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I have recently built a Mini ITX system based on a Pentium 4 CPU (P4 HT 631).The CPU was bought off Ebay for 5$ and the motherboard was salvaged from a local recycling center. The system works fine, it boots in Windows, i can browse the internet, watch videos ,etc.. .The only problem is that it runs quite hot (expected because of the P4).
The system:
- Pentium 4 HT 631
- Commel LV-672 system board
- 512 MB DDR2 400 SDRAM
So i wanted to see how hot it gets when idle and i stuck my k-type multimeter sensor inside the heatsink.The results:
the multimeter shows 49°C (i can feel on my hand how hot the heatsink is)
the BIOS shows only 27°C and even worse, the system temp is 19°C ! (while the room temperature is 25.2°C)
UPDATE: I got to test the Pentium 4 CPU with another motherboard and it shows 48°C in the BIOS, as well as on my multimeter. Right now my guess is that the motherboard has a problem.
UPDATE 2: After a couple of hours running, the temperatures shown in the BIOS grew gradually. Right now, the CPU is at 37°C (multimeter is still at 47°C as it should be) and the system temp is at 27°C. This is weird. Also, i am now using a standard Intel cooler.
What could be wrong ?
Even though this board is old (dates back from 2003) it is too small and i can't see any thermistor sticking out near the CPU or northbridge. I guess the only option i have is to test the CPU on another LGA motherboard tomorrow. – snaks20 – 2016-08-04T07:38:49.187
I do not understand, what would you be testing for? You said the computer works fine, except for your worrying about the temperatures. If you never knew about those temperatures like many computer users dont know, or even care, you would just use the computer as it is working ? – Psycogeek – 2016-08-04T08:31:27.403
@ Psycogeek The P4 HT 631 has a Tcase of max 70°C and my CPU goes above 65°C when in load and outside of a computer case (basically i am on the edge).It can easily start thermal throttling and damage itself while the BIOS will take no action to prevent that. That's why i am worried. And i will use the other motherboard to test if the CPU was already damaged by the previous owner (since i bought the CPU off Ebay).
– snaks20 – 2016-08-04T08:43:36.273oh i see. i would be testing a better cooler , that still fits, or using AS5 for the thermal compound. – Psycogeek – 2016-08-04T10:06:45.113
I tested the CPU on the new motherboard with an Intel cooler and i ran Prime 95 under Windows 7 to see how much it heats. Surprisingly, the CPU did not pass 61°C under full load with the new hardware configuration. Most likely the previous cooler doesn't do a great job like the Intel one. – snaks20 – 2016-08-04T10:13:32.557