Please help with my MA78G-DS3H

[kantona]

Hello everyone.
Please help me with a problem I have (maybe) with my board. I wasn't able to resolve it so far.
My board is MA78G-DS3H rev1.0, I assembled my system last August.
Trying to make sure everything is fine with the new build I was following the temp with both BIOS and Everest Ultimate. The numbers seem to match with the difference that what BIOS calls system temp Everest calls motherboard temp and Everest is giving temps of both cores of my Athlon 4850e.
The CPU temp was always around 34C and system temp max 41-42C. Everything looked fine for months so I stopped starting Everest to check from time to time. Few weeks ago I started the program and was shocked to see reported temp of 77C for motherboard temp. Rebooted to check the BIOS reading, the same 77C for system temp.
The PC is exactly the same, sitting on the same spot. I even don't open the case that often.
Do I have a faulty sensor? Lot of people seem to be complaining about this.
Best to my knowledge, this second sensor is close to the NB chip, underneath the NB heatsink. I opened my case when the PC was already running for hours and touched the NB HS. Slightly warmer than my finger. I am no temp sensor myself but it looks to me more like the 41-42C I has reported earlier than 77C. I would not be able to hold 77C more than few seconds while I can hold my NB HS 8-10 second without any discomfort, even longer.
So the first main question to locate the problem I guess is:
Is that sensor really underneath the NB HS? Is this 77C reading real or fake?
Also, could the HS just somehow lose connection with the chip making the chip much hotter than the HS? The PC is exactly on the same spot, not moved or banged around. What would disconnect the HS?
Just to make further test, I used two screws and attached a 40mm fan on top of the NB HS, blowing downwards towards the HS. The temp didn't even move, 77C. No way that is correct. When I touch the HS with the fan on, it's cold. I wouldn't give it more than 15-20C.
What do you think? And depending what you think I will have more question, don't worry. :)
I am really desperate, I even don't know if I have a problem. I read somewhere that someone with GB board had that reading showing up to 127C and not below 89C at any time and he just disregarded it as faulty sensor. Is it safe if I do the same? But mine was showing 41-42C for months and then a sudden jump to 77C, a whole 35C difference.
Thanks in advance. Cheers.

[Nickel020]

Re: Please help with my MA78G-DS3H

When in doubt, the temps reported by a monitoring program are usually wrong. There are too many different boards out there for them to properly read temperatures and voltages for every one of them. The monitoring chips on the boards don't tell the boards a straight temperature, i.e. 77C, but report temperatures in formats that leave room for a lot of misinterpretation by the monitoring programs.

Basically the only thing that can get that hot in your PC are the CPU, the NB, the video cards and the mosfets supplying those with voltage. Mosfets don't have temperature diodes, and the rest is not that hot in your system which you confirmed by touching the heatsinks, so 77C must be wrong.

[kantona]

Re: Please help with my MA78G-DS3H

Thanks for the reply.
The BIOS is also reporting the same 77C.
My guess is also wrong reading but I am not that experienced with temps.
Should I forget about this 'problem' and chill out then?
Another thought, although unlikely. Can the NB HS somehow detach from the chip and this would make the chip immediately hotter (and the sensor maybe detecting this) but because the heat is not conducted to the HS it seems only warm on touch?
Can I check this without actually removing the HS? Is it worth to take out the board because I would have to do that to remove the HS. Maybe replace it with Zalman NB47J? But I am not even sure that will solve the problem because I don't know if I have a problem. :)