I have run an xp 1800 for quite a while with no overheating, and it has never gone beyond 45C. If you would not by garbage heatsinks you would not have to come here and ask things like is it bad if my cpu is smoking? Is 100C too hot? Think before you ask and do a little research.

Here's my 2 cents:

If someone wants to spend big bucks on an expensive HSF, that's their perogative. But IMHO, they'd be better off saving that money & investing it in something else, like a faster CPU. Don't get me wrong, I overclock to a certain extent myself...but not to the extreme. I don't understand the logic in buying a $100 CPU & then investing another $50 to $100 in an exotic cooling system just so you can overclock...and then whine about how hot it's running!

Why not just buy a higher speed CPU in the 1st place? Install it with a decent HSF & thermal grease & then just overclock a small amount...say 10%? (I know what you're thinking...where's the fun in that?) In the long run it'd be cheaper...plus you'd have a quick & stable system that runs within the proper temp range. Then you can spend your leisure time fragging beasts on Unreal or Quake 3 instead of posting heat related questions here!

BRAVO!! YOU TELL EM Jam! I agree whole heartedly. if we are not careful we will all have a heat stroke.
scootz

More expensive heatsink assembly and one that had been tested and worked very well is for the purpose of prolonging the CPU itself. Of course the people who had had fancy expensive heatsink assembly and Artic silver 3 are those who happened to find a good price for this fancy heatsink assembly and silver grease. If they have to pay too much for these two items as compared to the price of the CPU itself, they would have not paid any thing but go for a retail provided heatsink assembly. Normally we buy what we need. If you happen to find a good price on a motherboard and a CPU oem without a fan and heatsink, then you will starting looking for a heatsink+fan assembly and silver grease. Since during the information searching process as to what would be the best heatsink+fan assembly and silver grease, it happens to just be some fancy and expensive heatsink+fan assembly and Artic silver grease. If I happen to buy a retail CPU like I have already had, then I happen to correctly install the heatsink assembly with everything perfectly done including cleaning the two contacting surfaces and apply a perfectly good thin and even layer, and correctly install my heatsink+fan assembly, and it happens to be a perfect well done job, and I happen to have acceptable temperature range like I already have, then I would give up on looking for some fancy expensive fan+heatsink assembly with expensive artic silver 3 grease. Some time the people who posted the question are of two different kinds: one is the most and the majority is the one who needs helps: who needs information and comparision and companionship; another type is the rarest type is the one who posted to get the result for a particular survey. The first one is the one that deserves our help, and the second type is the one we should be a bit cautious with. The best solution is when giving your help in information-providing format, give some of your own opinions, for the sake of if it happens to be the second type of people who posted the question, then they will get the information plus your opinion. In that way they will win some, and you will win some, though in lesser amount.