MP 1,1-5,1 Are these temps Normal after CPU upgrade

[Forrhouse]

I Just upgraded to Dual X5690 3.46Ghz cpus in my Mid 2012 Mac Pro 5.1. What are the normal temps for
these CPUs in a Mid 2012 Mac Pro 5.1? Are my Temps described below for both my system at Idle and while using the Prime 95 app in torture test mode Normal? Should they be better. I used Arctic mx-4 thermal compound and I am using Macs fan control V1.5.8.1 and on a non patched up to date Catalina install with OpnCore 0.67. and 48 Gigs of Ram.

With Macs fan control and all settings on auto and the system being at Idle my temps were as follows:

Ambient temp was at 26C,
CPU A Diode measured 39C,
CPU B Diode measured 33C,
CPU A core from PCECI 35C,
CPU B core from PCECI 28C,
Northbridge Diode 69C,
PCIE Ambient temp 27C,
and both PSMI Supplies were at 32C.

When Using Prime 95 and on the Torture Test setting running for over 3 hours
and Macs fan control settings all on Auto, the temps were as follows:

Ambient temp was at 28C,
CPU A Diode measured 87C,
CPU B Diode measured 74C,
CPU A core from PCECI 97C,
CPU B core from PCECI 84C,
Northbridge Diode 68C,
PCIE Ambient temp 28C,
PSMI Supply AC/DC Supply1 was at 47C and
PSMI Supply AC/DC Supply2 was at 56C

Using Macs fan control I set all fans to Sensor Based settings at The following temps:

Boost A set to CPU A Diode Start Temp 70C Max Temp 85C
Boost B set to CPU B Diode Start Temp 70C Max Temp 85C
Exhaust fan set to Northbridge Diode Start Temp 57C Max Temp 66C
Intake fan set to Northbridge Diode Start Temp 57C Max Temp 66C
PCI fan set to PCIE Ambient Start Temp 32C Max Temp 50C
PS fan set to PSMI Supply AC/DC Supply2 Start Temp 45C Max Temp 55C.

After tweaking these settings for a few hours these seem to be the best settings and Temps.
The only downside was that after boot and then login my fans would speed up making a lot of
noise, but then after 30 seconds would calm down to a very low noise level.

At idle my temps were: See Pic

Thanks
Eric

 

[amstel78]

Those temps using stock fan curves are normal. The NB diode on Prime95 is actually very good. Did you re-paste that as well?

BTW, the BoostA fan is what makes the biggest difference to NB temps.

 

[Forrhouse]

Thanks for the reply. I did not repast the Northbridge Diode. I read that I should have done that after I upgraded the cpus. I am probably going to redo it even though I'll have to redo CPU As thermal past. Just in case I break one of the standoffs do you know where I can buy those?

Thanks,
Eric

 

[amstel78]

I think you'd be hard pressed to find OEM NB heatsink rivets these days. Someone in another thread linked to these though:

Mac Pro 4,1 and 5,1 Northbridge heatsink retainer spring kit | eBay

This precision spring kit is the definitive answer to repairing your Mac Pro 4,1 and 5,1 Northbridge heat sink broken rivets. Fix your Mac Pro before you have a catastrophic failure like many have already.

www.ebay.com

You could buy those or just fab your own (reuse the original springs).

That said, your NB T-delta is 15C compared against the heatsink sensor which should be fine. Can you reduce the delta if you re-paste? Probably. Is it worth doing at this time? Probably not. If that delta increases, then that's the time I'd do it.

 

[Forrhouse]

Thanks. I appreciate the info. I will take your advice and wait.
Thanks,
Eric

 

[Stex]

Apoolgies for hijacking the thread! I also recently upgraded CPUs and wonder if my CPU and NB temps look OK? The screenshot below is from iStat Menu at idle. My system specs are in the signature. Thanks!

 

[Forrhouse]

If these temps are at idle then looking pretty good.

 

[Stex]

If these temps are at idle then looking pretty good.

Thanks. I am confused about one thing, I don't see in iStat Menu what your software refers to as "core from PCECI"... or maybe has a different name?

 

[Forrhouse]

On yours its says, "Relative to ProcHot," which is the same thing.

 

[Stex]

On yours its says, "Relative to ProcHot," which is the same thing.

Oh I see, thanks!

A sticky thread with guidance/examples on sensor temps after CPU upgrades would be great to have as part of the 'Upgrade Guide Sticky -- something similar to the GPU and CPU upgrade stickies would be great!

 

[Macschrauber]

Delta processor to heatsink on B is a little too high

 

[amstel78]

Interesting to note that in both cases above, PS temps are in the mid-30s. My PS1 and PS2 temps are always in the high 40s to low 50s. I do have the Pixlas mod installed for a Vega 64 GPU so am unsure if the added draw is causing it to run hotter.

What should idle power supply temps be on a cMP5,1?

 

[KeesMacPro]

What should idle power supply temps be on a cMP5,1?

Looking at the T at idle I'd say somewhere in the 30's.
Interestingly I dont see much difference between e.g. a single CPU X5675 and a dual X5690.
Power Supply 1 seems to be relatively stable* and Power Supply 2 seems to be directly related to the powerdraw of the GPU .
Personally I've set the PSU fan to increase at 32C and max 50C with sensor PS 2.
This keeps the overall PSU T quite stable under all conditions (in my case).

Generally speaking higher T will shorten the expected lifetime of lots of components especially the capacitors.
PSU Temps somewhere in the 50's would get me looking for a way to lower them.

Another factor is the airflow in the Optical Bay.
With the superdrive and other SATA drives/2 superdrives installed , airflow is far from optimal.
In all my cMPs the optical bay is empty and I even removed the doors
Using a superdrive in an external case on my desk is fine with me.
Just a personal view...

