What are good, decent, not so good, unsafe temperature ranges? My particular cpu is an athlonxp2000+,T-bred, oc. It is running safe speeds, but because i want to lower the fan speed and reduce noise, I'd like to know what is a safe (optimal) and what is a decent range. Thanks, -C.

This is based on my own experiences with AMD CPUs & the "common" temps posted in these forums. They are just my opinion. Remember, every system is different... If you can get your idle temp below 35C, you're doing great...35-45, average...45-55C, you might wanna re-evaluate your cooling setup...55-65C, action needs to be taken...65C & up, something's not setup right...90C, meltdown

http://www.computing.net/cpus/wwwboard/forum/5979.html Occasionally you would get a CPU that has higher than thermal output, the same chance you would get one with lower than normal thermal output. Occasionally you would get a board that reports higher than actual CPU temps, and the odds are you also get one that reports lower than actual. Board temp inaccuracy can be rectified easily but not willingly. Occasionally you would meet people who got a higher than normal thermal output CPU and unlucky enough to get a board reporting CPU temp 5 to 10 C higher than actual. You could hear when they cry. Occasionally you would HEAR from people who did not know that they have a normal thermal output CPU and a board that reports 5 – 10 C lower CPU temp than actual. You could hear them loudly when they brag. The lowest P4 recommended CPU diode temp is 68 C, and over 70 C for Athlon, while both companies recommend chassis temp not to exceed 40 C. A good chassis should be able to maintain 5 – 10 C higher than room temp where the computer sits. I have used over 20 boards in the last two years. I’d say better than 1/2 of them report 5 – 8 C higher than normal temp, and 1/5 report average 7 C lower. Checking your chassis temp is easy. The digital read out aquarium water temp sensor costs a few dollars at WalMart. Keep the chassis temps a few degrees higher than room temp is the key. When the CPU is truly running at a higher temps than it is designed for, you would receive a lot of warning such as program crashes. That is provided that you know your memory and graphic card limits. The measurement of Heatsink is not really by weight or materials used. It is the coefficient of thermal input (wattage) to temperature, i.e. C/W. The lower than factor the better the coefficient. Assuming the processor is rated at 100 Watts of maximum output mated with a Heatsink with 0.34 C/W at 24 C room temp. The expected CPU temp is ; 100 x 0.34 + 24 = 58 Of course, you have to add the few degree higher chassis temp, and the C/W of the thermal paste. So, if you chassis is 5 C higher than room temp, and the thermal paste has a 0.08 C/W (you would have to add to the 58 C above). Likely your XP 2000 is rated at about 65 W, and good to excellent Heatsink is around .30 C/W. You should expect your CPU temp be: 65 x 0.30 + 24 = 43.5 Add 5 C from the case and 3 C from the thermal paste, you would have around 53 C at full load. Now you don’t have to ask people what the temp should be. You know what it should be scientifically. Another point, CPU does not run at 100%, pick 85% factor (or discount 15% from the above).

Thank you Jam and thank you RealCool. I appreciate both of your input. So to Clarify something Realcool, Would you then be saying - should my temp readouts be accurate - that if my cpu temperature remains under 53, I'm ok? The real point in my asking isn't because I am overclocking and using a lot of processor capacity (I do oc, but on average go relatively easy on the cpu) I just want to know how low i can turn down the cpu fan because i want as much decreased fan noise as i can get. Thank you both so much for the info and experience you've related. -C