Temperature monitoring of overheating PC

[AbleTassie]

In the lower left of each message I see a "Report post" button. You can press that and send a message to the forum moderators; in that message you can ask them to merge the two threads.

Thanks Jim, I'll do that.

I'm participating in a couple of other threads dealing with this same sensor since on one of my machines it seems to be frozen at 40 degrees C no matter what the CPU is doing, and was told that for AMD chips the sensor module never reports accurately so it's advisable to add or subtract an offset to get closer to the actual temperature. It's quite possible that your Windows program and lm-sensors are doing this and using different offsets! Personally, I'd trust speedfan more than lm-sensors, if dual-booting, since it seems to be much better maintained... However I wouldn't run Windows just to be able to use speedfan!

I am really getting the same temp1s in Windows XP (and Speedfan) as I am in Lubuntu (with lm-sensors), so this appears to be driven by hardware, not software.

Thanks,

R.

[Mike_Walsh]

Interesting.

I'm running an AMD Athlon 64 3200+. It's a 10-yr old design, on a 90 nm process. According to a search I did:-

https://www.google.co.uk/#q=Normal+o...64+3200%2B+CPU ,

a lot of people have reported, over the years, 'normal' temps ranging anywhere from low 30's to mid 70's. I would guess this is probably about right. Mine's installed in a Compaq Presario desktop PC (lots of room for moving cool air around, it's true); at the height of summer, it averages around 38-45C under load. Springtime & autumn, around 28-30C. In the depths of winter, even with the central heating on, it rarely gets above 25C, and often starts out showing just 17-18C; and this is with the bog-standard OEM cooler and fan. Perhaps mine's just a good one, I don't know.....but on the rare occasions it gets anywhere near 45-50C in summer, I start getting concerned!

As of this moment, PSensor is currently reporting an average of 22-24C (I'm writing this in Zorin right now, but it's installed in this OS, too) ; that's cool for the time of year, but we're in the middle of a cold spell over here in the UK.

According to CPU World, the Athlons were rated for a maximum range of around 50-65C:-

http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/K8/AMD...200BWBOX).html

Bearing in mind it IS an older design, with a larger process size, and utilising rather higher voltages than are normal nowadays, you WOULD expect it to produce more heat. Tgalati is, I think, correct in this assumption, but mine has always seemed to run well below the oft-quoted averages. I'm certainly not complaining..!

Perhaps the fact that I carry out a regular 3-monthly 'spring-clean' (all fans removed, including CPU fan...cleaned, re-lubricated, and replaced; heat-sink, PSU & vents all blown out with short bursts of compressed air, and everything else brushed out with a very old, very soft, sable-hair artist's paint brush) has helped to prolong the machine's operating lifespan.

In my experience, the older Pentiums always seemed to produce more heat (average 10-15C higher) than the Athlon, which was more or less their direct competitor in the market at the time.

Pre- May 2014 (Win XP), I always ran HWMonitor. Post- this date (when I switched to Linux), I now run lm-sensors, hddtemp, and PSensor. The temps have always been consistent, regardless of the OS I've been using.

Regards,

Mike.

************************************************** ****

@JCKyleOKC: Agree with you about the AMD sensor not reporting accurately. I've been told this by many people, and have read the same in many other forum posts and blogs. It's quite possible that my old girl's not running as cool as I think she is! BTW, saw your reply to kc1di the other day. My late uncle, too, was a radio ham, until he passed away about 10 years ago; it was an interest he'd had since returning from Burma as a released POW at the end of WW2. He always predicted that the the rise of the internet would spell the end for amateur radio operators, and to a large extent I think he was right... It was from him that I learnt a lot of what I currently know about electronics.

We have relatives over there in Midwest City. Mike.

[tgalati4]

90 watts TDP are for desktop and server processors of that vintage. My thinkpad T43p Centrino runs about 21 watts under load and it is rated at ~25 watts TDP. Understand that many laptops have the GPU and CPU share the same heatsink with a copper bridge. The GPU's tend to run 10C higher than the CPU's so your actual reported temperature depends on the workload--watching video will heat up the entire heatsink so the CPU can't throw as much heat off.

For extra ventilation I use an aluminum tray called an iLap designed for a mac. I also use large rubber feet that I get from audio amplifier kits. They raise the laptop off the table to allow more air to circulate.