*=..but shares the same compartment and will increase T with PS2 too

 

[amstel78]

Thanks. Presently have two optical drives installed (one is a BD burner). I think I'll remove the Superdrive to improve airflow as I am concerned about PS temps. Hopefully that should bring about positive change with regards to temperature.

 

[KeesMacPro]

If the PSU fan is not worn out (=noisy) I'd experiment a little with the fan setting too.
In combination with an improved airflow it might get the T significantly lower.

 

[14UG]

Apoolgies for hijacking the thread! I also recently upgraded CPUs and wonder if my CPU and NB temps look OK? The screenshot below is from iStat Menu at idle. My system specs are in the signature. Thanks!

Apoolgies for hijacking the thread! I also recently upgraded CPUs and only just worked out my Northbridge temp readings are labelled X58 IOH in TG Pro. Are mine a bit high for almost idle? My machine has very low mileage but the CPU tray is new-to-me so a bit of an unknown quantity. I'm hoping to run my machine for many more years, should I be doing anything to improve the longevity of my Northbridge?

Thanks!

 

[KeesMacPro]

Apoolgies for hijacking the thread! I also recently upgraded CPUs and only just worked out my Northbridge temp readings are labelled X58 IOH in TG Pro. Are mine a bit high for almost idle? My machine has very low mileage but the CPU tray is new-to-me so a bit of an unknown quantity. I'm hoping to run my machine for many more years, should I be doing anything to improve the longevity of my Northbridge?

Thanks!

All Temps look good.
The Delta T IOH diode/Heatsink is excellent (8Celsius).

IMO a repaste well done results in a Delta T between ~7 and 12Celsius.

 

[14UG]

Thanks a lot! That's good info and good to know.

The CPU tray was "seller refurbished" I might take a look and try and work out whether or not they replaced the heatsink retainers. Are the metal ones best for replacement? I'm kind of wondering why Apple used plastic in the first place...

 

[KeesMacPro]

Thanks a lot! That's good info and good to know.

The CPU tray was "seller refurbished" I might take a look and try and work out whether or not they replaced the heatsink retainers. Are the metal ones best for replacement? I'm kind of wondering why Apple used plastic in the first place...

YW!

IMO it doesnt matter much whether you buy a NB kit , use metal or nylon m3x16mm nuts and bolts.
In case of just nuts and bolts you should re-use the original springs.

Looking at the NB Temps I suppose the seller already replaced the NB retainers but checking them visually cant do any harm.

 

[14UG]

The seller replied to my question:

“These were not replaced on the dual E5645 boards, as they were factorty installed with these CPU's which have never been removed, so replacing the springs was not nessesary.. I hope that helps.”

The head of the current rivet I can see without removing the CPU heatsink (see attached photos) is black, textured (feels like metal) and slotless.

Is this the one that is prone to failure? Should I replace or not?

I have the feeling the “refurbishment” of my tray was extremely limited. But if the north bridge delta is so good should I mess with it?!?!?

 

[KeesMacPro]

The seller replied to my question:

“These were not replaced on the dual E5645 boards, as they were factorty installed with these CPU's which have never been removed, so replacing the springs was not nessesary.. I hope that helps.”

The head of the current rivet I can see without removing the CPU heatsink (see attached photos) is black, textured (feels like metal) and slotless.

Is this the one that is prone to failure? Should I replace or not?

I have the feeling the “refurbishment” of my tray was extremely limited. But if the north bridge delta is so good should I mess with it?!?!?

Yes, refurbished can be interpretated many ways
And yes, the pics show the exact item.

Anyway, according to your signature* , this is a 5,1 (not a flashed 4,1>5,1)?
To get access to the NB you'll have to remove the heatsink CPU A , that's why it's practical to replace the NB pins when you upgrade/repaste the CPUs.
If it's a flashed 4,1 the CPUs are delidded , which is way more precair and sensitive to install correctly than a 5,1 tray with "normal" lidded CPUs.
So if it's a MP4,1 I'd keep an eye on the NB Temps and leave it as is for now, concerning the risks.
If it's a MP5,1 it's up to you to replace the NB rivets now or later .
Indeed, the Temps are very good for now...

Fact is that this NB heatsink construction is kind of "Achilles" of the cMP ; the rivets tend to break after all these years resulting in far too high T for the NB die.

*=just saw the E5645 so should be 5,1

 

[amstel78]

If the PSU fan is not worn out (=noisy) I'd experiment a little with the fan setting too.
In combination with an improved airflow it might get the T significantly lower.

I've been playing with fan speeds for some time on this cMP5,1 - trying to find a balance between cooling and noise. Unfortunately the PS fan is pretty annoying past 1100 RPM so I have to try and keep it below that value.

I removed the lower SuperDrive and kept just the BD burner in the top slot. Seems to have helped quite a bit as idle temps for PS1 and PS2 fluctuate between ~37/39C.

 

[KeesMacPro]

Great!

The PSU fan can get noisy, seems to be magnified by the chassis too.
I've replaced them by way more silent Noctua's but in case of a Vega and dual CPU, it might run up to its rpm limit.
Besides... replacing the fan after a Pixlas mod (which is imo one of the best mods to a cMP) is a pita

 

[amstel78]

I have Noctua's in my PC build... great fans indeed. Not looking forward to tearing open the cMP's PSU to replace that fan though. Looks like a major PITA.

 

[Macschrauber]

Its even worser, the psu fan is mounted in the Mac case.

Thankfully I never needed to replace the ball bearings of a psu fan but if thats a pain to get it out the case.