Two questions about my Asus A7N8X deluxe system ....

[Mark Timerding]

I have an Alienware pc that has this motherboard and an
AMD Athlon XP 3000+ cpu ... and have two questions about
it, if anyone can help me.

The CPU had the standard AMD heatsink/fan on the cpu,
and I wasnt too impressed with how warm this machine
always ran. (and even once, it overheated while simply
doing a defrag of the harddrives ... bear in mind, that this
case has THREE intake fans, and two EXHAUSTs)

I have since bought/installed a 'Thermaltake K7 Volcano 11+
Xaser' heatsink/fan .... and I have a question about my temps
(as given by Motherboard Monitor) ... With the orig heatsink/fan
on average my idle temps read: Socket 49-50cel Diode 57-59cel .....

With the new Thermaltake ... it reads: Socket 44-45 cel Diode
45-47cel.

So, it seems that the new heatsink/fan made a dramatic difference
in the Diode temps, but only a minor one with the Socket temp.

My question is simply is this the kind of difference I should have
noticed? (I would have thought whatever difference should have been
the same for both Socket and Diode)

My 2nd question: This system came with 1 gb (2 x 512mb) Corsair
pc2700 XMS ram. I happen to have an extra stick of Crucial PC2700
(512mb) here, and was curious if I could use it in this machine.
Alienware said they didnt know if it'd be compatible, but "as the XMS
ram has very criticial timings, it probably wouldnt work with the mix"
Does anyone have any thoughts on whether this ram mix would/could
work? (no big deal really, I just thought, as I have it laying here, I
should
try to use it)

Thank you all, for taking the time to read this. A little longwinded, but
I wanted to make sure I explained the questions thoroughly.

 

[Rob]

I have an Alienware pc that has this motherboard and an
AMD Athlon XP 3000+ cpu ... and have two questions about
it, if anyone can help me.

The CPU had the standard AMD heatsink/fan on the cpu,
and I wasnt too impressed with how warm this machine
always ran. (and even once, it overheated while simply
doing a defrag of the harddrives ... bear in mind, that this
case has THREE intake fans, and two EXHAUSTs)

I have since bought/installed a 'Thermaltake K7 Volcano 11+
Xaser' heatsink/fan .... and I have a question about my temps
(as given by Motherboard Monitor) ... With the orig heatsink/fan
on average my idle temps read: Socket 49-50cel Diode 57-59cel .....

With the new Thermaltake ... it reads: Socket 44-45 cel Diode
45-47cel.

So, it seems that the new heatsink/fan made a dramatic difference
in the Diode temps, but only a minor one with the Socket temp.

My question is simply is this the kind of difference I should have
noticed? (I would have thought whatever difference should have been
the same for both Socket and Diode)

My 2nd question: This system came with 1 gb (2 x 512mb) Corsair
pc2700 XMS ram. I happen to have an extra stick of Crucial PC2700
(512mb) here, and was curious if I could use it in this machine.
Alienware said they didnt know if it'd be compatible, but "as the XMS
ram has very criticial timings, it probably wouldnt work with the mix"
Does anyone have any thoughts on whether this ram mix would/could
work? (no big deal really, I just thought, as I have it laying here, I
should
try to use it)

Thank you all, for taking the time to read this. A little longwinded, but
I wanted to make sure I explained the questions thoroughly.

Q1: The diode temp taken from a sensor on the chip is highly likely to
show greater decreases/increases in temp than the socket temp, which
has an airspace between the chip and sensor. Because of the space which
acts as a buffer, temp changes and their ratio's are not equal between
readings.
Q2: putting the extra stick in would likely give you more headaches than
benefit. If you have 1 Gb already installed, that's more than your
programs will likely ever need. Unless your using some very intense
applications, I'd leave it out. HTH

Rob

 

[Mark Timerding]

Q1: The diode temp taken from a sensor on the chip is highly likely to

Thanks for the reply ...if I can pick your brain for a further
clarification:
I understand WHY there would be a difference between diode/socket ...
but, am still confused why a different heatsink, would make a difference
on mostly just the diode temp. In other words, the diode temp has clearly
dropped about 10 deg with the new heatsink, where the Socket temp
dropped only 2 or 3.

Forgive my stupidy, just trying to understand. Maybe it would help
if I knew, exactly WHERE (physically) the two sensors are located
on this cpu/mobo?

 

[Broedie]

I can only add to question #1. I think maybe that the original
heatsink/fan may not have been put on properly to begin with. No
company, especially a company like Alienware will consistently ship
out machines that run that hot. Too many warranty costs. I think
when you put on the new heatsink/fan, you seated it properly giving
you the difference in diode temps. I recently redid mine, and the
diode temps dropped 7 deg C with a new coating of Artic Silver.
Something tells me I did not do a good enough job the first time.

 

[Rob]

0
0
0

Thanks for the reply ...if I can pick your brain for a further
clarification:
I understand WHY there would be a difference between diode/socket ...
but, am still confused why a different heatsink, would make a difference
on mostly just the diode temp. In other words, the diode temp has clearly
dropped about 10 deg with the new heatsink, where the Socket temp
dropped only 2 or 3.

Forgive my stupidy, just trying to understand. Maybe it would help
if I knew, exactly WHERE (physically) the two sensors are located
on this cpu/mobo?

The heat sink, in direct contact with the core (where the CPU temp is
measured), will transfer the heat at different rates dependent on it's
material, copper and/or aluminum. The metal may be cooled at different
rates based on the fans speed/area. The installation method can also
play a role, as Broedie mentioned. The socket temp sensor is typically
a diode mounted on the Mobo, in the socket well, under the CPU. The
board absorbs and transfers heat at a steady rate and even though your
new HSF is much more efficient at cooling the top side of the core, the
temp build-up in the socket well is only reduced marginally. For this
same reason, you can see larger/faster swings in CPU temp than in the
socket temp when the system is operating. HTH

Rob

 

[Mark Timerding]

The heat sink, in direct contact with the core

Thanks Rob for that further explanation ...while I did not
initially clearly understand this explanation .... that explanation,
combined with having watched the reported socket and diode temps in
motherboard monitor the past two days ... and I realized, that
it has been functioning exactly how you described, so now I know WHY!

Thanks alot, again ....

For Broedie: as much as I may like to 'blame' Alienware for this
snafu ... I can't, as they replaced the motherboard shortly after I
received this computer, and thus the cpu/heatsink was NOT
the way they shipped it, but was redone by an 'onsite' tech.
And for your comment: "maybe when you installed the new heasink
you did it right..;.." that gave me a chuckle, ME do something right
on this computer? LOL (well, I suppose I do turn it on in the morning,
the right way)
Thanks for your input