Uncertain about the position of the temperature sensor
Uncertain about the position of the temperature sensor
Hi, I understand this setup is quite old. You're experiencing frequent overheating of your CPU. On speedfan, it doesn't drop to its safe shutdown temp, but certain sensors—especially sensor 3—show unusually high temperatures that fluctuate with CPU load. It's possible sensor 3 is actually reporting your CPU's package temperature, and speedfan might be displaying the socket temperature instead. Your CPU is an AMD FX 8320 with a GBGA-990FXA-UD3 (rev. 1.2).
I'm unsure about the details, but why isn't fan 2 spinning? Are all fans linked to a header and is the voltage still high for an 8320? Did you check the CPU temperatures as well?
The issue isn't with the CPU itself. This board model has a history of overheating due to its VRM design, and some BIOS problems caused voltage spikes. At one point, suppliers temporarily removed it from the market. Gigabyte faced difficulties getting the BIOS files to work properly, but later revisions improved stability. The board’s performance remains unchanged. Running it at stock voltage is problematic—1.46V is excessive, while 1.32V should suffice. Overclocking will alter the requirements. Check your setup and cooling options using CPU-Z (https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html). Download the latest version, install it, and see the results.
The bios has been updated to the newest release, and the current stock voltages are being displayed. The cooler uses an old 120mm AIO, and there’s no fan connected to that header as shown in the photo. The maximum core voltage I observed was 1.44V, but it fluctuated a lot—ranging from 1.34V to 1.38V. I measured the VRM temperature at idle using a FLIR camera, and it was around 70°C.
The processor needs to maintain the same performance at a slightly lower voltage, about 1.35 volts should work, with some flexibility. If it stays under full capacity while keeping these temperatures in mind, it’s fine. Ensure the final voltage remains consistent. FX chips typically begin to fail around 62°C, though some can handle more heat. Your configuration seems acceptable. The VRM on the board might need attention—installing a small fan blowing across it could help, or adding another fan near the CPU socket if desired. It’s probably not essential unless you push the system harder, but it would help maintain stability.