Thermal Probe Placement

[AuroEdge]

When installing a temp sensor for CPU heat detection, where's the best place to put it? It's for a socket A CPU so it seems to me you could put it in the space between the heatsink and CPU plate (not the core itself). Right next to the core should be good. Google searches say to put it underneath the core on the bottom of the CPU plate. I don't like the idea of running wires between the socket and pins of the processor. If it's better that way then so be it I guess.

And... am I restricted to kapton tape or is there a cheaper alternative?

[redwudz]

I wouldn't place it between the heatsink and the CPU as that could cause cooling problems. What I have done is to apply a little dab of thermal compound on the probe, then put it against the side of the heatsink, close to the CPU as possible. Then put a little blob of epoxy over it to encapsulate it and secure it to the HS.

You may have to hold it in place with a bit of tape till the epoxy sets. Where you read the temp isn't so important as the difference between idle temps and full load temps. Make sure the epoxy is stable to maybe 200F, though that type of epoxy should be easy to find. I've done this in the past with CPUs that don't have internal temperature diodes.

You can use a program like HWMonitor to read a more exact CPU temp from the CPU thermal diode itself, if it has one, then extrapolate that to your thermal probe readings. http://www.cpuid.com/hwmonitor.php

[rallynavvie]

I wouldn't place it between the heatsink and the CPU as that could cause cooling problems.

I don't think many (if any) Socket A CPUs had an IHS so it wouldn't really need to go between the heatsink and chip, just next to it. On my old Athlon MP rig I actually attached the probe (one of the flat sort) to the underside of the heatsink right next to where the CPU die made contact with it. I used Arctic Silver thermal epoxy to secure it there.

The other option that was mentioned was to slip it beneath the CPU socket into the gap in the middle of the socket. There was a gap on the socket large enough to do this on that old board but I never attempted it because it wouldn't have been secured to anything.

What does this temp probe connect to? Is it connected to a front-mount display or a fan controller separate from the system? The board probably has onboard sensors that you can monitor with something like MotherboardMonitor or SpeedFan. The onboard sensors are going to be a lot more accurate, but then they don't do you any good if you just need to keep an eye on the temps while sitting across the room. I used to have an 8-sensor temp monitor for a 5.25" bay that I used to research air cooling methods to optimize case air flow in my systems. I don't miss dealing with all those wires