42 degrees too high an idle temperature for an athlon 64 processor?

[stainer711]

In my motherboard's bios the temperature for idling is 42 degrees. Is this about right for an athlong 64 3700+ processor or should i be worried? I have plenty of airflow in my case, but i do have the stock heatsink attached. Should i invest in an aftermarket heatsink? Do you have any recommendations?

 

[Lord AnthraX]

eh thats a little too high....thats more then my cpu under load.

did you use AS5?

Did you apply it correctly?

Im using a Zalman CNPS9500 and my temps are 23 C idle..........

Personally I would Reccomend the Big Typhoon, CNPS9500 or A64 freezer PRO, Sycthe Ninja, and Tuniqe Tower...

 

[stainer711]

How can i be sure that those will fit onto my processor? it's socket 939, btw. Cool and quiet is on. Will having a cooler processor improve performance? Newegg links would be great. My actual average idle temp is around 40.

 

[Lord AnthraX]

no but having a cooler processor insures you wont fry it...

btw all the ones I listed are socket 939 Compatible

Turn cool and quite Off...

 

[stainer711]

What's wrong with cool and quiet? I heard that a cooler processor performs better.

 

[MMH]

23 degrees Celsius is about average ambient room temperatures.. it is about 73.4 Degrees Fahrenheit. How cold do you keep your house?!?

 

[Alex81388]

Cool and quiet just clocks it down when it heats up - so you don't get as much power... i think

 

[stainer711]

Oh, well then F that. After playing Half-life 2 for a hour the temperature was 43 degrees. I think that its temperature under load and when idle is relatively the same. So do you think that it would be of my best interest to invest in a new heatsink? Do you have any links to ones you would recommend?

 

[MMH]

if your temp is only 43C at load.. then you have nothing to worry about... start worrying when it gets over 50 and close to 60

 

[Win2kpatcher]

Wow..mine idles at 50 and at load gets up to like 66-70..lol. Its been this way for 3 years and shes still goin strong! **** hot prescott P4's!!