# Correct CPU temperature readout?



## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

Hi guys,

The value my motherboard and the CPU itself reports on its temperature are very different; which one is more trustworthy?










This is the HWMonitor screenshot, and you can see both values reported

CoreTemp reports on the CPU's values, I guess:










Images taken at little to no load.

I'm running an AMD FX-8150 at the stock 3.6GHz, the Voltage is 1.292V and constant on either idle/load, I'm a bit short on time but at full, full load (prime95 + furmark) the motherboard reports about 71C, but the CPU values are only about 54C or so. The heatsink itself is not that hot when I touch it (compared to my GPU which runs 70C and up easily and it's red hot).

I'm running this inside a decent case (Zalman Z12 Plus) with two exhaust fans near the heatsink, and a default pull fan mounted on the heatsink itself (it's a CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO). The room temperature is about 23C or so, gets hotter during the day but so does the PC. The thermal paste has been applied correctly and even reapplied just in case (aftermarket Noctua NT-H1). It just doesn't seem like it should run at 70+ degrees when it's on stock...


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## MPR (Aug 28, 2010)

Temperature sensors can misreport actual temperatures. In science, we always calibrate thermometers as even the most expensive can be off by up to several degrees. Check the temperatures reported by software applications at idle against what your BIOS reports. If they are the same then you know that the software apps are reporting correctly. However, to confirm if they were accurate you would have to use a calibrated external temperature probe.

You will get better airflow with a positive pressure system. If you can, move at least one fan to the front of the case where it will push cool air in. Also, I'd mount the heatsink fan so that it pushes, rather than pulls, air through the fins.


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## Panther063 (Jul 13, 2009)

26 - 28 or 27 - 28, I don't see much difference there.


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

Thanks for the reply!

Yes, the case comes with 3 fans, the ones in the back and front are pushing air out, and the one in the front (with a dust filter) is pulling air in, like so:











Oh, and yeah the fan on the heatsink is indeed pulling air from ambience and pushing it through the fins, that's what I meant, perhaps I misused the term.

The BIOS reading is the motherboard's readout of 40+ C, but I think that's really high for not even overclocking and using an aftermarket cooler. I know 212s aren't godlike but they should keep the temps down to meet manufacturer's specifications. 

And Panther063, you should look at the value HWMonitor reports at the top, which is 44C, compared to what the sensor on the processor itself reports down below and on the CoreTemp picture. In previous versions of HWMonitor the value below would be represented as Core temperatures, and since it's an FX-8xxx there were 8 values.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Use the Bios for the most accurate Temps & Voltages.


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## Panther063 (Jul 13, 2009)

Company said:


> Panther063, you should look at the value HWMonitor reports at the top, which is 44C, compared to what the sensor on the processor itself reports down below and on the CoreTemp picture. In previous versions of HWMonitor the value below would be represented as Core temperatures, and since it's an FX-8xxx there were 8 values.


The temp reported at the top is for the CPU region on the motherboard, the actual reading is listed at the CPU temps.


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

Oh!

So what is the important value to make sure that it doesn't exceed the manufacturer's spec?

They say AMD FX chips should not exceed 62 or so degrees in order to not degrade, and will start to throttle at 70 degrees. Is this controlled by the CPU or the Motherboard? In other words, will the top or the bottom value matter?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

The FX series CPU's never read correctly in software monitoring programs, some say they read correctly under load but I'm not sure that's correct from what I've seen.

Use the Bios temps as the most accurate.


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## T_Rex (Oct 21, 2012)

Were those readings taken at idle with power saving enabled?


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

It was taken at idle, the power saving options are turned off.










This is under prime95 for half an hour or so, it will stay the same for however long I run it after that though

The 3.3V reading is incorrect in windows, I tested on multiple PSUs, BIOS values are fine

The fan RPM reading sometimes shows a 0 for a split second, then just goes back to the normal value. The fan is a 600-1600RPM fan so it's spinning alright if I'm looking at the below temperatures, but the 66C reported by the motherboard is worrying. The CPU doesn't throttle or anything though, always stays a 3.6 on all cores.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Wrench97 said:


> The FX series CPU's never read correctly in software monitoring programs, some say they read correctly under load but I'm not sure that's correct from what I've seen.
> 
> Use the Bios temps as the most accurate.





