[Joshuashawharvey]

I had an ASUS P5K-E WiFi AP motherboard which the BIOS messed up whilst updating using the ASUSUpdate tool (which i'll never use again!). I was updating the BIOS and the verification part failed for no apparent reason. But I couldn't be bothered to RMA or replace the BIOS chip so I bought another motherboard of the same model, and put the faulty one on ebay. Now my processor runs about 10 degrees lower than the other motherboard stated (and to be honest, my computer seems a bit snappier). Even in the BIOS is displayed the 10 degrees lower temperature. I don't know which to believe, though the old motherboards temperatures seemed more realistic


Though this is in a room with an ambient temperature of about 15 degrees, even when it's 20+ the temperature never goes over 15 idle and 30 full load, of which the old motherboard reported the temperature to be in the 20's idle and 40 full load. This is with a Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ stock 2.4GHz with an ASUS Silent knight cooling it

[bushwhacker]

Same model number on the bio chips?

[Howard]

Possibly a sensor issue mate?

Regards Howard

[Albert Lionheart]

I run a similar board and the screen grab of the temps are attached - some are very similar. The ambient temp is wrong as it is approx 16C in here.

[Joshuashawharvey]

Thats what i'm thinking too mate. I'm just going to add an extra 10 degrees on to get the temperature of my old motherboard 'cause that seemed more realistic. Might put a proper sensor in it and then check.

Not sure bushwhacker, I'll check now.

In all honesty, im beginning to lose faith in ASUS

[Albert Lionheart]

I'm not convinced about any of these bits of software - everest seems to be a total liar when it comes to accuracy which is why I have binned it. I suppose that if the alarms stay silent I am happy!

[Joshuashawharvey]

It's not just that though mate. The BIOS even reads the exact same temperature

[Howard]

Just what I was going to say mate. If the bios is showing those temps too, then it has to be a sensor issue.

Installing a third part sensor, is likely to give you more accurate results.

Regards Howard

[Joshuashawharvey]

Thanks for your replies guys, I'll just take it as a sensor defect. I might install another sensor soon and i'll let you know the real temps

[Joshuashawharvey]

Right, I have now sussed why my motherboard CPU temperature monitor was displaying the wrong temperature. After a bit of fiddling with CPU settings in the BIOS, I found a link between me enabling "MAX CPUID VALUE LIMIT" and my temperature decreasing. I didn't know that it was enabled, therefore it was forcing my motherboard to display the wrong temperature and in turn restricting the capability of my CPU. It actually disabled a whole 4MB of cache from my CPU! I have now disabled it and my CPU is running at it's full potential, and my temperatures are correct

[Cartman29]

I just got the same motherboard too. When I first turned it on and had everything working (with the original bios version, 0806), the cpu temperature was around 29 - 30°C, and motherboard temp was a few degrees lower; this was at idle and having not messed with any bios settings at all. If I cranked up the fan speed in the case (fans have a manual 3 position switch), the temps went down a few degrees, as expected. But then I had to update the bios, and flashed it to version 1006. After that, the cpu temperature went down to like 9°C (typical). The cpu fan speed is roughly the same, ~2100 rpm.

I just tried that max cpuid value limit thing in the bios, but no dice. I don't know what to do. Everything else works fine with this thing, and I really want to be able to see what the real temperature is. I'm not super-advanced with all this bios stuff, which doesn't help. I think I'll send asus a message about it too. I really don't want to rma this thing. Any other ideas? Are you sure that the max cpuid value limit thing was the variable that made the difference? THanks.

Oh I have the exact same processor as you, but with a Thermalright Ultima-90 cooling it.

