What Intel DTS Means for Enthusiasts

Gavin Steacy Writes:

"According to the developer of RealTemp, "[Intel] did not release enough information for any software developer to write an accurate program so we're right back to guessing and making assumptions. It's easy to take a pen and circle some numbers but they didn't test, prove or show anything."

Of course, the primary function of the DTS is not for the end user to monitor temperatures, but to protect the processor from damage due to overheating. This makes it even more strange that Intel has released the Tjunction Max values for its 45nm processors.

These maximum temperatures are a nice bit of icing on the cake. Due to increasing inaccuracies in the readings taken from the DTS however, as the temperature moves further from this threshold (what Intel calls "slope error"), you can only assume decent measurement accuracy when you are running at a temperature equal to the maximum Tjunction value. This is extremely rare, because unless you did not mount your heatsink correctly, or you are running at extremely high voltages with insufficient cooling, you will probably never reach this temperature. RealTemp is currently the only software which attempts to offset these increasing sensor inaccuracies. Hopefully other software developers will follow suit."