I got a new power supply and fans for my computer. After setting up the new fan layout, I have been monitoring my CPU and Case temperatures with MBM5. At rest the CPU is about 93F and the case is about 86F. Also, I have a massive copper heatsink on the CPU. Under stress the CPU temp reaches about 125F. I'm quite satisfied with these temperatures, but I'm concerned because of the rate at which the temperature changes. Opening a few internet explorer windows will make the temperature surge up to 100F or so, before it cools back down to 95F. Minor activities, such as opening a folder or copying a file will cause the temperature to surge up and then drop back down, rather quickly. I have never seen the temperature react so quickly to changes in processor usage. Is my mortarboard reporting the temperatures incorrectly? Maybe the heat sink is not making good contact with the processor? -Ryan Adams http://members.cox.net/rtadams89/

You should speak of temps in Celsius. 86F = 30C 93F = 34C 95F = 35C 100F = 38C 125F = 52C MBM5 was abandoned 2.5 yrs ago & has not been updated since. Regardless, I certainly wouldn't call an increase from 34C to 38C a "surge". I'd be more concerned about the amount of money being dropped into an aging system.

I fail to see how the way I report the temperatures has any bearing on my question. But, since you have done the conversions, anyone who would prefer Celsius now has them, thanks. You are correct in that MBM5 is no longer being actively developed. However, the executable doesn't know that it has been abandoned, therefore it doesn't have any reason to report the wrong temperates now anymore than it did 2.5 years ago, and consequently this fact has no bearing on the question. While on the topic, is there another program you would recommend? On most systems, if you were to say start a CPU intensive program, let it run for one minute, let the computer idle for a few minutes and then graph the CPU temperature over that time frame you would see something that looks like a bell curve. A gradual increase to the maximum temperature and then a gradual decrease to the idle temperature. If you were to graph what happens on my computer, you would see what looks more like peak. A very fast increase to the maximum temperature, and then a very sudden drop to the ideal temperature. My question is, why? No money has been put into asking the question. And technically all computers (and everything else in the world) is "aging", so I do see how the last comment really applies here either. -Ryan Adams http://members.cox.net/rtadams89/

Ryan Adams, I agree with the statements above provided by yourself. I am actually personally have the same problem/issue/annoyance. First, programs to test temperatures. Sisoft Sandra, Everest, Speedfan, are just a few examples. If you want to try any, let me know. Back to the point. When I first built the computer I checked BIOS PC Health and watched temp and stayed generally the game (gradual small change here and there) like you say (and everyone knows) should happen. I install sandra, wouldn't detect temp. I install everest and the temp would be detected but change VERY rapidly.. like 35 42 30 40. I know for a fact those readings are incorrect. I installed speedfan, the temperatures stay generally the same area, but I know they are reading incorrectly. I decided to check PC health status again in BIOS and now that number is reading incorrect numbers (35 40 32 37). My thoughts: The temperature changes you are seeing are false, I wouldn't believe them, just like I don't believe the sudden changes I see. Granted, I would love to know my actual temps but I havn't figured it out yet. My assumptions: I assume it is the motherboard having incorrect readings. I have NEVER had any problem like this, and am sure my heatsink was properly placed. Sorry for the long post, it doesn't actually "help" but it does give a little input on the actual topic.

If you were familiar with this forum & most others, you'd know that temps are almost always reported in Celsius. I've gotten so used to it that when I see temps in Fahrenheit, I have to convert to make any sense out of them. MBM5 is no longer being updated, therefore it's very possible newer temp sensors will produce erroneous results. That's probably not the case here, but it would depend on your motherboard. I have an Asus board so I use Asus PC Probe, but occasionally run "Core Temp" just to be sure. Core Temp reads the CPU die temp, not a board sensor. My current temp is 27C (81F) on an overclocked 3000+ Venice. I don't know about the rest of your system, but your CPU is about 4.5 yrs old (introduced 5/2002). My comment about dropping money into "an aging system" is in reference to the fact that your CPU is closing in on 5 yrs old. You may not have had it that long, but the design is that old. I also don't know when you invested in the "massive copper heatsink" but the fact that you have a "new fan layout" leads me to believe that you have (or had) temperature problems. Your current temp readings are fine & I see no need to worry about anything, including a few degree "surge".

My only concern is that I don't know if the temperatures being reported are correct. My BIOS does not have a built in function to check the temps, so I can only check them via software. My temps don't jump around like the other poster's, but the fact that they react so quickly to CPU usage changes make me wonder if they are realistic. -Ryan Adams http://members.cox.net/rtadams89/

Intel temps normally don't "jump around" but, it's not uncommon to see 'em rise 20°C from idle to load. Are your readings correct? Who knows. Massive copper heatsink? Why? They often weigh in at 2 pounds plus and sag when the machine is stood up in the vertical making poor thermal contact. Most of us just use a decent hsf and call it good. That is not to say you might have a problem at all but to say other than fan noise you likely never had a problem at all with cooling. I don't think you have a cooling problem now either unless it's getting hot enough under load to throttle back. Why doesn't your motherboard report temps in bios? Is it a manufactured system with a crippled bios? Skip