Measuring Temperatures with Thermal Probes and External Sensors - External thermal probes and how they can help
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We all know that external thermal sensors/probes are recommended over relying on software temperatures. Why? It's quite obvious that these can be attached literally anywhere to measure the temperature and then report these measurements on a shiny LCD panel. Some of the most common questions are how and where to install these probes.
Let's assume that you've bought a little thermal probe and you want to measure your processor's temperature. Obviously, you need to stick your thermal sensors as close as possible to your processor. But even if the sensor will make direct contact with the processor itself it still won't be accurate. There are few layers of materials between the processor's heat core and your sensor. There are also a heat sink and fan around that zone so it's a bit hard to get the exact measurements. What's really important with external sensors is that once you find out how they work and how to use them, they are really reliable. (Quality comes with a higher price, though). Check out the following photos of different thermal sensors/probes:
Installation of these probes can be a real pain. On older processors you could easily make your way to the processor, stick it there, and be set up. Newer socket surfaces are larger. You can't really get there so easily. Also, if you set the probe on the processor and make direct contact with it, it will result in performance issues and even overheating because the heat sink will not seat properly on the processor's surface.
The perfect way would be, of course, soldering a little probe/thermistor directly on the pins of a processor, but I haven't seen anyone do this. Theoretically, it should work in my opinion. The most practical way is to set the probe as close as possible to the processor without blocking the heat sink's direct contact with the CPU. It's really important that the heat sink fits and seats exactly on your processor, otherwise it could overheat instantly.
Basically, placing the sensor touching the side of the Integrated Heat Spreader would be all right. It's obviously not the hottest part of the CPU-but it's still an okay placement without messing with the socket or blocking the seat of the heat sink. On a side note, Arctic Silver Thermal Epoxy is recommended. It's one of the best products currently on the market. It can be used as glue and it also transfers heat exceptionally well. Another way would be to mod the probe itself with a razor blade. If you can, make it so thin that the heat sink can be seated properly on the CPU even with the probe attached. Here are some shots of a generic thermal probe...
Installing these probes on hard drives, chipsets, and memory is easier. You have more space to fiddle with things there, and you can even use tape or Super Glue for their placement. With newer graphical processing units it can again be harder, but nowadays all of the GPUs have internal, on-die sensors. These tend to be interpreted better because there isn't such a wide variety of drivers, and every manufacturer (i.e. ATI/AMD and NVIDIA) already incorporates this in their official drivers (i.e. Catalyst and ForceWare).
Next: Conclusion, final words... >>
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