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Contents:
Overview
Intel's hardware monitoring software (Intel® Active Monitor or Intel® Desktop Utilities) monitors system temperature in several different zones on the desktop board.
- Processor Zone: monitors the processor; the thermal diode is on the processor itself.
- Zone 1 or Zone 2: (may also be referred to as the motherboard zone); monitors the area around additional remote sensors. These locations are dependent on board model.
- MCH Zone: monitors the area around the Memory Controller Hub (MCH)
- ICH Zone: monitors the area around the I/O Controller Hub (ICH)
IMPORTANT
The processor and system zone temperature sensors are designed to provide you with approximate temperatures so that unusually high temperatures can be quickly and easily detected. Because the temperature measurements are approximate, they should not be used to validate thermal solutions. The temperatures that Intel® Active Monitor or Intel® Desktop Utilities displays are read from the desktop board's hardware monitor ASIC, which is designed to indicate temperature trends only.
All responsibility for determining the adequacy of any thermal or system design remains solely with the customer. Intel makes no warranties or representations that merely following the instructions presented in this document or the Technical Product Specification (TPS) will result in a system with adequate thermal performance.
Hardware monitoring software, such as Intel Active Monitor or Intel Desktop Utilities are designed to alert you when temperatures exceed certain thresholds.
High Temperature Alerts
If Intel Active Monitor or Intel Desktop Utilities alerts you about temperatures above set thresholds, there are a number of steps you can take.
Check for proper airflow:
- Make sure the processor and chassis fans are running.
- Check the cabling; make sure cables are not interfering with proper airflow through the chassis.
- Check that nothing is blocking airflow into and out of the chassis' airflow vents. This is common in direct airflow systems (BTX). Chassis manufacturers may apply a dust filter in front of the CPU fan inlet. Check that the filter is clear and free of dust buildup.
- Make sure that the air intakes for the external fans are unobstructed and are located at least several inches away from walls and other items.
- Make sure that the power supply fan is running properly and any other external case fans are running properly.
- Consider adding another chassis fan.
Other troubleshooting steps:
- If your PC uses an Intel® Pentium® 4 processor in the LGA775 package, be sure the heatsink is properly installed and 'locked'. Pay particular attention to the proper orientation of the locking pins and give a good push down on the pins (sounds like a double click) to lock them into place. For complete processor and heatsink integration information, refer to Boxed Processor Installation.
- Verify the chassis/case and power supply are appropriate for the processor model and frequency and the motherboard you are using.
- Verify the thermal solution for the processor is adequate for the processor and frequency of the processor.
- Make sure the processor fan cable is connected to the correct fan header (specifically for the processor). Refer to your motherboard documentation for more information.
- Make sure that the thermal interface material or the thermal grease is applied to the processor properly.
- Update the system BIOS to the newest version. This will often correct problems with how the system measures temperature.
Fan Control Behavior Changes after BIOS Updates
After updating to the latest BIOS version on certain Intel Desktop Boards, the CPU fan may not go to full speed operation until the processor reaches about 72°C (162°F) and all system fans go to full speed at 75°C (167°F). You may see temperature alerts in Intel Desktop Utilities.
Previously, certain processors' thermal values were not available to the BIOS so the BIOS was unable to perform the appropriate fan control (the fans ran at 100% constantly). With recent BIOS updates, the thermal values are available and the BIOS will run the appropriate fan control. This means the processor may reach temperatures of up to 75°C (167°F) before the fan will go to full speed. The fan control now allows processor temperatures to rise to optimal levels while the slower fan speeds improve acoustics. Setting Temperature Thresholds in Intel® Active Monitor or Intel® Desktop Utilities
By default, the temperature thresholds in the hardware monitoring software are set as follows:
| Zone |
Intel® Active Monitor |
Intel® Desktop Utilities (ver. 2.0.11.46 and earlier) |
Intel® Desktop Utilities (ver. 2.1.8.63 and later) |
| Processor |
75°C
(167°F) |
75°C
(167°F) |
75°C
(167°F) |
| Zone 1, Zone 2, or Motherboard Zone |
50°C
(122°F) |
50°C
(122°F) |
65°C
(149°F) |
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If you've checked for proper airflow and performed the other troubleshooting steps listed above and you still consistently receive high temperature alerts in any of the temperature zones:
- If you are using Intel Active Monitor, you may increase the temperature threshold. You can safely increase the Zone 1, Zone 2 or Motherboard Zone threshold up to 60 Degrees Celsius (140 Degrees Fahrenheit).
