Can EasyTune 6 be believed? (CPU temp GA-P55-UD6)

[Mark]

On my system, which is operating in a room that is 72 degrees F, Easytune 6 reports that the CPU temperature is 59 degrees F.

I'm not using anything fancy as cooling- just a heatsink and a fan.

Seems like there's no way that Easytune 6 is correct.

I just avoided one motherboard return by becoming convinced that the memory is at fault.  What could be at fault here other than the motherboard?

Mark

[oggmonster]

Download coretemp (will be in degrees C and not sure if theres anyway to change it) Then let us know how the temps vary. In my expierience if theres a problem with a temp sensor its a problem with the CPU. For example one of the cores on my E8600 will never go below 37oC, despite the temps being equal under load

[Mark]

EasyTune 6 reports a CPU temperature of 14C, whereas Core Temp 0.99.5 reports core temps of 23, 24, 27, and 25C.

So-- EasyTune 6 is not to be believed.

That's pretty sad.

Mark

[oggmonster]

If you look here http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/7900/405usingsoftware.jpg and http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/9130/quadeasytune.jpg I had no problems with easytune. I used easy tune to overlock + realtemp/coretemp to read temps. Both are useful pieces of software imo

[runn3R]

Hi Mark

Upgrade MB's bios and EasyTune6 to the latest ones:
bios F5b from http://www.giga-byte.co.uk/Support/Motherboard/BIOS_DownloadFile.aspx?FileType=BIOS&FileID=15037
EasyTune 6 v.B9.0918.1 from http://www.giga-byte.co.uk/Support/Motherboard/Utility_DownloadFile.aspx?FileType=Utility&FileID=86
and then try again

[DavidGGG]

I have the same problem, and updating all drivers and apps didn't help.

System temp is correct in ET6 but CPU temp ET6 says is 17degC. BIOS shows correct temp: 29degC CPU (and same system temp) so it can't be the hardware, it's the ET6 that malfunctions. On a Gigabyte GA-H55N-USB3 with an Intel Core i3-540.

I am building a silent PC and I need ET6 to be able to control fan speed the way it's supposed to. Hope I will be able to trick it into doing it's job.

One idea: I read that the CPU does not report the core temp but rather the diff between core temp and max allowed temp (CPU specific parameter). Could it be that ET6 simply fails to read the max allowed temp from the CPU? From the 2 examples above, it seems on both cases temp is around 10degC too low in ET6.

Lots of people have had the same problem the last 3 years. A few examples collected with Google:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1526266
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090221175922AAzBtZH
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=215257
http://forums.vr-zone.com/cdl-trading-virtual-service-center/555881-bios-vs-easytune6-vs-real-temp-voltages-temperature-values.html

I also use a Gigabyte micro-ATX MB from 2008, I haven't checked if the temp is correct but I remember ET6 having other issues like you can't use the sound alarm because it will trigger falsely just about every day, since it sometimes sees fan speed(s) becoming 0 even though the fans rotate normally.

I like the Gigabyte boards, but I'd say ET7 is long overdue..

[Dark Mantis]

I would suggest using RealTemp to check your temperatures as you can run it while you are in windows.

http://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/

[DavidGGG]

Yep, I will do that, have downloaded both real temp and core temp. Have to get proper temp readings since I'm optimizing cooling etc.

However, that doesn't quite cut it. Real/Core temp can be used while designing and engineering the PC, but once it's operational, part of the idea of course was to let the PC automatically adjust the RPM so that it normally is silent but (having an i3 CPU) during heavy load turn up the fan speed(s) a few notches. If I let it stay at fully automatic, it is probably handled by BIOS and I don't even have to start ET6. But in ET6 I would have the possibility to set the rpm vs temperature relationship. It's really crappy that I can't do that. Right now I'm hoping my guess is correct that the reported temp is 10degC off in ET6; if so, I can adjust the parameters accordingly.

[Dark Mantis]

Yep, I will do that, have downloaded both real temp and core temp. Have to get proper temp readings since I'm optimizing cooling etc.

Don't forget that coretemp is not a measured temperture but a calculation based on other factors. Relatemp is measured.

Sorry can't help with  ET6 as I don't use any of those free programs.

[DavidGGG]

Well, I haven't read all about these things yet, but from what I've read so far, both Core Temp and Real Temp use the DTS, which is what the internal automatic Intel/BIOS fan speed regulator uses as well.

A very interesting document (from Sep 2010) on the DTS sensor from Intel: http://edc.intel.com/Link.aspx?id=2612

Intel actually review both Real Temp and Core Temp. Apparently you can't trust any of them. One very interesting aspect is that the displayed temperature is close to the truth only when you are rather clsoe to max allowed temp. This might explain why ET6 produces quite unrealistic values (3degC below room temp for me!). Designers of Real Temp at least seem to be aware of these weaknesses, so I guess of the two, I'd trust Real temp quite a bit more. And they do say calibration of Real Temp is necessary. However, they calibrated their own stuff using an IR thermometer, which to me seems optimistic. If I believed an IR thermometer would show a correct reading of the core temp I would buy one for €50. You have to take into account thermal resistance from junction to point of measurement. But maybe they did that, I havent read all about the tests. They among other things present a table of expected diff between room temp and reported temp when idle, saying e g +10degC for Intel stock cooler. This seems quite useful and believable to me. If I get a believable value when idle, and the sensor is more trustwothy at higher temps, and the relations are linear (or 2-piece linear), I think the reported values actually might be close to the truth.

http://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/docs.php

The values in BIOS and in Real Temp and Core Temp all are around 29degC for me, and ET6 says 18.  

Hopefully, for my purposes, I can set the automatic fan control so that it keeps the fans very quiet as long as the temperature is low, meaning it might let the fan speed be a bit low at low temps and increase the speed rather suddenly when it's really needed. Might decrease CPU life slightly but I want fans to be quiet during low usage. Whatever mistake developers of ET6 made, it's likely to be linear, and for that I can compensate with the parameters at hand.

Would be nice if Gigabyte posted at least a hint on these problems. But maybe they did, can't say I browsed all info.

[boglav]

I have tested this on both GA-p55-usb3 and ga-p55a-ud3 and I think it might be the case for this board too.
With c3/C6 enabled in BIOS, the reported temp is ~ the core temp -20 degrees (ith intermittent jumps to a value closer to the real one).
With C3/c6 disabled, the CPU temp is core temp - ~ 10 degrees.
Running latest BIOS on both (I haven't tried the latest beta Gigabyte sent me).
So it may be a general issue with this chipset.