What is my CPU temperature? :S?

Question

I am using both SpeedFan and CoreTemp to find out my temperature of my AMD Phenom I (Quad Core)

SpeedFan is saying around 45°C, but CoreTemp is saying around 22°C.

I want to overclock my CPU as its only 2.2GHZ, so I bought a new CPU cooler (my god its silent)
My new Cooler: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0048F64DU/ref=oss_product

I took a screenshot of what SpeedFan and CoreTemp shows:
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/3586/speedfancoretemp.png

I'd appreciate it if someone could tell me what temperature is correct, and what I could overclock my CPU to?

Thanks so much

Answer 1

Interesting question. I did some searching/testing myself and downloaded and used speedfan, coretemp and speccy (as adviced by another answerer) on my intel atom mini-pc (it's a single core cpu with 2 threads)



Here are my findings:



coretemp readings :

core #0 24C



speedfan readings :

system 52C

cpu 55C (similar to motherboard temp reading in speccy)

aux -33C (obviously an unrealistic value so ignorable)

hd0 42C (similar to reading of hdd temp in speccy)

core 0 34C (a bit lower then the cpu temp reading in speccy)



speccy readings:

cpu 39C

motherboard 55C

hdd 42C



My conclusions:



I think the 52C system (casing temperature, or general system temperature) and the 55C cpu temp in speedfan represent a temperature readout by an onboard hardwaremonitoring chip i have on the motherboard (i asume the chip must be there because it's mentioned and there is a credible reading)



When you press the configure tab on the speedfan main tab and go to the temperatures tab you wil see the chips connected to a certain readout. In my case the 52C and 55C speedfan readings belong to a winbond chip. I asume this chip is a chip on the motherboard that is connected to a temperaturesensor under (not in) the cpu and a sensor somewhere else on the motherboard to measure the systemtemperature (just guessing here).



So i think there are actually 2 sensors measuring the cpu temp, 1 on the motherboard and 1 in the cpu.



The other sensor (built into the cpu) is shown by the lower cpu readouts. That they are not all the same (varying from as low as 24 in coretemp to 39 in speccy) may be because of an inacurate calculation based upon a faulty asumption of the tj. max (another guess, see source).



From a hardwaremonitoring/overclocking point of view i wouldn't worry about the deviations in the readout of internal cpu tempsensor because i would focus on the higher readout by the monitoring chip on the motherboard because a conservative aproach is best.



Also absolute temperature isn't that important when it's below a safe threshold. Who cares if a cpu is 23 or 33 C? What is important is the difference in temp and that it's not to high. So i would make notes of your findings so u can check later for any change. For an absolute temp indication i would stick to the higher motherboard readout, make sure it's not to high.



When it comes to reading the internal cpu sensor my guess is that speccy is most accurate. But as long as that temp stays below lets say 60C you should be ok. I would definately not think oooh the internal cpu readout is only that low so i can overclock, i would definately try to keep the higher readout within limits.



Try seeing what happens when your cpu is under load (also see resource)



I find it pretty strange though that the internal cpu sensor finds a lower temp then the sensor outside the cpu .Might be worth some more research:

http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte/33347-digital-thermal-sensors-dts-seeking-themal-peace-mind.html

(my initial impression would be not to trust those dts readouts to quickly)

Answer 2

Assume the highest temperature is the core temperature. If your PC/motherboard manufacturer offers a diagnostic tool, use that. SpeedFan doesn't always get the right sensor. In your case, with a Phenom x4 9550, I'd expect to see 4 separate core temperatures.



If you don't have access to such a utility, try Speccy - http://filehippo.com/download_speccy You can drill down to individual core temperatures in that utility.



The temperature that matters is what you get at full load, so have a stress test program such as Prime95 handy: http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=205



Your cpu's maximum case temperature is 70C, so your cores can definitely get that hot (possibly 20-30C hotter, depending on the effectiveness of your cooling). My conservative rule is to keep the core temperature at or below the maximum case temperature for long term, stable operation.



You can probably get that processor up to 2.5 GHz without too much effort. As the speed increases, it's a complex balancing act between temperature, voltage, noise and stability. The key guideline is small steps so you're at least stable at low cpu useage.



I can recommend this guide for overclocking a Phenom II, but I don't know how applicable it is for the original Phenom like yours. http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=205

Answer 3

The CPU is the techniques of your pc and is made up of hundreds of thousands of small switches which carry an electric cost which in turn produces the warmth. To plenty warmth and the CPU will smash down. With some CPU's in case you are able to cool them down sufficient you are able to fool them into questioning their greater powerful There would desire to be a fan on acceptable of the CPU to maintain it cool that's administered of the motherboard and in maximum new computers would nicely be monitored interior the Bios. there is likewise distinctive unfastened bits of utility to computer screen your CPU temp. purely kind it into google.

Answer 4

No cpu would operate at 22°C. It might attain that temperature with the power cord pulled out, but if room temp were higher then maybe not.

A few years back when single cores and high clock speeds were the norm, temperatures in the 80s and 90s weren't uncommon.