First Q, would it be normal for the system temp to be higher than the cpu
temp.
It varies per system and use. Yes for one system and use it
could be normal, but not for another. It is fairly common
though, nothing to be alarmed about and further, it doesn't
really matter one way or the other so long as all parts in
your system stay below their own, individual temp spec. In
other words, CPU and system temp tell you nothing about the
other motherboard chips, HDDs, video card, etc, temps.
Most often when system temp is higher you have a specific
set of circumstances:
- CPU is mostly idle and an ACPI enabled OS is running, so
the HALT idle keeps the CPU cool. In such a case, running a
CPU stress test (like Prime95's Torture Test) should quickly
elevate the CPU temp.
- System temp is taken by another chip- so it is not really
a "system" temp, they just label it as "system" because that
is convenient, and since any chip may create heat itself, it
is actually warmer than the case air temp. Further, since
this other chip is not likely to be cooled by ACPI Idle
states, it's temp will be more of a reflection of the margin
between it and the chassis temp or total system thermals
(heat production vs airflow).
Second Q, I have a Foxconn MoBo supplied with monitoring software SuperStep.
This shows CPU at 30C and System Temp at 41C.
Find some way to confirm it is accurately reporting temps.
It is not uncommon for such programs to report wrong, or
reversed temps, particularly if the software isn't a fair
bit newer than the motherboard so it has been set properly
for that boad. Merely having the software come on the
motherboard CD is not evidence it is new enough,
unfortunately.
I also use, as it can be set to display on the Taskbar, MBM5 and was under
the impression from plenty Googling, ITE8712F-1 was the CPU diode and
ITE8712F-2 the System..............but they show 43C and 33C respectively
which is the reverse (almost) of SuperStep..
Don't ever assume you can install a 3rd party temperature
software and just use it, they always need set up for the
particular motherboard. Since they disagree with the
Foxconn supplied software odds are the Foxconn software is
correct, but as mentioned above it does not matter.
All that matters is whether any temp goes too high, and
you'll have to run stress tests for several hours to find
the peak temps. FWIW, the easier way to determine which is
CPU temp was mentioned above, that running Prime95's Torture
Test will make the CPU temp go up a lot more than the system
temp.
should I consider that these diodes on the Foxconn board are reversed.
Run the test.
Be sure to report back on your findings as it will be useful
to anyone else also pondering the same thing.