Question about Core 2 Quad

[Dezrow]

I was recently doing some work on a PC with a Core 2 Quad processor in it, but after looking at the processor speeds and such i noticed that it was only running on 2 cores. Now i know absolutely nothing about the Core 2 Quads but i was under the impression that they were quad core processors. Also after installing speedfan i noticed that all of his temps were good except for system temp which was at 92*c, any idea what would cause that.

[vesseblah]

If you aren't taxing more than 1-2 cores, you won't see CPU usage in more than 1-2 cores, that's totally normal. Programs can'r magically split into many cores unless they're made that way, and very few programs are currently taking advantage of current multicore processsors.

Hard to say what's that 92C system temp but it's either too high or wrong reading. Or if it's a laptop, it's in desperate need of cleaning the fans/heatsinks and a cooling pad.

[Dezrow]

nah its a desktop and its got very good airflow. ill just chalk it up to a bad temp sensor. CPU is operating at 42*, but it was at 90* and the problem he had was that his pc kept shutting down on him, so i check and his processor was overheating something terrible, after looking at it the person who built the pc didnt get the stock cpu cooler on the right way so after putting on some new thermal compound and putting the cooler back on it settled down the cpu temp but thats when i noticed that the system temp wasnt going down.

[ThewF]

92c on the SYSTEM temp would be the thermal sensor on the motherboard malfunctioning or you placed the CPU in your motherboard incorrect and it's not making contact with the heatsink or you forgot to apply thermal paste or you did a combination of the previous two.

[Dezrow]

well the original problem was because the pesron who build it did not seat the heatsink correctly, by applying thermal paste, and reseating the heatsink it lowered cpu temps drastically, but the sys temps didnt really move much.

[Deleted]

well the original problem was because the pesron who build it did not seat the heatsink correctly, by applying thermal paste, and reseating the heatsink it lowered cpu temps drastically, but the sys temps didnt really move much.

Sounds like a cpu wich has bin to broken cause of heating and i think it might shut down 2 core's to survive.

Reseat everything in a local store if you dont know what to do and get it fixed, cause your cpu might be f'd in the a on saterday

[ThewF]

I'd hate to say this but either the CPU is damaged or whoever re-seated the CPU Cooler again didn't seat it properly or didn't use any Thermal Compound. But you said system temperatures, most of the time that's a sensor on the motherboard that detects the ambient temperatures. Most programs will label the CPU Temperatures on each specific core as a different reading as an example CPU 0 would be the first core, CPU 1 would be the second core, etc, etc.

PS: And you're sure it's a Core 2 Quad? - What model does it say when you use http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

[Dezrow]

Im sure its a core 2 quad. it was a custom build pc that a colleague of mine put together, and i personally ordered the parts for this person, i just had no part in the initial build of the machine. I was the one who went in and put the thermal compound on the CPU and fixed the heatsink.the computer works fine now in terms of functioning, and the CPU temps are fine now its just system temp. I guess i should pose this question. In the program Speedfan, what does it mean by system temp. Is that just the temp inside my case or the temp of the motherboard or what, because the system temp doesnt always show up on every pc ive installed this program on. Also if it was a quad core processor wouldnt speedfan pick up all four cores instead of only two.

[Deleted]

Try Coretemp instead of Speedfan. What does that say?

[Dezrow]

ok i will next time i get a chance to take a look at it. thanks for the info.

[Deezlar]

Speedfan can give some crazy temperature readings, often for things that arent even present in the system.

On my Quad (before it blew *sob* ) I would get CPU 0-3 readings that were around 40 idle and 49-55 under load, but would also have a reading for the CPU at -97... Test with another program, and use some kind of stress testing to really tell you whether all cores are ok or not. Something like Prime95.