I just completed my first silent build based around the E45M1-I Deluxe in a Wesena ITX2 case, but the CPU temperatures I'm seeing even under no load are making me very nervous. In the BIOS menu (right after boot), the ASUS utility shows the temp relatively quickly climbing above 60C and then more slowly above 80C. Given that the E-450 processor is only rated for 90C, I haven't tried to stress the CPU at all yet. I'm currently using a single 40mm case fan (all that the Wesena case has room for) - but it doesn't seem to make any difference. Removing the E45M1 from the case doesn't help matters - it gets just as hot in the open air.

From looking around various forums (including SPCR) it seems as though at least some folks have had success with this motherboard/processor (and in one case, with this CPU/mobo combo and case). I haven't been able to find much information on actual operating temps for the E45M1-I, though. Does anyone have any real world experience with this mobo/CPU combo? Are the temperatures I'm seeing consistent with that experience? If anyone has a stable system based around this mobo I'd love to know what kind of case/cooling you're using.

>80C idling at the BIOS screen outside of the case? That's insane.
Either the reported temperature is off or it's a lemon (badly mounted heatsink or something).

id bet the HS not installed correctly.

Power saving features of the CPU are available through a driver. The driver will only load in the OS. CPU temps in bios are very close to a stress test. Please read the temps from within the OS. If they are still high the heatsink may indeed not be correctly installed. In that case it's time for an RMA.

--UPDATE--

Well, I bit the bullet and installed Win7 just to see what would happen. I'm seeing the CPU at 65C when "idle" (no programs running other than the Asus monitoring utility and background Windows services), with temps climbing into the high 70s when watching streaming video (Amazon videos as this board can't handle Netflix). These temps still seem really high to me, but much better than what I was seeing in the BIOS. I don't understand why the BIOS reports hotter temperatures than the ASUS Sensor utility - I can only assume that one of them is incorrect or that the BIOS is somehow stressing the CPU (which doesn't make any sense to me, but what do I know?). Next step is to try to wedge another fan in the case -- or perhaps just to scrap the whole project and buy one the HD-Plex cases and a new mobo/cpu.

My 7750 had the fan almost not clipped on at all. Check the heatsink installation. It's not a bad idea to swap the thermal paste anyway.

I bought exactly the same motherboard and had exactly the same experience. I can't blame it on the thermal paste because the heatsink was too hot to touch within 30 seconds. Asus are blatantly mis-selling this thing by calling it a fanless design. I saw 90°C sitting in the bios and about 85 idling under ubuntu. Stressing both CPUs to 100% took it up to 99°C but it didn't switch off, so I guess the CPU is smart enough to clock down when it's that hot. This was all in the open air. So I dug a fan out of an old PC and simply stuck it on top of the heatsink with 3M stickers. Immediately the temperature fell to 65°C. This was still under full stress. When I put the lid on the box it went up to 75°C. When I stopped the stress test it sank to 60-65°C. I also noticed that my improvised CPU fan was pretty much silent compared with the fan in the power supply I got (which also whistles intolerably), so the whole fanless idea is a waste of time if the board can't drink from something like a laptop PSU. If what you're looking for is a house-trained server, mini-itx is just not helping.

Asus's "fanless" heatsinks are notoriously bad but these temps are simply crazy.


That's why there are mITX cases which come with "something like a laptop PSU" and mITX boards which don't need a PSU (only an AC/DC brick).
There are low-power boards which run fanless with reasonable temperatures.

I ran this motherboard in open air and got almost 80 degrees C in the BIOS and 98 when watching video under Ubuntu. I had hoped to have a completely passive setup in a box with lots of small holes and a picoPSU (yes, something like the laptop variant). I contacted ASUS support and they recommended that I would RMA the motherboard. I am now waiting for a replacement, but I am worried that it will be more or less the same . Fingers crossed!

I have my E45M1-Deluxe overclocked to 1.9 GHz. I am only using one case fan for cooling and my temps are stable between 30-50°C.

System specs:
MB: E45M1-Deluxe
Chassis: Wesena ITX5
SDD: Corsair Force GT 120
DDR3: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB)
PSU: Pico 150X

I have the E45M1-Deluxe overclocked to 1.9GHz and my temps are stable between 30-50°C with just one case fan for cooling. (Wesena ITX5 chassis with Pico PSU and SSD)

That is the kind of temp range I would expect for this product.

If you are logged in, scroll down and look at the pictures.

viewtopic.php?f=23&t=64999

I used that system with the fans unplugged before I installed the duct.

The CPU temp rose to about 50C-55C when idling on the desktop (drivers installed and power saving working) under both Windows XP and Windows 7 (note that the smaller of the 2 heatsinks is the one with the CPU underneath it - fan removed).

If that tiny pathetic heatsink can keep the CPU 10C cooler idling that the huge one on that motherboard then something is very wrong.

I would suggest as other people have done, install an OS, install the drivers, check to see (via CPU-Z) that the CPU clockspeed and voltage drops down automatically when idling on the desktop, and the monitor the CPU temps.

Also via CPU-Z check the BIOS/UEFI version against the latest version on ASUS's website and consider flashing the BIOS to the latest version if it is not already the latest version.

Finally to check whether the heatsink does not have enough pressure, re-test (from cold) with a couple of thick books balanced on the heatsink, turn the machine on and wait for its temps to settle at idle on the desktop, make a note of the temps, then remove the books, and look at the numbers further.

The added pressure might make a difference, but there will also be a loss of heat dissipation due to the books blocking the hot air escaping from the fins -either way the results will be informative.


Andy

If the CPUs really are reaching some of these high temperatures then you would expect a thermal shutdown to occur before any damage happens. It is possible that this is not happening if the temperature is not as reported. It could be some kind of temperature reading offset giving you the wrong number. This would also fit in with the relatively small deltas you're seeing between idle and load.

But refixing the CPU cooler or running the system open with a different cooler would give you some good information to work out the cause.