Gigabyte EP35-DS3R 'system' temp at 55+ deg C okay?

JJ123 · Post by **JJ123** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 12:30 am

Update: The solution/answer to my question here is in the 5th post in this thread.

Hi! I've been off and on the SPCR site for some years but have recently found the site incredibly useful. Thank you all!

I would like to ask a question please.

I just installed a Gigabyte EP35-DS3R motherboard and one of the temps (System) shows in both the BIOS and in speedfan (as temp1) as being between 55 and 59 degrees C. Is this normal? Is this the north bridge chip temp? I see on some people's BIOS photo here on SPR that theirs is at about 40c so I'm thinking something is not right.

img259.imageshack.us/my.php?image=newtempreadingspx7.png

My machine is well ventilated as you can see in that image my CPU is at 33c and my HDDs are cool also.

I have not yet attempted overclocking.

Thank you!

System information:
CPU: E8400 intel (new)
Cooler: ASUS TRITON 75 R (arctic silver 5 t.p.)
RAM: G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB)DDR2 1066 F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK (new)
PS: Corsair HX620W (new)
GPU: nv8800gts @650mhz
3 SATA and 1 PATA hdd
SB Audigy 2
SATA DVD-RW ASUS

---
(for those who want the long story here it is below)

When I installed the board, I held the board by the north bridge heatsink and it came a little loose. So I pushed it back level and it seemed to stick and stay. When I powered it on the first time I noticed the 'system' temp went to about 59.

I thought maybe that this was the north bridge chip and that maybe I needed to re-thermal paste it since I had loosened it maybe. I disassembled the machine, removed the north bridge HS, and then took Gigabyte's thermal paste using the ArctiClean step 1 and 2 bottles I also got from the egg.

I then applied a adequate dab of arctic silver 5 and then put the HS back on and put the machine back together and my north bridge temps are as the image above shows, a little better, but not 40c.

JJ123 · Post by **JJ123** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 1:31 am

Here's what Core Temp is saying:

TIA

JJ123 · Post by **JJ123** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 6:01 am

Here is what CPUID is saying

Still researching this.. Looks like it might be on the high side of expected temps for the northbridge. Not completely sure though.

JJ123 · Post by **JJ123** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:36 am

Well I found one page that says this 'system' temp is not the northbridge...

Temp 1 is also a thermister on the board that is reading "system temp" and on DS3's it is located on the board near the end of the PCI-e 16x slot (video card slot) and rises no where near a quickly as the cpu related ones. It is more of a general "case temp" kinda thing.

On this page:
http://forums.tweaktown.com/f69/gigabyt ... ide-26112/

It seems my 8800gts is likely causing the high reading. I could install a regular PCI video card to test it and will do that later.

Note: For the E8400 (and possibly other E8000 series Intel CPU's) the core temperatures reported by most programs is false! This includes the program Core Temp! This is because Intel has lowered the max temperature (called Tj. Max) these 45nm chips can handle by about ten degrees C. This causes skewed readings, and not necessarily by ten degrees.

The program called Real Temp (currently version 2.4) gives correct core temperatures, apparently. Google it. I thought I was at 61c for my cores, but now know I was at about 53c, which is much better.

Also I've learned that the max temp the E8400s can officially handle is 61.4 degrees C. Here is the reference:

E8400 Processor temperature:

"Intel denies the claims, if overclocking, do not let it go above 72.5 Degrees Centigrade.

The maximum operating temperature of the Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo processor E8400 is 61.4 degrees Celsius. As long as the processor is operating under this temperature it is operating within specifications. We recommend setting any thermal alarms about three degrees below the maximum recommended temperature for the processor. We do not have a normal operating temperature for the processor as this temperature will vary depending on the chassis and other hardware installed on the system as well as the actual load the software is placing on the processor. "

http://www.pureoverclock.com/story.php?id=1791

JJ123 · Post by **JJ123** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 11:59 pm

If any of you are reading or find this via google.. Here's an update.

Okay well after all the above I've found out directly that the 'system' temp for this motherboard is indeed referencing the northbridge chip. I purchased a northbridge heatsink cooler and the temps dropped to between 37c-43c (depending on if overclocked or not). That's a huge improvement from 59c (load temp).

Here is a pic of the cooler I installed (thermaltake silent extreme II)..

I could have put a little fan on the stock cooler but this was a better ($25) route. I used Arctic Silver V thermal paste.

And here's a pic of the original stock northbridge cooler that comes with the ga-ep35-ds3r motherboard:

bumthology · Post by **bumthology** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 2:02 am

I have the same board basically without the raid, DS3! and it has the exact same northbridge cooler!
I installed a Noctua NB cooler and mine now is at 42 degrees. I never noticed how hot it was with the stock one...so i dont know how much of an improvement it is.

andyb · Post by **andyb** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 3:08 am

That NB cooler appears to have a fan.

It the fan in use, and if so how loud is it.

Andy

JJ123 · Post by **JJ123** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 3:17 am

Yes Andyb, that's a fan in it. I'm not sure how loud it is. The Thermaltake page says 19db:

http://www.thermaltake.com/product/Cool ... -c0034.asp

I have five 120mm fans going in my case now (two are very quiet) so I can't hear it over the others, and the four HDD's.

Gigabyte EP35-DS3R 'system' temp at 55+ deg C okay?

Gigabyte EP35-DS3R 'system' temp at 55+ deg C okay?

core temp readings

More info..