Confused about cpu temps

[craga2012]

Hey there

I know there are about 100000 threads about this already, but I am just wondering if you could help me with knowing what temperatures I should be looking at on CoreTemp and HWMonitor. I have an AMD FX 6300.

At Idle, hwmonitor reads :
TMPIN0 - 23C
TMPIN1 - 37C
TMPIN2 - 27C
And the Package Temp reads : 12C

However, during just 2 minutes of prime25 ( never done it before so i just did blend, plus 6 tests since i have 6 core cpu? ), the TMPIN1 temp shot up to 57C and the package temp to 225C O.O so I ended the test right away.
CoreTemp also had the same reading.

Can someone please clarify the temps and help me decide if my pc is cool or overheating? I'm trying to decide whether I need a new cpu fan/thermal paste or not

Thank You

 

[mmj_uk]

The 225C might signify throttling, most of the low-mid range boards do that to protect the VRM's from damage/overheating with AMD FX processors.

 

[JonSmith]

That package temp is just a garbage sensor, ignore the output.

12C is below ambient temperature and 225C is above the de-crystallisation point of silicon, so there's no way it's accurate.

 

[mmj_uk]

It's not necessarily garbage, AMD sensors are not reliable at idle and a lot of the motherboard vendors added things like that by design to prevent damage to VRM's under heavy loads, when the sensor goes to 225C throttling occurs which stops the VRM's from melting.

If OP has a cheap board with small VRM heatsink it's probably working as intended.

This was an MSI statement:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=35096853&postcount=65

According to RD engineers from our HQ,

1. AMD has claimed that the FX-8350 to be 125W. However, during our internal testing, when the usage of CPU reaches 100% through Prime 95 for a while, the power consumption can exceed 125W and reaches 140W. With such condition on the 970A-G46, the high amount of power draw also causes the MOSFET to exceed its spec and will overheat.

Thus, to prevent such any potential hazard to the MOSFET, 970A-G46’s BIOS will trick the processor that its temperature is 225 degrees which will then allow the CPU to throttle. This is aimed to make the system stable in this condition.

2. We had tested using 3DMark and it did not cause throttling. Throttling only happens when the loading on a 125W CPU usage is heavy by the use of heavy burn-in tools such as Prime 95/OCCT, and such testing methods are not standard usage scenario or practical.

Please also keep in mind that this throttling behavior keeps system stable under such heavy-loading condition.

This is more of AMD’s issue on the FX-8350 because the TDP was rated lower than its actual value.

 

[Phixsator]

It's not necessarily garbage, AMD sensors are not reliable at idle and a lot of the motherboard vendors added things like that by design to prevent damage to VRM's under heavy loads, when the sensor goes to 225C throttling occurs which stops the VRM's from melting.

If OP has a cheap board with small VRM heatsink it's probably working as intended.

This was an MSI statement:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=35096853&postcount=65

Isnt that also the same MSI guy that is confusing 125W TDP to be the actual power draw? I dont really think AMD at any point have said the CPU would draw a maximum of 125 watt from your socket.

 

[X3T]

You need to be looking at the Core Temp. The best program I have found for this is also called CoreTemp.

The core temp is calculated based on the socket temp (sensor in the socket) and the current load/operations. AMD have a formula which knows which operations use the most power and therefore produce the most heat. When combined with the socket temp they can derive the actual temps of each core.

This formula is very accurate above 46 degrees C, but the accuracy drops off considerably the more it drops below this number. This is why you see below ambient temps when idle. The thermal shutdown for the chip is based off this number.