Ok - I'm back with some very weird news, but I had heard it some time ago. The only thing I changed was my BIOS version.
First, PC specs:
- Mobo is ASUS A7V333
- 512MB PC2700 RAM
- ATI Radeon 9500 Pro
- AMD XP 2000+ with a Tornado 7+ on it (have new fan on order).
- Fan in back blowing in, with a single fan in the PS blowing out and no vents in the bottom (this will soon change when a new PS comes in).
No overclocking (yet) and ambient temp is under 80F (27C), and guessing even under 70F at times. With my Volcano 7+ running at max speed (6500RPM), the base temp would never drop below 45C but frequently hung around 50C, and under load would easily get up to and over 55C. At about 57-60C it would become unstable. Temperatures are gathered from the Asus Probe.
To the meat of the matter:
I looked around Asus's site and found that there was a much newer BIOS than I had (1006 was on the PC), so I upgraded it (1017). The next boot I did, My CPU Temp matches my mobo temp at 37C. That never happened before, so I was suspicious. Even from a cold startup, the CPU was always a little warmer.
Right now, I'm looking to perform some burn-in tests to see how warm the CPU will get with the Volcano 7+ set at its lowest speed (4000RPM). At idle it is about 42C - the lowest I've ever seen it, even when it was running 6500RPM.
CPU: AMD XP2000+ (not overclocked)
Fan/heatsink: Volcano 7+
Rear fan blowing toward the Volcano 7+, no bottom vents in the PS, and the case's top and side are off.
Before BIOS upgrade:
No load at 6500RPM: 47C
Load at 6500RPM: 55C
After BIOS upgrade:
No load (at least 10 minutes):
4000RPM: 40C
5500RPM: 35C
6500RPM: 33C
Load (10 Minutes):
4000RPM: 44C
5500RPM: 41C
6500RPM: 36C
I have finally seen my mobo temp match or higher than my CPU!
I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it.
Linear Mode
