Topic: Hardware Monitoring & G15

[FEVER]

 I dont know if this should go hard or soft thread. I recently got a Logitech G15 Keyboard...pretty blue lights & nice LCD screen. Well, logitech decided to suppy me with the wrong drivers, and of course, i didnt notice it at first. 4 hours and 3- 3rd party software DL's later, and still nothing. Then i realised the driver issuse.
 So, lesson learned. I found the correct drivers, got my little LCD to show me what it was i couldnt wait to see, outta the box.....CPU usage/Mem usage, time & date. Better than Logitech's logo! Woohoo!
 Well, im not done yet. Since i already did all these DL's to monitor my system, might as well figure out how to get them to display on my shiny new LCD, right? G15 forum is for that... sry to ramble.
 Right now im figuring out what temps are what using (SpeedFan.) (MBM doesnt support my ASUS P5NSLI) Speedfan CPU & MB temps are matching the results i got from BIOS Hardware Monitor and ASUS Probe II. Probe II is nice, fan speeds displayed are probably accurate, where as with SpeedFan, they had impossibly High RPM's listed....BUT.... SpeedFan has 2 MORE TEMPS displayed over Probe II or BIOS..... HD Temp and another "Mystery Temp". I was hoping it might be my GPU temp, but im voting no. It must be NB or SB. Do i have both? lol Really, i have no clue what this temp is, but did my best to try to find out. Heres what i got in Idle: Fahr/Celc
 Temp 1 (CPU) 111/43 degrees
 Temp 2 (MB) 86/29 degrees  - This has to be a case temp sensor on MB, right?
 Temp 3 (?NB/SB?) 106/41 degrees
 HDO     (HD) 88/31 degrees
 
 After a couple minutes of 3dmark's graphics:

 Temp 1   115/46 degrees
 Temp 2   86/29 degrees
 Temp 3   109/42 degrees
 HDO       88/31

 After 10 minutes of BFV

 Temp 1   117/47 degrees
 Temp 2   86/29 degrees
 Temp 3   111/43
 HDO       88/31

 Now CPU & MB were confirmed by BIOS. MB(temp2) readout does fluctuate slightly here & there, as does the HDO Temp....just not too often. Next test was most scientific of all my experiments. I call it the "do-it-yourself blow cold air on your computer components test". Its like 56/13 degrees outside, I popped the casedoor off, pointed a window-fan at the MB, and watched the readings. Ambient indoor temp btw is around 75/24 degrees.

 Temp 1 (cpu) dropped slowly  95/35 degrees
 Temp 2 (MB) dropped fastest  75/23 degrees
 Temp 3 (?)   dropped medium  88/31 degrees
 HDO     (HD) Dropped slow      86/30 degrees

  Oh, and nTune gave me a dead GPU Temp reading. The wave graph was flatliner....117/47 degrees, never changed.
 Eventually after i get this all straight, im off to figure how to get all these temps & Fan RPM's to display in my G15 LCD.... Along with CPU & Memory usage and Fraps. I know BCC is finally linked to MBM, even though theyre no longer updating their software, I figured one or two of you might be familiar with temperature monitoring you hardware 
 Thanks

[Zeus]

I would agree with you that your temperature readings reflect the sensors that you think they do.  That is quite strange that the P5NSLI board yields a static GPU temperature.  I've seen this with some drivers myself, and maybe this can be resolved with a different driver.  If you do swap out drivers, make sure you use DriverCleaner between each install to make sure that you get rid of all the old driver junk.

We helped promote MBM here in Canada, and although that project is dead, I still like it better than SpeedFan for my older hardware.  I have no loyalties to any particular piece of software though.

Good luck getting the G15 to work properly.  I've always wanted one, but heard about some issues, so I've stayed away.  Sorry I can't help more.

[FEVER]

 Ok, so ive got my 2nd card in, drivers done, can monitor GPU Temp from Nvidia Control Panel only, and it only lists ONE Temp. Any plugins needed or is this some combined average thing? Oh, and Faherenheit MIA in forceware or what?
 ...And i cant seem to find any plugin for GPU temps to be read in MBM, and im not sure if i can do it manually.....from MBM "Launch" ? only .exe i see in nvidia is setup, and i wouldnt know what to put for %value%.....IF this is even how its done 
 Btw, im getting end program/program not responding errors during shutdown. I tried running a regristry cleaner, and it seemed to clear the problem, but then returned after a few restarts.  Messages are : NvCplApi_Notification, and ccApp. NvCpl is common to nvidia files, but i dont see it in the nvidia folder that matches exactly. Any suggestions?

