Re Voltage / CPU Temperature on A7N8X Deluxe v2

[McBain]

I have recently built the following computer:

A7N8X Deluxe v2.0 with 1.007 BIOS
AMD 2800+ CPU (2.25GHz 333FSB)
2 x 512Mb Corsair XMS Memory
XFX GeForce FX 5950 256Mb RAM
Aero 7+ Cooler
Enermax 465W PSU
Coolermaster ATCS Case (aluminium case with on fan on top of case and one
fan on side)

I specifically bought an Enermax PSU due to difficulties with a crappy 550W
Q-Tec PSU!!! I was assuming that Enermax are a good make - is this true? If
not, what PSU companies are really reliable?

Very rarely (1 in 50 times), I turn on my computer, power goes to it and
then before anything shows up on the screen or the computer makes the
regular beep, the computer switches itself off. If I then turn the computer
on again immediately, everything is ok. When the computer powers on
normally, everything is ok. I have noticed the following in BIOS:

CUP Temp. is around 50oC - 55oC (usually stays at 55oC once on for a while)
Mboard Temp is around 36oC - 40oC (usually stays at 40oC once on for a
while)
+12V is around 12.41V
+5V is around 4.945V
+3.3V is around 3.4V
Vcore is around 1.69V

Are these temps and voltages ok - I am beginning to wonder if this PSU is
either faulty or crap!!!

Any help would be greatly appreciated,

McBain

 

[Ben Pope]

I have recently built the following computer:

A7N8X Deluxe v2.0 with 1.007 BIOS
AMD 2800+ CPU (2.25GHz 333FSB)
2 x 512Mb Corsair XMS Memory
XFX GeForce FX 5950 256Mb RAM
Aero 7+ Cooler
Enermax 465W PSU
Coolermaster ATCS Case (aluminium case with on fan on top of case and
one fan on side)

I specifically bought an Enermax PSU due to difficulties with a
crappy 550W Q-Tec PSU!!! I was assuming that Enermax are a good make
- is this true? If not, what PSU companies are really reliable?

Very rarely (1 in 50 times), I turn on my computer, power goes to it
and then before anything shows up on the screen or the computer makes
the regular beep, the computer switches itself off. If I then turn
the computer on again immediately, everything is ok. When the
computer powers on normally, everything is ok. I have noticed the
following in BIOS:

CUP Temp. is around 50oC - 55oC (usually stays at 55oC once on for a
while) Mboard Temp is around 36oC - 40oC (usually stays at 40oC once
on for a while)
+12V is around 12.41V
+5V is around 4.945V
+3.3V is around 3.4V
Vcore is around 1.69V

Are these temps and voltages ok - I am beginning to wonder if this
PSU is either faulty or crap!!!

Socket temp looks quite high, probably due to a high case temp... do you
have any case fans?

If you use MBM5, what sort of Diode temps are you getting?

www.ben.pope.name/a7n8x_faq.html#MBM5

Do you use the POST reporter thing? Does she have anything to say before
the system powers off?

Ben

 

[Bitsbucket]

I have just about the same setup with an allied power supply (450 watt,
around 30 bucks from Newegg and supposed to be a good supply, I've had no
problems, they are rated great and are a top seller there) I'm running a
2500+ Barton at 3200+ speeds and my numbers from asus probe are as follows:
+12V........12.3 to 12.4
+5.............4.892 steady as a rock
+3.3...........3.28 to 2.296
Vcore.........1.68 to 1.664
For what it's worth the memory came from a company called Komusa technology,
highly rated on reseller ratings.com and very conserned if I'm happy (keep
getting requests to fill out reviews) Memory is running at 200MHz with the
proc. it's PC-3500 rated so it should go a little faster, but I am happy
with it as it is, memory has HEAVY copper heatsinks on it that perfectly
match my HEAVY solid copper heatsink and fan (that sounds like a freakin
jet)
I have had a few glitches, but nothing I can make repeatable, just some
weird random reboot, and a few other things that I can not pin down a reason
for, I just upgraded to the 1007 bios, I'm hoping that will help, it says
that bios increases stability with certain types of memory...
OH well,,,,for what it's worth.
Bitsbucket

 

[JK]

I have recently built the following computer:

A7N8X Deluxe v2.0 with 1.007 BIOS
AMD 2800+ CPU (2.25GHz 333FSB)
2 x 512Mb Corsair XMS Memory
XFX GeForce FX 5950 256Mb RAM
Aero 7+ Cooler
Enermax 465W PSU
Coolermaster ATCS Case (aluminium case with on fan on top of case and one
fan on side)

I specifically bought an Enermax PSU due to difficulties with a crappy 550W
Q-Tec PSU!!! I was assuming that Enermax are a good make - is this true? If
not, what PSU companies are really reliable?

