AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4Ghz 125W temps

[RickC]

AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4Ghz 125W
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm CPU cooler
Well ventilated case with 120mm back fan and 200mm top fan

I've got temps a little above the specified max. I've run the memory at 1333 and 1600 with same result. So are these temps bad?

24C room temperature

62C max temp according to
http://products.amd.com/en-us/Deskto...il.aspx?id=617

Prime95 Torture Test
4 threads, cores each 56C, overall cpu temp 65C
3 threads, cores each 52C, overall cpu temp 60C

idle, cores each 33C, overall cpu temp 38C

There's no dust inside. I tried the included thermal paste and then took it off and used Arctic Alumina. I followed the Arctic directions exactly.

Thanks,

Rick

[petrw1]

That is about what my moderately overclocked i5-750 runs at (low 60's). Others on this forum have said that it depends on the CPU but you are safe up to 80 or so and possibly even close to 100.

[XYYXF]

Originally Posted by petrw1

you are safe up to 80

That's true for short overheats, but that's not good if your CPU works above 60 celsius 24/7.

[mdettweiler]

Originally Posted by XYYXF

That's true for short overheats, but that's not good if your CPU works above 60 celsius 24/7.

As explained here, you're probably safe running it up to 80, but note that thermal throttling at that point will likely slow your machine down quite a bit. So while you can run it at 80, it's not going to get the most out of your CPU; you'd probably have faster speeds with a lower overclock and lower temperature.

@RickC: Your temperatures should be fine. Since AMD says 62 C is the max, that means 62 C is the point at which it begins thermal throttling. It can go much, much higher before the system will actually shut itself down to prevent damage; below that point damage shouldn't be an issue. And at just 2-3 degrees over the thermal throttling threshold (on one core only, besides), I don't expect you would even see a noticeable amount of thermal throttling effects.

[XYYXF]

I talked about the situation when thermal throttling is switched off.

[Rhyled]

Originally Posted by RickC

4 threads, cores each 56C, overall cpu temp 65C
3 threads, cores each 52C, overall cpu temp 60C
idle, cores each 33C, overall cpu temp 38C

Rick - Either you've flipped the temperatures, or your CPU temperature is a bit off. Cores generate the heat, so they should always be higher than cpu temperatures at sustained speeds. The temperature diodes used for these measurements are notorious for low accuracy.

I find that manufacturers tend to specify conservatively, leaving a substantial safety margin so customers don't complain. 60/65 C temperatures wouldn't bother me, but then, it's not my computer.

[RickC]

I thought that was odd too. Maybe the sensor is wrong. I'm used to AMD CPUs running very cool.

I've never written to AMD before. Maybe I should ask them.

[Colt45ws]

Originally Posted by RickC

I thought that was odd too. Maybe the sensor is wrong. I'm used to AMD CPUs running very cool.

I've never written to AMD before. Maybe I should ask them.

IIRC, they spec a very tight tolerance for the sensor at the thermal shutdown temp, because that is what it is used for. Under that spec the tolerance gets looser.