Are these Merlin Temperatures Accurate?

[AzJazz]

Hi - I just installed Firmware: 380.59

These are the temperatures I see on the Tools tab:

Temperatures 2.4 GHz: 52°C - 5 GHz: 55°C - CPU: 78°C

Are these temperatures correct? The CPU temperature is really freaking me out ... I would never let my main computer CPU ever get that high.

Thanks,

AzJazz

 

[RMerlin]

They're correct and perfectly normal.

 

[AzJazz]

OK, thanks!

 

[martinr]

I'm pleased Merlin's answer satisfied you, as indeed it should.

To put this into perspective, a spark from a conventional cigarette lighter has a temperature of 3000C (5430F) according to

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrocerium

And if one of those sparks landed on your skin you wouldn't even notice; so temperature, alone, doesn't mean a great deal.

 

[AzJazz]

Hi, @martinr - While what you mentioned is true with regards to heat on a microscopic cross-section, the dissipated heat and watts spread across a much larger CPU surface area can result in transistor damage at a much lower temperature.

Using my Intel Core i7 3770 CPU as a reference, the maximum Tjunction temperature is 105 DegC, which is the maximum temperature allowed at the silicon die layer without potential damage. I have seen my Core i7 3770 CPU start to experience calculation errors (under CPU stress testing) at about 85 DegC.

So, seeing a normal operating temperature of around 80 DegC (approximately 20 DegC higher than I have ever seen my system CPU operate during high-stress gaming) had me concerned.

 

[dlandiss]

So, seeing a normal operating temperature of around 80 DegC (approximately 20 DegC higher than I have ever seen my system CPU operate during high-stress gaming) had me concerned.

Be aware that most of the CPU temperature reporting programs fail miserably on some CPUs -- especially AMD. Some interpret the AMD CPU register data so poorly that they report an internal CPU temperature BELOW ambient.

 

[martinr]

Hi, @martinr -
... So, seeing a normal operating temperature of around 80 DegC (approximately 20 DegC higher than I have ever seen my system CPU operate during high-stress gaming) had me concerned.

Perfectly understandable. There is a discussion here

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/9-router-cooling-rt-ac68u-example.26733/

I added cooling to my router, not because it needed it but because I like to tinker. My router had operated for over 18 months with a CPU temp of over 80C without the slightest problem of any kind before I started experimenting to see the effects of various different actions such as better contact with the heat sinks and different fans. I'm certain none of it was necessary but it was interesting.