Very rarely (1 in 50 times), I turn on my computer, power goes to it and
then before anything shows up on the screen or the computer makes the
regular beep, the computer switches itself off. If I then turn the computer
on again immediately, everything is ok. When the computer powers on
normally, everything is ok. I have noticed the following in BIOS:

CUP Temp. is around 50oC - 55oC (usually stays at 55oC once on for a while)
Mboard Temp is around 36oC - 40oC (usually stays at 40oC once on for a
while)
+12V is around 12.41V
+5V is around 4.945V
+3.3V is around 3.4V
Vcore is around 1.69V

Are these temps and voltages ok - I am beginning to wonder if this PSU is
either faulty or crap!!!

Any help would be greatly appreciated,

Difficult case !

Quality ram, - surely, but I would normally suspect ram for such a
behaviour.
If you use slot 1 and 3, then try with 2 and 3.
You don't specify their pc3xxx rating. Maybe they are pc2700 (adequate
for DDR333).

Enermax should also be quali, - but my son burned one. It smoked after
10 hours use. He got it replaced and was lucky that nothing else was
destroyed.

And you run it at nominal speed !

If you improve cooling (cabinet ventilation) you should be able to
raise fsb a lot if ram are suited for it.

Maybe also try with a less demanding graphics card and see for a
period if that help. 256 Mb draws a lot of current.

No better ideas here

best regards

John

 

[Ben Pope]

I have just about the same setup with an allied power supply (450
watt, around 30 bucks from Newegg and supposed to be a good supply,
I've had no problems, they are rated great and are a top seller
there) I'm running a 2500+ Barton at 3200+ speeds and my numbers from
asus probe are as follows: +12V........12.3 to 12.4
+5.............4.892 steady as a rock
+3.3...........3.28 to 2.296

Ouch.. isn't this one supposed to be ±5%? Thats dropping 10%

I have had a few glitches, but nothing I can make repeatable, just
some weird random reboot, and a few other things that I can not pin
down a reason for, I just upgraded to the 1007 bios, I'm hoping that
will help, it says that bios increases stability with certain types
of memory...

I would attribute them to your sagged 3.3V line. This usually supplies ~40A
(over 100W) so it obviously drives a thing or two.

Ben

 

[Ben Pope]

Very rarely (1 in 50 times), I turn on my computer, power goes to it
and then before anything shows up on the screen or the computer makes
the regular beep, the computer switches itself off. If I then turn
the computer on again immediately, everything is ok.

I would suspect a weak PSU... when you power on, everything hits the PSU
immediately... it's the most demanding part of a PSUs life... power on.
However, it is a quality unit with a plenty high enough rating.. your
voltages are a little high, but thats better than low and they're well
withing spec.


Ben

 

[Bitsbucket]

Heck,
I forgot to post my proc and MB temps, running Seti my proc temp is around
34C M/B temp is around 25C......
Bitsbucket.

 

[Ben Pope]

Heck,
I forgot to post my proc and MB temps, running Seti my proc temp is
around 34C M/B temp is around 25C......
Bitsbucket.

Sounds low... is that your socket temp or your CPU (diode) temp?

Ben

 

[McBain]

Socket temp looks quite high, probably due to a high case temp... do you

have any case fans?

Yes, two and of course the second fan on the Enermax which takes the heat
away from the CPU. One fan is situated on the back of the case near the
CPU - I changed the direction to in instead of out an that dropped the temp
a little. Another fan sits at the top of the case and blows the heat out. It
is an expensive case:

CoolerMaster ATC-220B-PX1 http://www.coolermaster.com/case/p220.htm

that I purchased specifically to help me keep everything stable. The Q-Tec
PSU took out two graphics cards, a modem and a SATA hard drive when I used
it - I will never buy a Q-Tec again!!!

If you use MBM5, what sort of Diode temps are you getting?

Here are the values:

Case - 36oC
CPU Diode - 0oC (not defined in MBM5 and I don't know what to choose!)
CPU Socket - 43oC
Core 0 - 1.7V
Core 1 - 1.68V
+3.3 - 3.41V
+5 - 4.97V
+12 - 11.8V
-12 - -12.32V
-5 - -5.17V

This is weird as BIOS reports things completely different for the temps and
the fan speeds! Why is this?

Do you use the POST reporter thing? Does she have anything to say before
the system powers off?

I think it is on - normal case speaker is attached (enabled in BIOS) and
nothing is ever said
when problem occurs! I am pretty sure it powers off before it would have a
chance as it only takes about 2/3 seconds for it to power off.