[Joshuashawharvey]

You could downgrade back to 0806. If you are running XP or Vista x86 this is possible (though I am not entirely sure it works on Vista). The current ASUSUpdate does allow for downgrading, but for some reason it doesn't work. EZ flash does not allow you to downgrade either. You will need ASUSUpdate version 6 instead of the current 7. I have the utility if you cannot find it on the web. If or when you find the utility, install it then I will give you instructions as to what to do.
Yes I am sure that was my only problem

[Cartman29]

Thanks for the fast reply. Here's a quick one back before I start digging through my software cd's. Right now I'm shuffling between the new computer and old one, but with only one monitor...

I have already tried going back to 0806, and it was not do-able thru EZ flash because it said this version was older than my actual board. So then I tried to re-flash the original bios file that was on the computer when I got it, and it didn't work - ez flash said the boot block was invalid or something.

Maybe this is just an issue with the bios file and Asus will fix it. I'll get right back to you.

I did try going back to 0906 and that did work, but didn't fix the problem.

[Joshuashawharvey]

Ok. Well if your previous downgrade did not work, then it's a bit unlikely that another downgrade will make a lot of difference, but it's worth a shot. Before you do downgrade your BIOS, I may have 1 or 2 suggestions.
Firstly, this one is a process of elimination. Disable ALL CPU settings, such as the aforementioned CPUID Val Limit, vanderpool technology, C1E etc etc and then see if that makes a difference

[Cartman29]

Quick update:

Ok, I just switched to the new computer and read your post just now. Before touching any of that though, here's the situation: Just now in the bios I re-turned off that cpuid limit thing, but did nothing else. Just turned the computer on, and now am using cpuid's hwmonitor software to see the temperatures reported by the various sensors. It's reporting the 4 cpu cores to be around 30°C, everything else as it was before. Note that PC AI Suite from Asus (yes it's the latest version) is reporting the cpu temperature around 15°C.

So I'm thinking now it's something buggy with their software. I was reading something on the asus forum for this motherboard that the software reads the incorrect thermocouple junction. I guess this is possible. I'm trying to remember back to my university days when I learned about that crap, but it's not really helping. Have a look at these screenshots:





At the moment I'm running Folding @ Home to artificially jack up the cpu load.

[Joshuashawharvey]

What temperature is your BIOS reading? I want to leave downgrading the BIOS as a last resort as it's potentially dangerous (If we need to at all that is). That does look as though the software is buggy to me also. Was the second screenshot taken whilst running folding@home? Have you also tried SpeedFan to monitor temperatures?

[Cartman29]

Yes I did them both just now, like about a minute apart from each other. Sheesh, maybe that $40 cooler I bought is really doing its job. Let me check the bios, I'll get right back to you. Right, I want to avoid flashing the bios as much as possible too.

[Joshuashawharvey]

Ok, well the second readings look much more realistic. If we can find no resolution, I suggest just uninstalling the ASUS monitor and read your temperatures from the CPUID Hardware Monitor as we don't want to go flashing the BIOS and potentially making things worse

[Cartman29]

Agreed. I just checked the bios temperatures and it reports the cpu at 15 and the motherboard at 25. Same as AI Suite. I don't know what the hell is going on. It has to be that software from Asus. I was looking through the stuff you can download from Asus (bios updates and utilities) and it's interesting to notice that near bios update 1002 (I think), there's an updated version of AI Suite, and the description says it's to fix the temperature reporting issue. So they must know about it. Obviously it didn't fix the issue either.

Also, just now in the bios, I did notice that the cpu now does have access to the full 8MB L2 cache, like you were saying before, with that cpuid max value thing turned off. Wierd.

Anyway, I think I'll leave it at that for tonight and check back tomorrow. I'll also post the response I get back from Asus to this query. If there's a response.

Thanks for all the help.

[Joshuashawharvey]

Well the Value limit restricts parts of your CPU to be able to function properly with your operating system. As Windows XP and Vista can use the full potential of a quad core CPU it can be disabled.
Ok mate, it was no problem. Tomorrow will you disable all CPU settings under CPU Configuration in the BIOS as I mentioned in a previous post, and then see what happens. It will not harm your CPU in any way or other. I can then go from there to help you further. Good night