Cleaning and maintenance is always a good idea. I have a collection of pastes including Artic Silver. Anything is better than 10-year-old crud. I have reseated laptops, desktops and servers and I have always noticed at least a 10C drop with new paste and an oiled fan. It's not rocket science. Air cleaning alone will get you 1 to 3C. Undervolting will get you 5 to 7C on a Thinkpad and a 20% increase in battery life. From 21 to 17 watts under load and less fan use overall.

Many laptops have a really crappy heat sink design and will get super hot underneath and cause CPU shutdowns regardless of measures taken. For these, you need a towel and an icepack and only use them for 1/2 hour at a time.

[dave131]

Have you tried one of those laptop trays with the built in fans that sits under you laptop and plugs in to a USB port? I have one for my laptop and it does help some - not a lot, but some. I guess just moving that air around helps. If you haven't already, and you are looking at doing something like reseating in a laptop, you might as well be sue the heatsink is good and clean - particularly if it has any fins. Also check the case fans - sometimes they get dirty and don't want to spin as good as they should. As with any computer, the cleaner the better, the more air space, the fans working correctly, the properly sized heat sink, the proper heat sink compound, etc., etc., etc., the better for temperatures.

[sandyd]

Merged as per OP's request.

[AbleTassie]

Just to let everybody know what happened, I am marking this as SOLVED, see follow-up story below.

I tore it apart and cleaned out the fan; resources on how I did it are below. I used irisvista instructions disassembly ( http://www.irisvista.com/tech/laptop...clocking_1.htm ) and printed out large color pictures at a local library. I also used a tacklebox for screws, etc. as described in the DIY Tech video. I got less dust out than I thought I would, but I did get a fairly big wad of dust out of the fan. I also lubricated the fan with sewing machine oil (http://www.techrepublic.com/article/quiet-noisy-computer-fans-with-a-drop-of-oil/) and replaced the thermal paste; I used Arctic Silver Ceramique2 and the pea method. FYI here is a link that gives thermal paste ratings:
http://skinneelabs.com/2011-thermal-...-comparison/2/

It is running cooler and quieter now, Temp1 is running between 50 and 55C.

I get this output when using the "lm-sensors" utility in Ubuntu: acpitz-virtual-0 Adapter: Virtual device temp1: +51.0°C (crit = +110.0°C). In Windows XP while using "Speedfan" utility I only get two parameters, temp1 (which is the same as in lm-sensors) and HD1.

As nearly as I can tell this temp, temp1 is fine, is much lower than the T junction max ( http://ark.intel.com/products/27146/...Hz-400-MHz-FSB ), and probably is close to the temp at the base of the CPU.


Some links to Youtube videos I watched that helped are below (links are above the underlined video titles/topics) .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlO5crblG64

How to Toshiba Satelite Laptop Disassemble Guide & Fan Cleaning
DIY Tech
DIY Tech

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOOhiIefBdk

Toshiba laptop overheating fix

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9mtY-8DkKk

Toshiba Satellite - cleaning cooler and replacing thermal paste

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hNgFNH7zhQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rn0BqMyXBM

How To Apply Thermal Paste

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3gx6c62D7I

How to Remove and Apply Thermal Compound [Updated Tutorial]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwmaszoRyHM

"Toshiba Satellite Overheating Solution"

Thanks to everybody,

R.

[mastablasta]

It is running cooler and quieter now, Temp1 is running between 50 and 55C.

if that is on idle it is still very high. however if it really doesn't increase much beyond that, then it's fine.

my bor couldn't get the temp down no matter what (eventhough that cooler and all worked well for a couple of years before). so he invested into proper heat sink and got a really nice temp on idle. but the question is if in this case it is worth investing into such old stuff....

[AbleTassie]

if that is on idle it is still very high. however if it really doesn't increase much beyond that, then it's fine.

my bor [bro?] couldn't get the temp down no matter what (eventhough that cooler and all worked well for a couple of years before). so he invested into proper heat sink and got a really nice temp on idle. but the question is if in this case it is worth investing into such old stuff....

Temp1 in lm-sensors is running between 50 & 55 C when I cruise the internet, burn a CD or write Libre Office docs. So I don't think it gets over 57 C much. It might be worth trying a better rated thermal paste in a few months. Aric Silver Ceramique2 is not that highly rated, see skinneelabs.com/2011-thermal-paste-review-comparison/2/

Thanks,

R.