iStat

[trev]

Hey guys,

I've got a question about the iStat program. I can see/monitor my computers temperatures but I'm wondering exactly what the following actually are:

Heatsink A
Heatsink B
Northbridge 1
Northbridge 2 (My computer has two northbridges??)
Enclosure Bottom

Thanks!!

 

[pianoman]

good question. i had to look up northbridge...

a northbridge is a chip that connects a CPU to RAM.

a heatsink is a device that is used to conduct heat away from its source and spread the heat over a larger surface area. this helps dissipate the heat faster, ensuring that the source of the heat is kept cooler.

the enclosure is what's keeping everything inside.

 

[trev]

I know what a northbridge and heatsink are.. but I'm wondering why there are two temperature guages for the northbridge (I was under the impression that I only had one... unless the other is for the southbridge). And also, I was wondering where the two heatsinks were located. Thanks!

 

[pianoman]

you have two of these things because your computer is a "Duo" model - i.e., Core Duo, Core 2 Duo - there are two heatsinks and two bridges, one for each core.

 

[trev]

hmm... that makes a bit more sence, I can see the purpose of two northbridges now... but there's really two heatsinks? I throught it was just one CPU.

 

[pianoman]

it's still just one CPU but it has 2 cores. i'm not exactly sure of the architecture, but i think that explains it.

 

[sunfast]

I've been wondering what they meant too, thanks for the info

 

[Viremia]

you have two of these things because your computer is a "Duo" model - i.e., Core Duo, Core 2 Duo - there are two heatsinks and two bridges, one for each core.

yeah, not so much

there is only 1 northbridge and only one heatsink

the duo simply refers to the 2 cores on one chip

as for the OP, the labels are probably just wrong

 

[pianoman]

the duo simply refers to the 2 cores on one chip

this was never debated.

as for the OP, the labels are probably just wrong

instead of saying that it's wrong, here's a possible explanation: according to Apple's developer page, the MBP (or MB) has a north bridge and a south bridge. iStat is probably mislabeling one of these. as for the heatsinks, since the processor gets really hot, having two heatsinks helps dissipate heat faster than one would.