How accurate are the sensors on most computers? I ask because after
learning (thanks to a few kind individuals on this list) how to monitor
sensors with OpenBSD 3.9, i have been checking the values on one of my
computers (a VIA Epia machine with 533 MHz C3 processor) to get an idea
of what "normal" looks like, only to discover some unexpected values:
$ sysctl hw.sensors
hw.sensors.0=viaenv0, TSENS1, temp, 18.10 degC / 64.58 degF
hw.sensors.1=viaenv0, TSENS2, temp, 68.00 degC / 154.40 degF
hw.sensors.2=viaenv0, TSENS3, temp, 3.70 degC / 38.66 degF
hw.sensors.3=viaenv0, FAN1, fanrpm, 0 RPM
hw.sensors.4=viaenv0, FAN2, fanrpm, 0 RPM
hw.sensors.5=viaenv0, VSENS1, volts_dc, 2.49 V
hw.sensors.6=viaenv0, VSENS2, volts_dc, 2.47 V
hw.sensors.7=viaenv0, Vcore, volts_dc, 2.01 V
hw.sensors.8=viaenv0, VSENS3, volts_dc, 5.38 V
hw.sensors.9=viaenv0, VSENS4, volts_dc, 12.48 V
According to viaenv(4), hw.sensors.0 is CPU temperature. I can almost
guarantee the value printed by sysctl is incorrect; the ambient
temperature in my apartment has lately been around 80 degF (roughly 27
degC), and the CPU is passively cooled. Again according to viaenv(4),
hw.sensors.1 should be the system temperature. That one seems a bit
high; the computer is barely warm to the touch, and is certainly not
over 150 degF!
Some of the voltage sensors also seem off, though the way in which they
are off leads me to suspect that my machine runs on different voltages
than the machine referenced when writing the documentation. For
instance, viaenv(4) says VSENS1 and Vcore should be 2.0V and 3.3V,
respectively. But on my machine they are very close to 2.5V and 2.0V.
Is there a way to get hw.sensors to report sensible values for
temperatures? Is my hardware broken? Or am i misunderstanding
something?
And of course, what would a post about hardware to misc be without a
dmesg? Here it is:
OpenBSD 3.9 (GENERIC) #617: Thu Mar 2 02:26:48 MST 2006
[EMAIL PROTECTED]:/usr/src/sys/arch/i386/compile/GENERIC
cpu0: VIA Samuel 2 ("CentaurHauls" 686-class) 533 MHz
cpu0: FPU,DE,TSC,MSR,MTRR,PGE,MMX
real mem = 265854976 (259624K)
avail mem = 235597824 (230076K)
using 3270 buffers containing 13393920 bytes (13080K) of memory
mainbus0 (root)
bios0 at mainbus0: AT/286+(13) BIOS, date 11/14/02, BIOS32 rev. 0 @
0xfb370
apm0 at bios0: Power Management spec V1.2
apm0: AC on, battery charge unknown
apm0: flags 70102 dobusy 1 doidle 1
pcibios0 at bios0: rev 2.1 @ 0xf0000/0xdce4
pcibios0: PCI IRQ Routing Table rev 1.0 @ 0xfdc70/112 (5 entries)
pcibios0: PCI Exclusive IRQs: 10 11
pcibios0: PCI Interrupt Router at 000:17:0 ("VIA VT8231 ISA" rev 0x00)
pcibios0: PCI bus #1 is the last bus
bios0: ROM list: 0xc0000/0xc000 0xcc000/0xa000
cpu0 at mainbus0
pci0 at mainbus0 bus 0: configuration mode 1 (no bios)
pchb0 at pci0 dev 0 function 0 "VIA VT8601 PCI" rev 0x05
ppb0 at pci0 dev 1 function 0 "VIA VT82C601 AGP" rev 0x00
pci1 at ppb0 bus 1
vga1 at pci1 dev 0 function 0 "Trident CyberBlade i1" rev 0x6a
wsdisplay0 at vga1 mux 1: console (80x25, vt100 emulation)
wsdisplay0: screen 1-5 added (80x25, vt100 emulation)
pcib0 at pci0 dev 17 function 0 "VIA VT8231 ISA" rev 0x10
pciide0 at pci0 dev 17 function 1 "VIA VT82C571 IDE" rev 0x06: ATA100,
channel 0
configured to compatibility, channel 1 configured to compatibility
wd0 at pciide0 channel 0 drive 0: <FUJITSU MHV2040AT>
wd0: 16-sector PIO, LBA, 38154MB, 78140160 sectors
wd0(pciide0:0:0): using PIO mode 4, Ultra-DMA mode 5
pciide0: channel 1 disabled (no drives)
viaenv0 at pci0 dev 17 function 4 "VIA VT8231 PMG" rev 0x10
vr0 at pci0 dev 18 function 0 "VIA RhineII-2" rev 0x51: irq 11, address
00:40:63
:e2:03:0d
ukphy0 at vr0 phy 1: Generic IEEE 802.3u media interface, rev. 10: OUI
0x004063,
model 0x0032
isa0 at pcib0
isadma0 at isa0
pckbc0 at isa0 port 0x60/5
pckbd0 at pckbc0 (kbd slot)
pckbc0: using irq 1 for kbd slot
wskbd0 at pckbd0: console keyboard, using wsdisplay0
pcppi0 at isa0 port 0x61
midi0 at pcppi0: <PC speaker>
spkr0 at pcppi0
npx0 at isa0 port 0xf0/16: using exception 16
biomask f7fd netmask fffd ttymask ffff
pctr: user-level cycle counter enabled
dkcsum: wd0 matches BIOS drive 0x80
root on wd0a
rootdev=0x0 rrootdev=0x300 rawdev=0x302
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dan Ramaley Dial Center 118, Drake University
Network Programmer/Analyst 2407 Carpenter Ave
+1 515 271-4540 Des Moines IA 50311 USA