- If you are using Intel Desktop Utilities version 2.0.11.46 or earlier, upgrade the software to the latest version, which sets the zone default thresholds to 65°C.
- It is not recommended that you increase the Processor Zone threshold.
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Temperature Zones on Intel Desktop Boards
Temperature zones for the following Intel® Desktop Boards: DQ35JO, DQ35MP, DG33TL, DP35DP, DG33BU, DG33FB, DG31PR, DG45FC, DG43NB, DP43TF, DG45ID, DP45SG
The image below shows the general locations of the temperature zones. Some boards do not include motherboard zones. Refer to the Thermal Monitoring section of the Technical Product Specification (TPS) for exact sensor placement on your board.
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Temperature zones for the following Intel® Desktop Boards: DQ965GF, DP965LT, DG965WH, DG965SS, DG965RY, DG965OT, DQ963FX, DQ963GS
The image below shows the general locations of the temperature zones. Refer to the Thermal Monitoring section of the Technical Product Specification (TPS) for exact sensor placement on your board.
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Temperature zones for the following Intel® Desktop Boards: DQ965CO, DG965MS, DG965MQ
The image below shows the general locations of the temperature zones. Refer to the Thermal Monitoring section of the Technical Product Specification (TPS) for exact sensor placement on your board.
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Temperature zones for the following Intel® Desktop Board: DQ965WC, DG965PZ
The image below shows the general locations of the temperature zones. Refer to the Thermal Monitoring section of the Technical Product Specification (TPS) for exact sensor placement on your board.
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Temperature zones for the following Intel® Desktop Boards: D975XBX2, D975XBX, D955XBK, D945PWM, D945PVS, D945PSN, D945GTP, D945GPM, D945GNT
The image below shows the general locations of the temperature zones. Refer to the Thermal Monitoring section of the Technical Product Specification (TPS) for exact sensor placement on your board.
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Temperature zones for the following Intel® Desktop Boards: D915PBL, D915PSY, D915PGN, D915PDT, D915PCY, D915PCM, D915GUX, D915GEV, D915GAV, D915GAG, D915GVWB, D910GLDW, D875PBZ, D845PEBT2, D845EBG2, D845EPT2
The image below shows the general locations of the temperature zones. Refer to the Thermal Monitoring section of the Technical Product Specification (TPS) for exact sensor placement on your board.
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Temperature zones for the following Intel® Desktop Boards: D925XECV2, D925XEBC2, D925XHY, D925XCV, D925XBC, D865PERL, D865GBF, D865GLC, D865GRH, D865GVHZ, D865PCD, D865PCK, D848PMB, D845PESV, D845GEBV2, D845GERG2
The image below shows the general locations of the temperature zones. Refer to the Thermal Monitoring section of the Technical Product Specification (TPS) for exact sensor placement on your board.
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Temperature zones for the following Intel® Desktop Boards: D955XCS, D945PAW, D945GRW, D945GCZ, D945GBO, D915GMH
The image below shows the general locations of the temperature zones. Refer to the Thermal Monitoring section of the Technical Product Specification (TPS) for exact sensor placement on your board.
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Temperature zones for the following Intel® Desktop Boards: D850EMD2, D850EMV2, D850EMVR
The image below shows the general locations of temperature zones. Refer to the Thermal Monitoring section of the Technical Product Specification (TPS) for exact sensor placement on your board.
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Developing Applications to Read Thermal Information
Intel does not offer any development kit or API for application development that will allow you to read a boards thermal values. However, there are 3rd party tools that you may find helpful.
LANDesk* System Manager
HP* OpenView
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Additional Resources
For additional information, refer to the following resources:
This applies to:
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