This document provides some frequently asked questions about SiSoft Sandra. Please read the Help File as well!
Q: The values shown are incorrect!
A: You will need to upgrade to Sandra version 4.20 or later.
Q: My mainboard has system monitoring facilities but Sandra does not display any information!
A: While Sandra supports popular system monitoring chips (LM75/78/79/98, Winbond) it does not support all of them. Let us know which chip you have and we'll do our best to add this functionality in future versions.
Q: Why is there a difference between the CPU temperature shown by Sandra and that shown by the BIOS?
A: Depending on the CPU type, a compensating value must be added. This is because the temperature sensor, which is placed under the CPU socket or on the heatsink, does not actually touch the CPU. A correction must be made to compensate for this distance. This correction is not defined for all CPUs and there are exceptions to the rule. Don't compare the BIOS which is tuned for your board with Sandra which must work on ALL boards!
Q: Sandra does not display the temperature of my PII/Xeon.
Q: Sandra displays an very high (e.g. 200C) temperature for my PII!
A: Unless the mainboard has a CPU temperature sensor (some provide a socket for you to plug a sensor into) the temperature will be unavailable or incorrect. Contact the manufacturer for information on how to get such a sensor. Also, special heat sinks with built-in sensors are available.
While new PII350 and faster CPUs have an internal junction within the chip itself to allow precise core temperature measurement, few boards actually have the hardware to use it. Existing system monitoring chips do not work with such a device since they're designed to use thermistors.
Q: Sandra does not display the temperature of the 3rd sensor (e.g. power supply, 2nd CPU).
A: Assuming you have intalled such a sensor, update to Sandra 4.20 or later.
Q: Does Sandra give an accurate temperature readout?
A: Depends. The surest way is to actually compare it with another method and see what you get. What's sure is that changes should be accurate (e.g. if after adding a card the readout shows a higher temperature then the system is hotter) but actual values may not be.
Q: The temperature seems to go up too fast when I start the computer!
A: This may be due to the compensation factor which can be quite high for some CPUs. If the room temperature is 25-29°C the readout may show 50-60°C quite soon.
Q: The FAN speed reported is twice the value reported by the BIOS!
A: The Asus TX97 BIOS earlier than 1.07 had a bug in the BIOS. This is fixed in later version so you may try to update your BIOS if you can.
Q: What temperature should the case (mainboard) be at?
A: There is not a specific temperature, but we like to keep our systems below 35°C with a room temperature of 26°C. Generally it should be 5°C below the lowest maximum temperature of all the internal devices installed (memory, disks, cards, etc.).
Q: What temperature should the CPU be at?
A: Consult the manufacturer's CPU thermal guidelines (see their website) for specific details. Do remember that the temperature is taken to be the core temperature and not heatsink temperature. Most CPUs should be at below
60°C in normal use.
Q: Sandra has the fan speeds mixed up.
A: Make sure you plugged the fans in their respective connectors. New mainboards have up to 3 similar (CPU, Chassis, Power) connectors. Consult the manual for specific information. When 2 CPUs are installed, the 'Power' fan is the 2nd CPU fan.