XP 1800+
8.5 x 200MHz
1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7
Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB
WinME/WinXP Pro SP2

ummmm....no....I didn't clean & reapply the paste....I've never done it before and was a bit afraid to attempt it. But if that was making it overheat, wouldn't that show in the bios reading?

Ok, now I'm even more confused....I ran Everest, and it tells me that the CPU temp is 34C, and the Motherboard is 68C. Is one of them (Everest or MBM) reporting them backwards? Does motherboard reading in Everest mean the same thing as case reading in MBM?

Thanks again!

I highly doubt your CPU is overheating...you're upseting yourself for no reason. If you do a google search, you'll find many people reporting that MBM & Speedfan don't work with the M266A. Did you use the "touch method" like I suggested? Does ASRock offer any monitoring software? Since ASRock is owned by ASUS, maybe Asus PC Probe will work?

www.majorgeeks.com/download3301.html

ASUS A7N8X-X
Athlon XP 1800+
8.5 x 200MHz
1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7
Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB
WinME/WinXP Pro SP2

Hi, back again, I've taken your advice and decided to stop worrying!!! LOL I did indeed use the "touch method" as suggested, and the heatsink is barely warm, no where even close to hot. I can't find any monitoring software at ASRock, and the Asus one does not install.

My system does not suffer from malfunctions of any kind, so as the old saying goes.....if it ain't broke.....

Thanks a bunch for your help!
Ladybugg

Just a side note, the touch method is not truely accurate if your only touching the heat sink, as the thermal transfer paste or tape could be of low quality. The heat wouldn't 'transfer' to the heat sink plus the fan would cool the heat sink - and not the chip. Just something to throw under your hat.

Unitam logica falsa tuam philosophiam totam suffodiant