[Zeus]

What version of Forceware are you running?  I'm actually out at camp tonight so I can't check anything on my SLI rig, but I'm assuming that you have the latest installed.  SoltoN, any ideas?  I know that SoltoN runs SLI.

EDIT:
I believe you have to run the nVidia temp monitoring program, not just the control panel application.  There should be an option to enable the second card.  As far as F. vs C. - the whole world (except the U.S.A.) uses C.

[FEVER]

ok, so my methods might not be practical, but im learning 
 Installed SLI hardware, start pc, install drivers from supplied disk. Install newer version drivers downloaded from nzone(93.71) , enabled SLI............(im obsessive about restarting & defragging & restarting again... after installs) So now, a few times inbetween the "ending program" & "program non-responsive" messages i recieve when trying to restart, I got another non-responsive error when trying to open "nvidia control panel" from my toolbar.
 (Man, come to think about it, i got non-responsive program errors from spysweeper too a while ago, had to reinstall THAT)...anyways...
 at this point, i ran registry cleaner, restarted a couple times, no more problems. Ran 3Dmark, when it was done i tried to open control panel again (probably didnt give PC enough time to recover from the 3dmark marathon it just ran) and got error, restart.....errors....all over again.....figured id roll them back (my last rig, the BFV "Intro" & EA "splash" screens were laggy with newer drivers -smooth with old ones)
 Then i see i have 2 video cards in device manager, this kinda scared me, didnt know if i needed to roll them back one at a time, or one before the other, or.....
 So i just installed old ones from disk again....unfortunately, this didnt solve the problem. Errors returned, same ones. Ending Program NvCplApi_Notification, non responsive......OR...Ending Program ccApp , non responsive when trying to shutdown/restart............and the nvidia control panel still gives me non-responsive errors sometimes.
 I did install the old drivers, then new, then old, then new, then new again, and again.....a couple times. I never deleted any driver files/folders.....just installed in hopes it would take presedence.
  The NvCplApi_Notification program......in c:/Nvidia/Win2KXP/93.71/ theres 6 files starting NvCpl, of 5 different types.....my brain hurts. I should dump & start over 

[Zeus]

You MUST use a driver cleaner in between installs/uninstalls of nVidia drivers.  There are bits, and bytes left all over and I don't see that mentioned in the above post.  My suggestions are as follows:

1) Go into the nVidia control panel remove your graphics drivers.  (They will be under nVidia software or something like that).  Just remove the graphics drivers.
2) Reboot.
3) Run DriverCleaner. Reboot.
4) Run DriverCleaner. Reboot.
5) If driver cleaner comes up clean and not finding any files, install your graphics drivers of choice.  If it detected more nVidia driver files, run DriverCleaner again until it's clean.
6) Reboot.

That should help you out.  I know it's a lot of rebooting, but unless things are clean it can really foul things up.  Good luck!

[FEVER]

 I ended up spending $10 on drivercleaner.net v2.0 software last night, and still havent recieved the email with my registration/validation info  Im not one to wait, so, i ended up DL DriverCleaner Pro v1.5 (freeware) Followed directions, did drivers. Enabled SLI. TY Google for the correct MBM/Nvidia-Plugin(finally,Yay!), got both GPU Temps in MBM ! 
 The ending program for both items (NvCpl & ccApp) did pop up a few times after running drivercleaner 2x's, & 2 restarts, but last few restarts recently, went ok) We'll see what happens. Zeus....youdaman !
 I'll keep ya posted.

[Zeus]

I've found the free version to work just as good as the pro version for this software.  Pro just does some backups, and other stuff a little easier.  Good luck and nice job getting things to work!  Now I can pick up one of those keyboards as you'll be able to help me through setup.

[FEVER]

