CPU Temps

[Jack B. Pollack]

I have a Dell Dimension 5100 3GHZ box (XP SP3). It will be living in a
cabinet with moderate ventilation. Before moving it to its new home I wanted
to check component temps so that I could compare them later to verify
adequate ventilation.

The BIOS does not display any temp info.
MotherBoard Monitor did not have any config files for this model so I used
SpeedFan.

SpeedFan reported a GPU and Core temp of 60' when the computer was idle. I
then used CPU Damage
(http://www.benchmarkhq.ru/gallery/screenshot.php?g2_itemId=1041) to bring
the processor usage up to 100%. I ran this for 30 min and the CPU and Core
temps still read 60'

What is a safe temp zone for this processor (Intel P4 3.GHZ w/ HT)?
Why wouldnt the core temp vary when CPU is maxed? it does occasionally go
down to 59' when idle, so I know something is being read

Thanks

[Andrew Smallshaw]

Post by Jack B. Pollack
SpeedFan reported a GPU and Core temp of 60' when the computer was idle. I
then used CPU Damage
(http://www.benchmarkhq.ru/gallery/screenshot.php?g2_itemId=1041) to bring
the processor usage up to 100%. I ran this for 30 min and the CPU and Core
temps still read 60'
What is a safe temp zone for this processor (Intel P4 3.GHZ w/ HT)?
Why wouldnt the core temp vary when CPU is maxed? it does occasionally go
down to 59' when idle, so I know something is being read

That seems a very small fluctuation. I take it the fans are
dynamically controlled? If so that will explain more or less
constant temperature but even so the regulation seems very tight.
I also assume that temperature is supposed to be celsius? If so
it seems a little high (you should aim for under 50) but my
inclination would be to assume that the diagnostic is mis-interpreting
the sensor readings. I would trust a Dell not to be running so
hot in ordinary circumstances.