I was a little worried about the CPU temperature being so high in BIOS -
apparently it is supposed to come down to about 30oC since the CPU is not
being used. This surprised me as mine never drops on any of my computers in
BIOS.

Thanks...McBain

 

[Ben Pope]

Yes, two and of course the second fan on the Enermax which takes the
heat away from the CPU. One fan is situated on the back of the case
near the
CPU - I changed the direction to in instead of out an that dropped
the temp a little. Another fan sits at the top of the case and blows
the heat out. It is an expensive case:

CoolerMaster ATC-220B-PX1 http://www.coolermaster.com/case/p220.htm

Instead of that fan blowing in at the back, you may wish to have it blowing
in at the front (lower the better)... that way you won't have so much dead
air at the front and a nice through-flow.

that I purchased specifically to help me keep everything stable. The
Q-Tec PSU took out two graphics cards, a modem and a SATA hard drive
when I used it - I will never buy a Q-Tec again!!!

Sounds a tad broken to me.

Here are the values:

Case - 36oC
CPU Diode - 0oC (not defined in MBM5 and I don't know what to choose!)

Configuration details linked from here:

www.ben.pope.name/a7n8x_faq.html#MBM5

CPU Socket - 43oC
Core 0 - 1.7V
Core 1 - 1.68V
+3.3 - 3.41V
+5 - 4.97V
+12 - 11.8V
-12 - -12.32V
-5 - -5.17V

This is weird as BIOS reports things completely different for the
temps and the fan speeds! Why is this?

Temps'll be different as they can vary considerably and quite quickly
depending on which ones and what the machine is doing. Differing fan speeds
is odd.

I think it is on - normal case speaker is attached (enabled in BIOS)
and nothing is ever said
when problem occurs! I am pretty sure it powers off before it would
have a chance as it only takes about 2/3 seconds for it to power off.

Then it sounds like the PSU is powering itself off... or the motherboard
could be, but the only thing I can think of that would do that is C.O.P. but
I doubt your temps are high enough... What sort of RPM have you got your
Aero7+ set to? Less than ~1800 and it'll think it's not working at all..
that might power it off, but I don't think so... I think the POST reporter
girl has a moan, thats all.

I was a little worried about the CPU temperature being so high in
BIOS - apparently it is supposed to come down to about 30oC since the
CPU is not being used. This surprised me as mine never drops on any
of my computers in BIOS.

Depends how you look at it... if the BIOS is a simple loop... looking for
user input and updating the screen and immediately looping, the CPU could be
loaded right up. (this is the situation I am lead to believe)

Socket temp is not a particularly useful measure. Diode would be much
better.

Ben

 

[McBain]

Think i found MBM5 CPU Diode temp - chose W83L785TS0S Diode and the temp is
53oC.

 

[McBain]

Instead of that fan blowing in at the back, you may wish to have it
blowing

in at the front (lower the better)... that way you won't have so much dead
air at the front and a nice through-flow.

There isn't a fan (or anywhere to install one) at the front of the case -
for some reason!

Configuration details linked from here:

www.ben.pope.name/a7n8x_faq.html#MBM5

Thanks - i have chosen the correct option now and get 53oC temp for the
Diode.

Temps'll be different as they can vary considerably and quite quickly
depending on which ones and what the machine is doing. Differing fan speeds
is odd.

They are approximately double with MBM5 than in BIOS. However the board does
come with ASUS Q-Fan which is supposed to change the fan speeds according to
the system loading!

Then it sounds like the PSU is powering itself off... or the motherboard
could be, but the only thing I can think of that would do that is C.O.P. but
I doubt your temps are high enough... What sort of RPM have you got your
Aero7+ set to? Less than ~1800 and it'll think it's not working at all..
that might power it off, but I don't think so... I think the POST reporter
girl has a moan, thats all.

The RPM of the Aero7+ is on 75% (approx 6000RPM in MBM5) - i don't have it
at full power due to the noise. I read something about the <1800RPM problem
so i never have the Aero7+ on less than 50%. I don't think it is a CPU
overheat issue as it would happen more frequently than 1 in 50 times surely?
Unless of course, the Aero7+ is faulty and doesn't start which then causes
the CPU to overheat and COP to kick in. Next time it happens, i will have to
check this somehow...

Thanks for your help...McBain

 

[Ben Pope]

Think i found MBM5 CPU Diode temp - chose W83L785TS0S Diode and the
temp is 53oC.

Thats exactly what mine is reading now... is yours loaded or not?

If you have prime95, try the torture test to load it up.

