Mother temperature sensors

[smeghead]

After read a lot of CPU fan reviews I can't stop wondering:
how exact are the temperature sensors on fairly modern motherboards?

I've got an Asus A7V333 coupled with an Athlon 2000XP and, according to AsusProbe, the temperatures in the comp are:

CPU (idle): 53 degrees Celsius (about 62-63 at full load).
Motherboard: 33 degrees Celsius.

Now I know that these are way too high (I've got a crappy bundled fan, switching to a Thermaltake Volcano 9 soon), but are they accurate?
I know one of the problems with monitoring CPU temp ís that the sensor doesn't actually touch the core, thus reporting a understated temperature.

So what I'm trying to get at is: by how much does the onboard sensor "miss" the actual temperature?


Ehm... Sorry 'bout the thread name... Thinking about one thing and typing another, I guess...

[ukulele]

Reported temp and actual core temps as reported by bios depends on the accuracy of the probes and thier placement in the motherboard. Your reported temps for that CPU are actually about average for a stock factory setup. The accuracy of the temp probes is not as important as the net change they indicate. If the system is stable at the max indicated temp then you don't need to sweat. If it keeps rising then you still get an indication that is usefull. It tells you when need to clean out the dust and check the fans.

[smeghead]

Well, there's no problem as long as I keep the CPU at stock speed. But where's the fun in that? ;)

I had it running at 1,81GHz (FSB@145), and it actually performed quite well. At least if you don't mind a CPU temperature at 70+ degrees Celsius. Hehe.

What concerns me though, is the fact that the sensor probably reports a less than accurate temperaure reading. The fact that the reported temperature is so high when the sensor isn't even touching the core, makes me a bit nervous...

[ukulele]

If you are going to overclock it then you need to worry about additional cooling solutions. What difference does it make what your reported temps actually are? If you are determined to fry it by overclocking knowing what the actual reported temp was when it goes won't help much. CPU's don't all fry at the exact same temp anyway, expecially when they are overclocked.