Tyree said:


> Use the Bios for the most accurate Temps & Voltages.


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

I see. the BIOS temperatures match the higher temperatures, basically HWmonitor seems to be reporting the CPU value correctly. Is this cause for concern on an FX chip, the temperatures I'm getting?


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

Panther063 said:


> The temp reported at the top is for the CPU region on the motherboard, the actual reading is listed at the CPU temps.


Also, about this, if both values represent DIFFERENT things (not that one's wrong and one's right), which one is the important one when making sure the CPU does not overheat?


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## MPR (Aug 28, 2010)

What I'm more concerned about that your CPU temps is that TMPIN2, which at 128 C is way too high if the reading is accurate. Check to see if the motherboard's heatsinks have their pins firmly attached. If you find one that's come loose then the heatsink needs to be remounted with new thermal compound.


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

Do not worry, HWmonitor shows that as 128C, SpeedFan shows it as -128C, BIOS does not show the value at all. I'm fairly sure it's an anomaly. The heatsinks are not nearly as hot, and they have never been removed. The motherboard is from 2012 and I doubt it would survive for more than two years on those boiling temperatures.


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## Panther063 (Jul 13, 2009)

Company said:


> Do not worry, HWmonitor shows that as 128C, SpeedFan shows it as -128C, BIOS does not show the value at all. I'm fairly sure it's an anomaly. The heatsinks are not nearly as hot, and they have never been removed. The motherboard is from 2012 and I doubt it would survive for more than two years on those boiling temperatures.


Correct
TMPIN2 has shown false highs on most HWMonitor screenshots posted.
Your CPU temperatures are fairly low and no reason for concern, you must live in a cool climate. AMD FX-8150 @ 48c max under a stress test is very good.
Even if it were running at the other reported figure of 66C it would give no reason for concern.


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

While I agree the 66C test was a good one, I tested it again under a slightly warmer ambience (and ran furmark to tax the PSU and GPU max and also just create more heat in the case) and for some reason if I do other things while the stress test is in the background, the temps rise much higher. I actually got it to 75+ last night and I believe the CPU started to throttle because the first two cores ran at 4.2Ghz and the rest of them ran at 1.4Ghz, and the temps dropped a bit. Even if the second value was true, I'm fairly sure my motherboard lowered the clock of the CPU automatically.

Perhaps I could try getting a couple of better fans? I'm not entirely sure about this airflow/pressure deal, but the fins on the 212 evo are pretty spread out, so would good airflow fans be a better solution actually? They run at much lower RPM for the same amounts of air being pushed through. I've been looking at what I can find where I live and not too many exciting fans, nothing from NZXT or Scythe, barely anything from CM, Noctua and Corsair...I've managed to find Noctua NF-P12 PWM and Corsair AF/SP120 Quiet/Performance from the better ones, but would this be a waste of money on a budget heastink such as the 212 evo? Should I get something much less expensive like the Arctic Cooling F12s?


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

these are the temps I'm getting if I just browse the internet while the stress test is in the background. For some reason it makes the temps about 10C higher.

The CPU fan is also spinning at a lower RPM than it should, I remember it spinning very near 1600RPM before, maybe like 1585 or so. Now it's spinning much lower at max RPM.


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## Panther063 (Jul 13, 2009)

The Hyper 212 Evo may be a budget cooler, but it rates highly, fitting better fans can only improve it.
Also, although your CPU temps are still fine, I'd be concerned about the GPU reaching 95C.
I've used those Noctua fans before on a CPU heatsink, and they are very quiet and produce a decent air flow, they also have a 6 year warranty.


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

The GPU is hot because it's kind of broken, a drunken idiot smashed into my open case and tore the GPU right off the socket, half the pins were stuck on the GPU and half of them were still in the motherboard bent in all directions, the GPU was horribly bent but I straightened it out somewhat and it works perfectly. It's bent in a way that doesn't allow enough airflow to go into the heatsink so that's why it runs very hot. It's been like that for 3 years almost and I'm going to buy a new one soon anyway, so I'm not worried about that.

The noctua fans then? If I put two of them in push-pull, will it improve performance compared to the stock fan I've got on the 212 Evo? The European version has a 600-1600RPM, 24.9 – 66.3 CFM, 0.3 – 1.7mm H2O at least on the spec sheet, the Noctua fans as far as I've been able to find only list the RPM going from 900-1300. Will the static pressure advertised on the NF-P12 PWMs even matter with as open a heatsink as the 212 EVO? I feel like even a performance fan could blow through that easily on lower RPMs.

