I'm new to the board and recently built a new computer. Problem is with this volcano 11, my cpu temperature is currently at 63*C which is abit high even for a normal heatsink. Now i went to the thermaltake website and it said my current cpu temp is supposed to be @20*C. Obviously there's something wrong, maybe installed it wrong? Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks
Marcel

Obviously, 20* is a blatant lie. I haven't seen anything that cool in years. hehe! What speed is your CPU?

63*C at full load probably isn't too far off from a temperature you might expect. You might want to make sure you didn't put TOO MUCH thermal paste on it. Strip off any remnants of heating tape / pad that might be on the heatsink and apple a very, very tiny amount of thermal paste. The paste is meant to increase contact, not get in the way.

Another thing you may want to check out is your BIOS. There are many BIOSes (particularly from ASUS) which misreport CPU temperatures by about 10*C.

Lastly, be sure your HSF is properly put on. Many heatsinks have a cutaway. If you turn the HSF the wrong way on the board, it doesn't make proper contact with the CPU because it is stopped by the socket.

Thanks for the tips, I have turned the heatsink around and re-applied the thermal paste thinner. Still I've only improved 6*C, still pretty upset about the HSF. By the way my processor is Athlon Xp 2000+. Is the CPU temp about right or is it abit high? Not sure what to do, was expecting atleast 20*-30*C. I might end up returning the HSF and replace it with another, any suggestions to which HSF to buy?

Thanks
Marcel

P.S. which way is the right way to put on the heatsink? both sides look the same to me.

The left hand side of this image shows the slight inset of the base of the heatsink. This part should sit over the raised part at the back of the socket.



Also have you attached the temperature sensor that comes with this heatsink or do you have it manually set to the lowest speed?

Also something to bear in mind is that there are 3 different versions of the XP core (well 4 if you include the new bartons ). Original XP Palomino core, Throughbred A and Throughbred B. The later cores run cooler, so when you expect 20C operating temperature you might be getting a figure for a later core revision than the CPU you have.

Also I noticed this on the thermaltake website:
Note that this is the speed the fan will run at when the sensor reads 20C. I don't have any experience with this heatsink so I can't say what it runs at without the temperature sensor being utilised.

Or do you have the jumper attached to run Full Speed 4800 RPM?

Just a few things to consider.

Personally I'm running a 2100+ Tbred B @ 2.171Ghz with a ThermalRight SLK-800 and YS-Tech Silent 1950rpm (20dBA!!!) fan. That paired with my other cooling has the overclocked chip sitting at ~35C idle and never peaking over 45C full load. ThermalRight heatsinks are considered some of the best, if not the best heatsinks available. One to consider if you are changing HSF.

It depends what is actually reporting that temperature the mobos onboard sensor, or the athlon's onboard sensor.

63C is probably about right, if the temperature is being reported by the Athlon's on-chip sensor.

I currently have a XP2000 in one of my machines with a Coolermaster XDream HS/F (with the Fan turned almost all the way down) and it runs at around 35C according to the BIOS (idle).

20*C=68*F, think about that, I doubt anyone has that low of temps unless their machine is in a meat locker. there is no way you will get your CPU temp below room temp unless you are using a method of supercooling. Using air cooling, you can only expect a little higher than room temp when Idle, if you have good airflow through the case and a good quality HSF and all other aspects of your cooling scheme is favorable.

Check this article out for typical operating temps ...

AMD's Bundled Coolers For The Athlon XP

[85 C - Max temp for AMD processors]