I just have a little question about the temp readings on my cpu. Right now i have an AMD Athlon 64 X2 duel Core 3800+. The idle temp on this cpu is between 37-38C, and when it is under a load the temps read between 50-52C. Are these reasonable temps for this cpu? And if there not what would you recommend to do to push down the temperature?

Agreed, good advice zeno, I would of said the same thing.

Just something I want to mention:

Unless its affecting your performance, or you're doing something really "special" with your computer (or its potential stability is a problem), I really suggest that everyone shouldn't be bothered with their CPU temps. Even if its above the high side, if you don't see it in your usual usage, you shouldn't worry about it.

What about the effects on the CPU's lifespan? Well, having it run high will cause it to show problems much faster than it normally would. Probably in half the time. Wouldn't that be a problem you ask? NO. Instead of showing up in 40 years time, it'll show in 20 years. By the love of god, I hope you'll buy a new computer by then. Its akin to using a 286 in today's day and age (I'd be real surprised if you can even manage to run Win 98 SE on that thing)

Besides, I think there's a sticky somewhere saying " Before Asking "Is This Too Hot?"". Its there so we don't flood these boards with the same questions over and over again.

Then again, this isn't the first time I've complained about this, and I don't think it'll change anytime.

I want to speak for all of the computer users who have invested time and money into their dream P.C. Keeping a close eye on the temps is a very sane thing to do. If you built a Nice '32 Ford 5 window with a 350 under the hood, you would keep an eye on those gauges as well. It shows concern and knowledge of your investment.

I'd rather speak for myself here if you don't mind:

I'd like to point out that most car users do not really know the performance parameters of their cars. Much less be able to name all the components in the car which work together to keep the car running.

Same goes here for computers.

Sure, you can go ahead and worry that your computer runs 1C below maximum recommended. You'd just be wasting your time. The average computer user would probably rush here if they found out their GPU was running so hot it could boil water... but some GPUs have been designed to run at those temperatures.

The average computer user, who doesn't notice anything wrong with their PC, would spend money to cool down their PC. Fewer still would do so if you told them its gonna last 20 years without a problem anyway.

The only reason why you'd build a nice "'32 Ford 5 window with a 350 under the hood" is because you are a car enthusiast of some sort. Same goes with computer enthusiasts, we monitor our temps all the time.

I personally know what temps my computer usually runs at, and if it deviated by 2C, I'd have it cleaned immediately. But I also help people out with their comps, and just advice them to clean it out (software and hardware wise) if they noticed any problems with their comp, without even asking temps.

You are obviously and enthusiast, so I wouldn't be surprised if you knew your computer temps, maybe got an icon, or an LCD on the case which tells you its temps real time.

Maybe you've even got another probe stuck somewhere on the heatsink (right next to the CPU if you really knew what you were doing) to measure out the real temperature of the CPU. And you would have done that, since you knew that any other form of temperature testing would have been useless, since they aren't accurate in any way (please don't start with all the bs about BIOS temps and software programs, or those 3.5" temp monitor things. If you DON'T calibrate on a daily basis, it can be as far as 10C off the real temp. If you're lucky).


Still think everyone needs to know their temps?

And modern CPUs are meant to shut down when temperatures get dangerously high, so destroying a CPU due to high temperatures should be pretty hard, unless you're really trying.

True that.

But if you kept running your CPU (even though it keeps shutting down due to high temperatures), you'd cut its lifespan much much more than 50%. I'd be surprised if a CPU used in that way would last a year. Well, assuming you just kept booting it up, and getting it to shut down 20 times a day or something.

You wouldn't really be computing then. You'd just be spending your whole day restarting the computer

To Zenosincks: I'm just bored.