No thermal sensors - adventurous or stupid?

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How to get CPU temp?

1. Blow if off
0
No votes
2. Use a finger
3
23%
3. Get temps from the BIOS
9
69%
4. Buy a temp monitor
1
8%
 
Total votes: 13

geckokarma
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Apr 25, 2005 8:00 am
Location: Boston, MA, USA

No thermal sensors - adventurous or stupid?

Post by geckokarma » Mon Apr 25, 2005 8:28 am

Hey everyone --

I'm building a quiet Linux microATX system, mainly as a jukebox of our CDs...

The components relevant to this thread:

* Soyo P4RC350 mobo (http://www.soyo.com.tw/products/proddesc.php?id=295)
* Celeron 2.0 GHz Northwood
* Thermalright XP90 + Nexus 90mm

I chose that mobo for its onboard S-video, since I'll be using a TV. The downside of its ATI chipsets is that they're not supported by lm_sensors (yet/ever). So at the moment, I don't have a way to monitor the CPU or any other temps while the system is live, and, say, running CPUBurn. I can check temps within the BIOS at startup tho.

I want to run the Nexus at 5V and forget it. If I had to get a fan control, I would, but I'm not convinced I have to.

So my options seem to be these, from lazy & cheap onwards:
1. Blow it off -- don't monitor temps at all. Trust theory. The "C/W MP" rating for that heatsink/fan combo mentioned in the review (http://www.silentpcreview.com/article194-page3.html) is so excellent that the CPU should be fine even if the case temp hits 35 C (95 F).
2. Use a finger -- run CPUBurn and just feel whether the heatsink is insanely hot.
3. Get temps from the BIOS -- run CPUBurn then do a quick reboot and check temps in the BIOS.
4. Buy a temp monitor, connect a probe to the HS, and check temps while running CPUBurn. Best solution here is likely a temp monitor / fanspeed controller.

Who has thoughts?

I'd undervolt, but the mobo doesn't support it.

Oh, and a factoid -- I spent nearly as much on the heatsink & fan ($55) as I did on the CPU ($65). Yep, that's how much more I value quiet than speed!

Qwertyiopisme
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Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
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Post by Qwertyiopisme » Mon Apr 25, 2005 9:39 am

Use both the bios value and your finger, maybe speedfan/mbm will work do youäll be able to compare values between what you feel and the dispplayed value.

m0002a
Posts: 2831
Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2004 2:12 am
Location: USA

Post by m0002a » Mon Apr 25, 2005 9:47 am

I would leave the system running for awhile in bios setup mode and check the temp at idle. If the temp is reasonable, don't worry about it. Since you did not buy the system to run CPUBurn, it does not seem particularly relevant to me. I would assume that under normal operation, your temps would be at most 5C over idle temps.

geckokarma
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Apr 25, 2005 8:00 am
Location: Boston, MA, USA

Post by geckokarma » Tue Apr 26, 2005 4:15 am

Thanks for the responses.

m0002a, I hear you on CPUBurn -- I was thinking of it only as the upper limit, betting that I can cool the CPU even under that condition and so would be in even safer territory under normal conditions. However, your (idle + 5 C) rule of thumb sounds reasonable and will be useful.

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