After a few minutes my readings top 63°C... I haven't experienced problems
at 70°C although thats not a place I like to run which is why my system
isn't overclocked. (I can do 10.5* 220 but it's too hot)

My room temp is ~22°C, case is reading 24°C, and socket at 45°C. haven't
been running for long enough for case temp to change... when I have the
graphics card and everything else running it can raise a few degrees after a
while

And just FYI, my voltages are (Min, Max, Ave over the last couple of hours)
+3.3: 3.26 3.31 3.30
+5.00: 4.78 4.89 4.86
+12.00: 12.48 12.67 12.55

The negative voltages aren't used anymore, I don't think.

Ben

 

[McBain]

Thats exactly what mine is reading now... is yours loaded or not?

Thanks for your help Ben - the CPU isn't loaded, but I will try it just to
make sure!

If you have prime95, try the torture test to load it up.

Yes, I use this and memtest just to make sure the computer is stable - I
will have a look and see how hot the CPU becomes whilst using this. I have
also downloaded the graph plugin for MBM5 - will be interesting to see what
happens.

This board is really excellent unlike the Abit NF7-S motherboard that I had
endless problems with - purchased the A7N8X Deluxe and threw out the Abit
NF7-S motherboard - have never regretted it!

Thanks...McBain

 

[Ben Pope]

There isn't a fan (or anywhere to install one) at the front of the
case - for some reason!

Expensive case doesn't mean good!

They are approximately double with MBM5 than in BIOS. However the
board does come with ASUS Q-Fan which is supposed to change the fan
speeds according to the system loading!


The RPM of the Aero7+ is on 75% (approx 6000RPM in MBM5) - i don't
have it at full power due to the noise. I read something about the
<1800RPM problem so i never have the Aero7+ on less than 50%. I don't
think it is a CPU overheat issue as it would happen more frequently
than 1 in 50 times surely? Unless of course, the Aero7+ is faulty and
doesn't start which then causes the CPU to overheat and COP to kick
in. Next time it happens, i will have to check this somehow...

It would take oconsiderably longer than 3 seconds to notice a difference as
to whether the fan was working or not... There's a considerable amount of
energy required to change the temperature of a large block of copper - this
raises your time constant a lot.

I didn't say it was a CPU overheat issue... merely related to C.O.P. (subtle
difference, I know) which may look at various parameters (such as CPU fan
speed) in deciding whether or not to shut the system off. I don't think it
does look at anything other than temperature, but I'm not sure.

Looks like all your fan speeds are doubled then... the Aero7+ isn't supposed
to go as high as 6000RPM (thats pretty quick) - mine is running at ~half way
at 2500RPM (I think I had to adjust the fan settings to get the fans to show
the correct speeds). It starts to get noisy if it goes much faster than
that and doesn't make that much difference to temps.

Ben

 

[Ben Pope]

Thanks for your help Ben - the CPU isn't loaded, but I will try it
just to make sure!


Yes, I use this and memtest just to make sure the computer is stable
- I will have a look and see how hot the CPU becomes whilst using
this. I have also downloaded the graph plugin for MBM5 - will be
interesting to see what happens.

Cool. I find the min/max to be sufficient but a graph is always nice

This board is really excellent unlike the Abit NF7-S motherboard that
I had endless problems with - purchased the A7N8X Deluxe and threw
out the Abit NF7-S motherboard - have never regretted it!

I think both can have problems... luck of the draw it seems. Rev1 of either
board had issues.

Ben

 

[Bitsbucket]

should have read 3.28 to 3.296
typo........sorry
bitsbucket

 

[Bitsbucket]

How can you tell the diff? it's what asusprobe is reporting, and that
matches what the bios reports, if I check it with asusprobe and then go do a
reboot, go directly to bios the numbers are very close, if not the same, I
know the reboot probably lowers the reported temp in bios.......but I do
have a huge solid copper heatsink with a fan thats running around 7Krpm,
it's loud as hell though, I had a DR. Thermal that I liked allot (cool AND
quiet) however the bearings finally went bad after a couple of years, so
this was all I had on standby,
thanks
bitsbucket

 

[Ben Pope]

should have read 3.28 to 3.296
typo........sorry
bitsbucket

Much better

Ben

 

[Ben Pope]

How can you tell the diff? it's what asusprobe is reporting,

Then it's socket temp.

and that
matches what the bios reports, if I check it with asusprobe and then go
do a reboot, go directly to bios the numbers are very close, if not the
same, I know the reboot probably lowers the reported temp in
bios.......but I do have a huge solid copper heatsink with a fan thats
running around 7Krpm, it's loud as hell though, I had a DR. Thermal that
I liked allot (cool AND quiet) however the bearings finally went bad
after a couple of years, so this was all I had on standby,
thanks
bitsbucket

I use MBM5 to report temps (including CPU diode and hard drives) and fan
speeds.

www.ben.pope.name/a7n8x_faq.html#MBM5

Ben