Also due to laws in my country, the fans usually have a 2 year warranty regardless of what the original manufacturer offers.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

speedfan is for fan and should not be trusted as it hasn't been accurate for years. As other have said the BIOS is always most accurate, always trust the BIOS over software.

You can buy after market coolers for graphics cards which sit over the top of the stock fans. These can work well but if your card has been bent there may be un seen damage even if it seems to work ok.

I use a noctua cooler and a friend of mine uses the noctua fans and they are very good. You don't really need push-pull as long as it is taking the air of it then it should dramatically lower the temps.


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

Yes, I am planning on buying a new GPU soon, probably an R9 270x, perhaps the ASUS DirectCUII edition which has good and silent cooling, I'm not going to mod the cooler on the GTX460 since it's an old card and it's not worth it at this point. Whether or not it sustained some unseen physical damage such as the heatsink being bent somewhere I don't know, I did open the card and apply new paste just in case and everything but it hasn't suffered in either stability, benchmarks or game performance. It's only a lot hotter and sounds like a jet now.

So what you are saying is one of the noctua NF-P12s will reduce the temperatures compared to the stock CM cooler which seems to be an XtraFlo 120 (though with reduced RPM for the European version)? I know it will be more silent due to the reduced RPM but once again I wonder if static pressure will matter a lot with this heatsink that has a lot of space for air to flow in unlike something like radiators, the NF-P12 being optimized for that and all. I'm not worried about the noise of the stock fan because it's really inaudible and I don't have the case close to me either so I can barely hear it ramp up the volume.

Do you think the NF-P12 fan or the Corsair AF120 High Performance 1650RPM edition will be the better choice? Perhaps an SP120? They have almost the same prices and I'm not sure which one will benefit me more. If you have no experience with the Corsair fans then I'll just get the Noctua one. Thanks for helping me out in either case, it's much appreciated!


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

I would go with noctua myself, many people use them instead of the stock fans on the corsair h100 and h100i enclosed water coolers.

I would try pushing the air first and if your not happy with the temps go for push pull.


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

Okay, I'm going to go with a Noctua NF-P12.

The only thing is, I can only find a NF-P12 at a reasonable price, without the PWM at the end.

How much will PWM matter? Does the non PWM P12 have problems with noise or something, or will I be okay with the non PWM version?


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## MPR (Aug 28, 2010)

A DC motor can be slowed to a degree by applying lower voltages. A PWM motor uses a square waveform to adjust the speed. Pilots in WWI did something similar when they "blipped" the throttle on their early rotary engines, which operated at either full speed or off. With a PWM fan the time the full voltage is applied in relation to the time it is turned off (i.e., the duty cycle of the waveform) determines the speed.


Duty cycle:










A PWM fan's speed can be changed via software if plugged into a supporting 4-pin motherboard fan header or digital fan controller. However, the speed of non-PWM fans can be changed too with thermistors, in-line resistors, inexpensive potentiometer fan controllers, diodes or even different combinations of wiring. Noctua includes speed reducers with many of their fans.


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

Thanks for that explanation!

My ASUS board has Q-Fan control for 3-pin chassis fans, I've tried it before and it worked with an old CoolerMaster 12cm LED fan. It would vary from around 800 at idle to 1200 (spec RPM) at full load, depending on the CPU, and it's totally adjustable at bios, what temperature and what percentage to use, I'm fairly certain I won't have much trouble with a non-PWM fan.

Also, I can adjust the stock CM cooler to run at similar RPM and try them in push-pull just to see what the performances would be like.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

if you don't use the PWM then the fans will run at full speed all the time. I am pretty sure to use the asus q fan controls that it only works if its pwm.

But I am also pretty sure you can buy the pwm controls seperatley.


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## MPR (Aug 28, 2010)

greenbrucelee said:


> But I am also pretty sure you can buy the pwm controls seperatley.


In electronics school, many years ago, I made a small square waveform generator using a 555 timer circuit. You could probably make a PWM fan controller for less then ten bucks; however, I'm sure that you could also buy a mass-produced single-fan controller even cheaper.