 Seems sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesnt. Last time, i shut-down MBM before restarting, and "ending program" didnt appear. I'll try this a few more times to see if im on to something.
 As far as the G15, I did happen to stumble across something in a forum or review board, that the initial retail model G15 was buggy, but most problems were resolved quickly, I dont remember what the problems were, much less where i bumped into this info while looking for something else....I got mine from BestBuy, paid full price $99. Honestly, it was a tough decision between this & the 3 color Saitek (blue/UV/green?or red i forget) It had a rheostat controlled brightness knob & everything! lol jk.......i liked the purple/uv color  .....blue seems to be my thing, and i cant break that rut i guess, cause i was totally sold when i saw the LCD display on the G15 showed CPU & RAM usage. I dont wanna give a detailed description about the other features, but you can disable them one by one, and only display what u want. Fraps forces itself into the LCD program like it was made for it! -BTW, 2142 server side info forces itself into the LCD while ingame too.
 Im not trying to plug it, i swear, but i had hotkey problems with my emachine and BFV(nolonger own this rig) If i tried to adjust volume while game was running, i risked the chance of game crashing to desktop....bfv shutdown. I noticed the same issues with the Creative keyboard & THIS Vmicro PC. Both keyboards had 2 buttons for volume + and -. The G15 has a turntable dial (rheostat) volume control turntable that works like a dream. No more volume issues whatsoever!
 My Girlfriend is a good gunner, but goes to bed early, I stay up late gaming. I hated not being able to see my F keys to vocally communicate with my team. Having to stop what im doing, to make an effort to actually read by monitor emitted light only finally got to me.
 I no longer have that problem. G15 has 3 brightness settings, LCD screen brightness applies also, but i keep mine on full.....24/7. I'd fully recommend you grab one & do a writeup! Wireless headphones too! You ever try em? 
 BTW, my GPU temps are reading between 50 & 52.78 degrees celcuis during this post, cpu temp is only 45.5 degrees & case temp is 35.5. Does this sound "normal" for stock GPU temps? I know theres alot of variables, but this Vmicro has 2 120mm intake & exhaust fans. I wanna lok around online, i thought i saw something about a fix for incorrrect temperature readings....-15 degrees or something. I thought it was cpu, maybe im wrong.

[Zeus]

Those temps are very respectable and I'm sure they are pretty accurate.  The 7950GT runs a quite cool mid 50C most of the time.  8800 Series are much warmer as is anything from ATi from the X1900 series.  Enjoy gaming!

[FEVER]

 Yeah, i was just reading one of the VGA cooler reviews here & noticed the 7950 or 7900 you used idled the same temps.
 After consulting my magic 8-ball, I believe I will be shopping around for the newest shiny things on the market for cooling. I cant stop looking at the toys! 

[FEVER]

 Ok, since i've only got a 1/2 a clue what im doing, I'll not be afraid to ask.
 I ordered the Scythe 120mm - 3x 2.5" Bay (system cooler-front intake) but will need to remove one of my DVD-ROM's (I have 2, only need/use 1)
 Do I disable in hardware manager? Then physically remove the unit? Or uninstall in hardware manager? Then remove unit? -Or?

 BTW- These Zalman coolers work much more efficiently than i anticipated. Case Temps spiked, affecting all other hardware. Working on ventilation & airflow ATM..(ordered more noctua's & hardware)....hoping i wont need to use my new 120mm hole-saw 
 My ROM drives are covered by a solid aluminum door, so......im either heading to the machine shop soon for water/jetting or plasma/laser cutting, or im risking it & breaking out the dremel soon! 

[Fujitsu]

you shouldn't have to uninstall anything, just remove the dvd drive, and start everything back up and you should be fine

as for the door, I think I'd be pretty cautious before cutting a hole in it, not sure if there is much clearance when the door is closed, but I might give it a try with the door closed and see what happens

I've never seen this case before, but I've got the Thermaltake Tsunami, which is sorta the same idea, and there is a bit of a gap at the top and bottom when the door is closed, which if your case is the same might give enough airflow for your scythe to suck air in and give you a bit better circulation

btw, what fan did you order, I took a quick scan on the scythe site and couldn't find anything like you described, but then again it was literally a 30 second scan so I could have easily missed it...

[FEVER]

 Too late....I de-virginized my new dremel. Stuck with the same "arrow" shaped Icon that Velocity has on lower door, i just replicated it on upper. The Scythe.."Kama Bay"... http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=4154   Available in black, silver or white.
 Theres plenty of room between the door & front drives. I smoke.....so I have 2 types of filters on intakes........washable blue type for dust (designed for home furnace/air conditioner) (cut to fit)  And the white fiber Home furnace type for smoke.......(cut to fit)
 I plan on doing the same on upper 120mm scythe intake. No more will i have cigarette smoke making my case nasty.........just my lungs 
 Thanks for the help fuj !

[FEVER]

 While toying with airflow last night, i found another neat product i decided to order & give a try.
 http://www.hardwarecooling.com/product_info.php/cat/48_82/prod/685/Extended_Slot_Cooling_Fan
 120mm extra long slot cooler (exhaust) .........