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- 29 Jan 2007
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Is it just me, or do people seem confused about CPU temps these days ever since programs started reporting CORE temperatures from the internal diode?
They seem to get worried about seeing CORE load temps of 60C, when in fact that's absolutely fine.
I may be wrong, but my take on it is that CPU manufacturers give the Tcasemax value for their CPUs, NOT the Tjunction max.
Tcasemax is the maximum temp the heatspreader or SURFACE of the CPU should reach before throttling sets in to save the CPU from meltdown. CPU manufacturers give you this in the specs, because it can be verified via an external heat probe by third party's without having to drill into a CPU. Typical value might be 65C.
Tcasemax sould also be the temp that is reported by your BIOS or given in a program like Speedfan as CPU TEMP. It's usually about 10-15C lower than CORE temp, probably calculated from the internal diode via software, and this is the value you should be comparing to the CPU manufactures Tcasemax.
Tjunctionmax is the maximum internal CORE temp the CPU should reach. It's usually much higher and not normally given by CPU manufacturers in the specs as it's hard to verify by third parties using probes. This is the value that you should be comparing the CORE temp output to, and could be as high as 80-90C before thermal protection kicks in.
To make things more confusing, video card GPU's normally have Tjunctionmax temps in their specifications rather than CPUs tradition of Tcasemax. That's why you see much higher values like 120C as the maximum temp before throttling, but at least it means people are comparing the internal CORE diode output to the correct value of Tjunctionmax.
Finally, the diodes and software interpretations are not very accurate anyway and simply a guide.
As an example, for a CPU with a Tcasemax (surface temp) of 65C from the manufacturers, I wouldn't worry about seeing CORE temps of 60-70C which quite possible only relates to a surface temp of 45-55C, well below the specs. Anything above 70C for the CORE would be heading towards the slow down protection zone.
If I'm wrong, then someone please correct me. I'm just a little tired of seeing people freak out over high CORE temps, once they go a tad over 50C.
They seem to get worried about seeing CORE load temps of 60C, when in fact that's absolutely fine.
I may be wrong, but my take on it is that CPU manufacturers give the Tcasemax value for their CPUs, NOT the Tjunction max.
Tcasemax is the maximum temp the heatspreader or SURFACE of the CPU should reach before throttling sets in to save the CPU from meltdown. CPU manufacturers give you this in the specs, because it can be verified via an external heat probe by third party's without having to drill into a CPU. Typical value might be 65C.
Tcasemax sould also be the temp that is reported by your BIOS or given in a program like Speedfan as CPU TEMP. It's usually about 10-15C lower than CORE temp, probably calculated from the internal diode via software, and this is the value you should be comparing to the CPU manufactures Tcasemax.
Tjunctionmax is the maximum internal CORE temp the CPU should reach. It's usually much higher and not normally given by CPU manufacturers in the specs as it's hard to verify by third parties using probes. This is the value that you should be comparing the CORE temp output to, and could be as high as 80-90C before thermal protection kicks in.
To make things more confusing, video card GPU's normally have Tjunctionmax temps in their specifications rather than CPUs tradition of Tcasemax. That's why you see much higher values like 120C as the maximum temp before throttling, but at least it means people are comparing the internal CORE diode output to the correct value of Tjunctionmax.
Finally, the diodes and software interpretations are not very accurate anyway and simply a guide.
As an example, for a CPU with a Tcasemax (surface temp) of 65C from the manufacturers, I wouldn't worry about seeing CORE temps of 60-70C which quite possible only relates to a surface temp of 45-55C, well below the specs. Anything above 70C for the CORE would be heading towards the slow down protection zone.
If I'm wrong, then someone please correct me. I'm just a little tired of seeing people freak out over high CORE temps, once they go a tad over 50C.
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