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

greenbrucelee said:


> if you don't use the PWM then the fans will run at full speed all the time. I am pretty sure to use the asus q fan controls that it only works if its pwm.
> 
> But I am also pretty sure you can buy the pwm controls seperatley.


I have used it in the past with 3 pin fans and even a 2 pin PSU fan extracted from its case and it has worked. It has two settings - for CPU fan control and Chassis fan control. the PWR fan is the only one that has no controls unfortunately.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

4 pin fans are pwm(pulse-width modulation) 3 pin fans are voltage controlled(a positive and negative wire plus a fan speed sense wire) Most retail motherboards will control the voltage on a 3 pin fan some have a bios setting most are auto-detect. Rule of thumb if you have 3 wire chassis fan headers which control the chassis fan speed it'll control a 3 wire cpu fan plugged into the 4 wire header just fine.


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

Great! I'm glad about that since I ordered the Noctua NF-P12 fan. I hope it improves the cooling because the CPU DOES throttle when it goes to 75C as shown by the motherboard. I certainly think that's a problem...


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

I've got an update to post here

Getting the NF-P12 was very bad advice since I've installed the Noctua fan but it didn't help the temperatures at all. I'm really disappointed because I was thinking that the noise would be the only thing the NF-P12 would help with, and because the stock fan is silent as it is, it really didn't help that either. The temperatures are exactly the same, maybe even a bit worse. I've put the stock cooler back on.

The motherboard will reduce clock speeds of various CPU cores when it reaches 75C as indicated by the motherboard sensor. They will start working on 1441Mhz instead of ~3600Mhz as I've seen on CPU-Z. Even though it's prime95 + furmark unrealistic loads, I think that on stock with an aftermarket cooler and fan is absurd.


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

I've now hooked up the Noctua and the stock CM in a push-pull and it's barely keeping it in the limit of throttling at 74C after an hour of prime + furmark + screwing around in chrome. I guess it's something but I have to say I was expecting more from a $15+ "premium" fan. The stock CM is as quiet on 1300RPM as the Noctua fan...

Should I try reapplying thermal paste? The last time I've done it was in 2012 I believe.


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## MPR (Aug 28, 2010)

Reapply the heatsink's thermal paste. Aftermarket thermal paste will dry out after a few months or years depending on the brand; this is why the OEMs use phase change pads, which don't work as well as a good thermal paste application but rarely dry out. You can have all the airflow you can muster through a case and your PCU temps will never go down if the heatsink is not working properly.

Arctic Silver, Inc. - Instructions


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

I will retrieve my Noctua NT-H1 and reapply as soon as possible, then check again. Someone told me I should put a bit more than a pea-sized amount on an FX chip as they require a bit more - is this correct? I originally put just a little bit on it as most people suggest.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

As posted by MPR above, see these instructions> Arctic Silver, Inc. - AMD® Application Methods


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## MPR (Aug 28, 2010)

With AS 5, I put a good pea-sized glob in the middle of the heat spreader (for AMD, for Intel use the AS recommendations) after "coloring" both the CPU's heat spreader and heatsink's lower surface as specified in the AS directions. "Coloring" fills microscopic imperfections and lessens the thermal compound break-in time (it actually works, I've tested it).

Remember that the actual chips are far smaller than the size of the heat spreader and you don't usually need thermal compound to reach from edge to edge of the CPU package. In fact, if excess spills over the edge you can cause damage to the system or a least make a mess that will make it a real hassle changing the CPU.

This shows why the line method is oftentimes used with the Intel i7 -- note that you need to orient the line properly:










This is why the "pea" application is preferred for certain AMD processors:










How Thermal Compound Spreads - YouTube


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

Thank you for the video and explanations. I've reconfigured my cooling yet again. Right now I put the NF-P12 on the right side of the heatsink, and it's blowing air into the fins. It's hooked up to a PWR connector running 1300RPM all the time since I really can't hear it and there is no need to reduce its speed.

On the other side of the heatsink, I removed the stock CM Hyper 212 EVO cooler that I barely got 74C out of with the Noctua, and put the case fan that was on the back of the case, a Zalman 12cm 1200RPM molex fan. I'm not sure of the exact model but it just says quiet fan on it, it's not LED. I've then put the stock cooler fan on the case where the Zalman was, in the back, and plugged that into the CPU fan slot so that it can be controlled by PWM properly. With this configuration, I'm getting about 71C on max load instead of the 74C. The fan in the back is really inaudible, it's even less loud than the Zalman 1200RPM which had a slight buzz from the vibration with the case I presume. At 1500RPM it starts to be a bit more audible but you can only hear the air, no motor sound or anything, so I'm very satisfied with the current setup.

