Temp Monitoring Question

bob670 · Post by **bob670** » Wed Dec 17, 2003 7:20 pm

So what do you guys think about the accuracy of temp monitoring programs and their results. For example, I have an Intel PIV 2.4B on D845GEBV2L that I monitor with Intel ActiveMonitor, and 2x 40GB WD SE HDDs I monitor periodically with Dtemp. My temps idle are CPU 27-29, System 25-29, Motherboard 25-29 and Hard Drives 30-33. Load temps (say after 2-3 hours heavy gaming) are CPU 37-39, Motherboard/Case 31-34, Hard Drives 34-38, and temps drop back to idle levels in just a few minutes. I don't have a ton of cooling in my Sonata, just the stock 120MM@5V, Zalman Al/Cu 7000A at around 9V and my Leadtek FX5700 has pretty decent stock cooling.

How accurate are those temps? I have always assumed temps were off by 5-10 degrees, but could every sensor in my system be off by the same margin, and even if they are, those temps are still well under safe threshholds? If Dtemp takes the temp near the drive core isn't it pretty accurate? I'm mostly concerned with hard drive temps and data safety, and all opinions/viewpoints are welcom.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Thu Dec 18, 2003 5:05 am

Your CPU load temp seems pretty cool but all your other load and all idle temps are right in the ballpark. These temperature monitoring apps just take data from the builtin sensors on the board, CPU and HDD and report it. They (except for Abit) don't put their own "spin" on it. So the temps are as accurate as the sensor location and calibration I guess you could say.

As to your specific question about the temp of your drives, again Dtemp is just reporting the reading of a sensor that WD has built in to the drive. Is it actually in a place where it's measuring the temp of some critical part of the drive? Only WD knows for sure.

bob670 · Post by **bob670** » Thu Dec 18, 2003 5:17 am

That was pretty much what I expected to hear Ralf, I guess I'm not overly concerned, my system is rock stable and if I pop the side off the HDDs are barely warm to the touch (compared to some systems I deal with at work from Dell, those drives feel like they are on fire even at idle). I figure even if all of those temps are off by several degrees I am under tolerance, and I back up at least once a week to an exteranl USB 2 HDD, so I guess I'll just be happy. Thanks for the input.