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Did I calibrate my RealTemp correctly?

5379 Views 20 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  Syrillian, 
L
Pardon me, this is my first time when comes to overclock and stuffs.

I read about the give temps on RealTemp are not accurate at default and needed calibration to minimize the inaccuracy.

I followed the calibration from RealTemp documentation given at this link: http://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/docs.php

After calibration, the temps reading give seems more right but the distance to TJmax becomes smaller which makes me wonder did I do the calibration correctly. Is the following calibrated settings in RealTemp right?
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TwoCables
Hmm. I suppose that can depend on your ambient (room) temperature, the heatsink+fan you're using, the case you have, the airflow in the case, where the case is located and how much core voltage you're using.

Depending on what these are, I think either I or somebody else can help determine whether or not these temperatures are reasonably accurate.
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Quote:

Originally Posted by TwoCables View Post
Hmm. I suppose that can depend on your ambient (room) temperature, the heatsink+fan you're using, the case you have, the airflow in the case, where the case is located and how much core voltage you're using.

Depending on what these are, I think either I or somebody else can help determine whether or not these temperatures are reasonably accurate.
Calibration done based on the following setting/assumption:
  • Ambient temperature = 31C (Assumed - Currently no way to measure it but shouldn't be too far off maybe 2-3C)
  • Zalman CNPS9500 HSF
  • LianLi LanCool K58W with the 2 pre-installed fans (1 x 120mm exhaust & 1 x 140mm intake)
  • Case located on the of the desk?
  • Vcore is set to 1.2V (Q8200 processor)
An image of the inside of my case of how's airflow like:


Calculation based on RealTemp Sensor Test with default uncalibrated setting:
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TwoCables
If your room temperature is at 31°C, then I guess these temps aren't that far off.
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Quote:

Originally Posted by TwoCables View Post
If your room temperature is at 31°C, then I guess these temps aren't that far off.
Mind telling if these temp where to be right, what about the TJmax? I heard the TJmax for Q8200 is about 100, but currently Realtemp shows it to be about 80. Do I ignore the TJmax shown in RealTemp?
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TwoCables
Quote:

Originally Posted by loftystew View Post
Mind telling if these temp where to be right, what about the TJmax? I heard the TJmax for Q8200 is about 100, but currently Realtemp shows it to be about 80. Do I ignore the TJmax shown in RealTemp?
Judging from the first screenshot, it says 100°C. Did you change it?
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Originally Posted by TwoCables View Post
Judging from the first screenshot, it says 100°C. Did you change it?
Yea, I changed core 1 to 106C and core 3 to 104C. The other 2 cores remained at 100.
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TwoCables
Quote:

Originally Posted by loftystew View Post
Yea, I changed core 1 to 106C and core 3 to 104.
Then where do you see 80°C?
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Originally Posted by TwoCables View Post
Then where do you see 80°C?
Not sure if I did the calculation correctly, from the first screenshot, Core 0 temp is 38 and distance to reach TJmax is 43, so total TJmax is 38 + 43 = 81? Or did I misunderstood what TJmax is about?
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TwoCables
Quote:

Originally Posted by loftystew View Post
Not sure if I did the calculation correctly, from the first screenshot, Core 0 temp is 38 and distance to reach TJmax is 43, so total TJmax is 38 + 43 = 81? Or did I misunderstood what TJmax is about?
I don't know why or how to explain it, but no matter which Tj. Max you enter in Real Temp and no matter how you adjust the idle calibration, the Distance to Tj Max is unaffected. Try it. Set the idle calibration back to 0 and watch how that changes.
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Originally Posted by TwoCables View Post
I don't know why or how to explain it, but no matter which Tj. Max you enter in Real Temp and no matter how you adjust the idle calibration, the Distance to Tj Max is unaffected. Try it. Set the idle calibration back to 0 and watch how that changes.
Yea if I set it back, the temp will be back to the uncalibrated one (which is about 50C at idle) so will the distance to TJmax. I take it that I ignore the calibrated distance to TJmax and all it's matter is that my current calibrated temp is the closest correct temp?
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TwoCables
Quote:

Originally Posted by loftystew View Post
Yea if I set it back, the temp will be back to the uncalibrated one (which is about 50C at idle) so will the distance to TJmax. I take it that I ignore the calibrated distance to TJmax?
I don't really know for sure. I am curious though: what made you adjust the idle calibration down by 18? I don't know from experience, but that just seems extreme.
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Well according to the documentation, I have to:

Quote:
Open your computer case and compare your reported idle temperatures to your room temperature near your case or to your water temperature if you are water cooled. Based on the type of CPU cooling you are using, Core 2 based CPUs should be seeing reported temperatures similar to what rge saw during his testing.