I'm going to reapply thermal paste and see if I can get the temps down with just the Noctua NF-P12. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice fan, but it doesn't perform better than what I already had at stock. I noticed it blows a lot of air on the sides of the heatsink instead of directly in it, the stock cooler was way better in that regard. I'm very sure I mounted it correctly, I repeated a few times.

So what you're saying is I should, of course, clean the heatsink and the CPU with some alcohol, and then apply just a bit of paste on the heatsink and spread it around, then put a pea-sized amount on the CPU, and then install it with paste on both the CPU and the heatsink?


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## MPR (Aug 28, 2010)

Read the Arctic Silver instructions, they tell you everything you need to know.


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

Alright, yeah I've read through it, I just wanted to confirm it before I do something stupid.

Oh! Also, another question; from the video I see that more viscous thermal paste spreads harder; from what I've heard and seen, the Noctua NT-H1 is very thick, similar to Arctic Silver 5. Does this mean I should apply a bit more pressure with the mounting and the twisting, or should I put just a bit more paste on the CPU?


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## MPR (Aug 28, 2010)

The heatsink's clamping mechanism applies the correct amount of pressure. Also, the only "twisting" you need to do is to align the heatsink properly before clamping it down.


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

Alright, I will just make sure to tighten the screws with appropriate force. I've given my tube of paste to someone and as soon as I get it back, I'll reapply it and test it again. They say noctua has a very short burn in period but I'm going to give it a day at least to settle down.


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

Alright, I've removed the NF-P12, no matter how I configured it there is this very high pitched whine that just penetrates my brain and manifests exactly in the sitting position I assume, I tried turning the case around and put it somewhere else but it always lets out a really annoying whine. Once I remove the NF-P12, it doesn't whine anymore. I'd understand if I got a really suspicious looking PSU but I got a quality brand this time as per this forum's recommendation. I also got this fan I cannot use anymore...I'm still waiting for the paste to see if that will lower the temps, but the Noctua is pretty much useless to me now. I tried regulating RPM by voltage, still whines, I tried using LNA and ULNA adapters, still whines, putting it in all kinds of connectors, CPU, PWR, Chassis 1 or 2, I tried plugging it with a molex, still whines.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

If it whines return it, it's defective.


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

Actually the whining is coming from the PSU, but only when the noctua fan is mounted. With any other fan configuration, it works without whining. This makes it very hard to use warranty on because I can't return the fan because if they test it on another PSU it's going to work fine, and if they test the PSU it's going to work fine too. The performance of the noctua is worse than the stock CM fan anyway. Really disappointed in this fan. It also blows way more air around the heatsink than the CM fan does.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

could you post a video of the sound.

coil whine from a psu doesn't justify an RMA in most places some places would replace though, but it's strange that it only does it when the noctua fan is mounted.

Are you sure its not the noctua fan as my noctua nh-d14 whines sometimes but its because of the middle fan slipping from the part that holds it to the heatsink but it is rectified by repositioning it.


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

My phone camera isn't so good but I've captured a video for you guys anyway:

/watch?v=mHap5yR86I0

You can hear just a faint whine on this video, but it is more pronounced in person. I moved the phone around so that you can hear it's not audible in every direction, and that it's coming from the bottom of the case.

For some reason the link is destroying the layout of the forum, sorry about that too, had to post just a watch tag

Oh, and the whine does not occur without the Noctua fan. I've tried every MoBo header and the molex connection.


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## MPR (Aug 28, 2010)

I've founds fans to sometimes resonate with each other and create a whine. I have two identical Scythe fans that I have to separate in my case -- mounted close together they produce a high-pitched whine, singly they are nearly silent.

Try the fan in another computer case though as it still may be the culprit alone. Also, Noctua has a good support policy. Contact them and they will probably RMA the fan even if you are just dissatisfied.

All that said, the whine may not be caused by the fan per se but by a coil or capacitor in your PSU. The fan may be putting just the right load on the PSU to cause it to whine.


