GA-890GPA-UDH3 Temperature Sensors

[MISMCSA]

Hello,

I just joined the site, and I'm hoping to receive a some help/feedback on my first Gigabyte product.

I've recently built a new PC using the GA-890GPA-UDH3 (rev2.0) (bios FD) board, and an II6 1055T.  The temerpatures I've been seeing appear suspect to me.  The CPU temp idles around 39-40 deg C, when in the bios.  This seems very high for an idle temp to me.  I'm not using the stock cooler, and I have regreased and reseated the HSF twice.  I'm using AS5, and do have experience installing HSFs.

Under load (using Prime) I acheive high 60s temp readings for CPU sensor.  This is according to HWMonitor, AOD, and Everest.  During this time, the Core Temps range from 23 - 56 degrees (I've read that these are not physical sensor readings, but a calculation).

A few questions:
-Are the motherboards sensors accurate? 
-Has anyone else experienced a similar situation? 
-Is it "normal" to see up to a 15 degree deference from the core temps to the motherboard sensor temps?

Thanks for your help.

Full System Specs:
CPU: Phenom II x6 1055T  w/Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UDH3 (rev 2.0)
Memory: 4GB G.Skill Ripjaw DDR3
VGA: HIS IceQ5 Radeon HD 5770 @ 900/1350 (modded bios)
PSU: ModXStream 700W Pro
HD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM (7200.12)
Case: 2 120s sucking in from the fron, 2 120s exhausting the back

[absic]

Hi there,

yes, I have to agree that your idle temps do seem very high and I would personally point the finger at your choice of heatsink and you would probably notice lower temps by using the stock cooler, although, to be honest, most probably not too much lower. The Phenom ii X4 & X6 CPU's do tend to run a little on the toasty side and I have to say that your figures are probably pretty accurate. I faced a similar situation on my own rig and only got the temps down by switching to a Noctua NH-D14. My 1090T now runs at around 24°C compared to 35°C on stock cooler.

-Are the motherboards sensors accurate? 

I believe that they are fairly good from my own testing.
From a monitoring point of view EasyTune 6 and AMD Overdrive have shown themselves to be the most accurate at reporting the CPU temps.

Is it "normal" to see up to a 15 degree difference from the core temps to the motherboard sensor temps?

In a word yes. I'm running the GA-790XTA-UD4 and my own system reports similar differences.

Be careful about stress testing the CPU too much as the max temp for them is only around 62°C! 

[MISMCSA]

Thanks for the reply.  Funny that I picked up this HSF on someone elses recommendation of being a good air cooler if I want to OC.

What cooler would you suggest, which would also be decently quiet.  The current one is very quiet,

[absic]

What cooler would you suggest, which would also be decently quiet.  The current one is very quiet,

That really would depend on how much you wish to spend. As I mentioned before, I am using the Noctua NH-D14 air cooler, still rather expensive in the UK but really quiet and a very good air cooler.
At the other end of the scale the Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus has proven to be pretty popular but I have no first hand experience of this cooler and have no info regarding it's abilities when it comes to overall cooling.
In the middle price range there are a whole raft of coolers and from my experience and also from the various reviews I have read they are all adequate for what they do.

My best advice, based on my own experience of running both an X4 & X6 CPU would be to say, look at something mid-high end when it comes to 3rd party air coolers. I know that these can cost a lot of money but at the lower end of the cost scale you will not gain much over the stock cooler.

The other option of course, is to go down the water cooling route, guaranteed lower temps but more expensive and challenging the air cooling.

[Dark Mantis]

Someone mention water?   
Seriously though a good air cooler and perfectly silent is the "Thor's Hammmer" from Xigmatech. You can also attach a fan if you want to.

http://www.candccentral.co.uk/CPU-Heatsinks-And-Fans.html

[MISMCSA]

I'd be okay spending $50-60 US, on a good cooler.  You mentioned the hyper 212 plus, and I noticed I could pick one up for $23 at my local microcenter store.  That seems like a pretty good cooler, especially when compared to the price.  I was looking at the frosty tech reviews, and it seems to rate it well, and in with the top 15% of available HSFs.

[absic]

Yes, I have to agree that the reviews for the Hyper 212 plus do seem pretty good and I know there have been a couple of forum user's who have bought one and been pleased with the results.

Personally, I would still be looking at one of the Noctua models. You might not want to invest in the model that I have but the Noctua NH-U9B SE2 or Noctua NH-U12P SE2 are both worthy of a look and the Noctua fans are really quiet. I have mine running at full tilt and cannot hear them above the case fans. In fact, when I first installed my Noctua I had to double check, as I didn't think the fans were actually running they are so quiet.