COOLING...............................IDLE DEGREES ABOVE AMBIENT
High end water...............................6C above ambient
High end air (true push/pull) ........6-7C
High end air (1fan).........................7C
Mid air (zalman 9500)....................8-9C depending on fan rpm
Intel stock cooler...........................10-11C

If your reported temperature is too low then you will need to go into the RealTemp Settings window and use a positive calibration factor to increase your reported temperature. If your CPU is reading too high, you will need to use a negative calibration factor. On a multi-core processor during this test, you should have equal temperatures for all of your cores. Though this calibration test is done when your processor is idle, the calibration settings entered will improve the accuracy of your reported tempertures from idle to TJMax.
My temp before calibration is about 55 - 60C and ambient is about 31, therefore the more realistic temp should be about 31 + 9 = 40C. So 58C - 40C = 18C. That's how I derive the -18C.
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TwoCables
Quote:

Originally Posted by loftystew View Post
Well according to the documentation, I have to:

My temp before calibration is about 55 - 60C and ambient is about 31, therefore the more realistic temp should be about 31 + 9 = 40C. So 58C - 40C = 18C. That's how I derive the -18C.
So, 31 is the temperature of the air you're breathing when you're next to your computer? That's pretty hot! How can you stand that? Yikes.
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Originally Posted by TwoCables View Post
So, 31 is the temperature of the air you're breathing when you're next to your computer? That's pretty hot! How can you stand that? Yikes.
LOL...
Ok, maybe not, I think I will go with 25C (standard room temp) instead. Then again, if its 25C, it will be 58 - (25 + 9) = 24 (-24).... Wouldn't it be worst then -18C? Besides, the max I can set is -19.9.
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TwoCables
Quote:

Originally Posted by loftystew View Post
LOL...
Ok, maybe not, I think I will go with 25C (standard room temp) instead. Then again, if its 25C, it will be 58 - (25 + 9) = 24 (-24).... Wouldn't it be worst then -18C? Besides, the max I can set is -19.9.

So what does the temperature feel like? Does it feel really comfortable? Or is it hot? Do you have a thermometer? I can convert Fahrenheit to Celsius.
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Originally Posted by TwoCables View Post
So what does the temperature feel like? Does it feel really comfortable? Or is it hot? Do you have a thermometer? I can convert Fahrenheit to Celsius.
Well, nope actually it felt colder than usual, therefore the assumption of 25C should quite alright. The weather forecast state outdoor temp of 28C.

I was reading the article - The truth about Temperatures and Voltage on your signature. Seems like the article states that idle temp is not that important but the load temp. Does that means no calibration is required if you are only look at load temp?
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TwoCables
Quote:

Originally Posted by loftystew View Post
Well, nope actually it felt colder than usual, therefore the assumption of 25C should quite alright. The weather forecast state outdoor temp of 28C.
Wow. Sounds like beautiful weather right now. It also sounds like if you calibrate it once, then you can just leave it and trust that it's as accurate as it can be (even though we don't have the luxury of getting 100% accurate readings).
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L
Sigh, my brain in a complete mess trying to get the temperature down. I don't even know what's right and wrong anymore


Anyway, seems like the air intake by the front fan is blocked by the HDD cage therefore I changed the the way air flow in my case, what do you think? Any good?

Red arrows represent how's the airflow currently like. Yellow arrows represent what I'm gonna add on next.


BTW, I really appreciate you helping me out with the calibration and stuffs.
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TwoCables
Quote:

Originally Posted by loftystew View Post
Sigh, my brain in a complete mess trying to get the temperature down. I don't even know what's right and wrong anymore


Anyway, seems like the air intake by the front fan is blocked by the HDD cage therefore I changed the the way air flow in my case, what do you think? Any good?

Red arrows represent how's the airflow currently like. Yellow arrows represent what I'm gonna add on next.

BTW, I really appreciate you helping me out with the calibration and stuffs.
I have no idea, but what I do know is: it isn't as big of a deal as it seems. As long as the overclock is stable throughout stress testing, then it's all good. But a big benefit of knowing the approximate temperature is that it can help you determine the possible cause of the instability when you encounter it during stress testing. I mean, you can know whether or not your primary suspect is heat.

But if the CPU cooler is installed properly and is secured as tightly as possible, and as long as the fan is doing its job, and as long as the thermal paste is applied correctly, then you should be able to get a little bit of an overclock out of that no problem.

But as for the airflow, I still have no idea.
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