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

Well that's what I'm thinking as well, the whine seems to be coming from the PSU rather than the fan itself, but only when the fan is working. I tried putting 2 fans, 3 fans, just the noctua, all kinds of configurations, even mounted the noctua on the case rather than the heatsink, it still whined. The whine goes away at some intervals and comes back at some, it resonates slightly with how much load I'm putting the system under but not always. That's why it's pretty hard to send either the fan or the PSU back for inspection because it's more than likely going to work perfectly for them, and they really won't care to conduct special sound experiments just for me.

The warranty I have goes through a small retailer in my country, I can contact them and ask for a refund or something but even then I'd have to ship the fan since I ordered online from another city at my cost and more than likely they'll ship the same one back at my cost again, I'll be paying the quarter of the price of a new one just to get the same one back again.

I'm using the noctua fan right now because I really don't want to have wasted the money but it's turning out higher temperatures even at constant 100% load than the CM fan, and the CM fan downclocks to as low as 700RPM when I'm just browsing the internet and such so it's far less audible than the "ultra-silent" Noctua fan still. In games the broken GPU fan is much louder than the CPU fan so in either case I see no benefit from the Noctua fan.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

I havent heard the sound but my noctua nh-d14 has a faint whine which does get a bit lounder under full load (don't hear it with the ULNA attached) but I can live with it since it is doing the job is supposed to do


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

Thanks for all the help but I just couldn't deal with the annoyance so I'm just going to keep the fan as a backup if I really need a CPU fan, whatever that case may be.

I've managed to improve the airflow just a bit, I ramped up the RPM on the intake and the top outtake fan, and I've mounted another old fan on the top that is actually an intake and is blowing cool air into the case for the CPU fan to then use. It's turning out better results, I can keep it under the throttle limit like this I think. So, I'll still try the paste, but if it stays like this, I'm okay with it. I just wonder if the PSU will whine once I change some components, since I'm going to get a new GPU soon, and probably an SSD to run windows off of.

By the way, the intake on the top doesn't have a dust filter, so I'm concerned about that. I hope it won't get too dusty, otherwise I'll have to go back to the old way of doing things. I initially mounted it as an outtake, the same way as the other top fan, but it made the temperatures worse actually that way.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

the top fan shouldn't be an intake it should be an exhaust fan so a dust filter isn't needed.


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

Right, I've done that at first, but it made the temperatures worse rather than better. Flipping it around made the temps a lot better.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

then you either don't have your cpu cooler attached correctly, it isn't working correctly or you haven't applied the thermal paste correctly.

The top fan on a case is not there to assist your cpu temps it's there to take hot air out of the case.


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

greenbrucelee said:


> then you either don't have your cpu cooler attached correctly, it isn't working correctly or you haven't applied the thermal paste correctly.
> 
> The top fan on a case is not there to assist your cpu temps it's there to take hot air out of the case.


I'll try flipping it around again even though it's a ridiculously hard process on my case but I'll just be making my temps higher at this point


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

then if your cpu temps are higher you need to try again with the thermal paste and cooler.


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

Temps are "okay" now that I flipped it, same as before but I increased the RPM of the fan a bit, I put the noctua LNA adapter onto it rather than using the case's fan controller which can only do either half or full RPM. This way I get a bit more hot air out without compromising with noise.

I will try removing the paste but I'm still waiting on it  No idea when I'll be able to. Till then, the temps are okay.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

Are you saying you are running a cooler without thermal paste?

if so you must stop as you will be causing damage.


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

No, the paste is on there, I just haven't changed it in 2 years, so I'm thinking it might've worn out or something because the temps are worse then what they originally were. I'll also blow air out of the heatsink with a hairdryer or something.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

the paste should last longer than 2 years unless its some crap make or that your heatsink and cpu has a slight gap in it.

when last did you clear any dust out with compressed air?


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## Company (Jun 10, 2014)

Well it has to be when I moved my PC to another case and got a new PSU, I'd say three weeks ago? It's not very dusty on the inside.

I mainly want to remove the heatsink and reapply paste to see if I didn't move the heatsink or something over the years or if there are some air bubbles or something. It's not a bad compound, it's a Noctua NT-H1. I'm weirdly starting to trust Noctua less and less.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

well I use noctua fans and I use NT-H1 and have no issues. Been using my current system for 2 years without issue.


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