Temperature probe for cpu

[dakotarayne]

I am thinking of buying a 3.5 bay monitor for my cpu temperature. My only question is how do these read the cpu's temp? Is there some kind of probe you put inbetween the cpu and Heatsink? Or is it just near the cpu picking up ambient temps? Does anyone have one of these installed? I dont have a specific model, I just want one that fits in my unused 3.5 bay.
thanks,

 

[Hairy_Lee]

nothing (apart from thermal paste) should be put between the cpu and heatsink.
What you get is a little probe type thing that looks like some thin wire covered with tape, this should be in contact with the CPU heat spreader ideally as this is what you'll be measureing. I would put it on the side of the heat spreader but bear in mind that it wont offer a very good indication of the temperature of the core due to it being quite far away from the core.

 

[stephensmia]

I have a zalman so I put the probe right between the cpu and the bottom of the heatsink and i have not had any problems yet.