my CPU idles at 42C and gets to about 68C under full load. ive read around and these temps seem a bit high to me for my northwood. the cpu fan runs at about 2600RPM almost constantly and im using the stock HSF. the problem is that when i play games for too long the screen just freezes in the game and i cant do anything to get out of the game so im forced to reboot. this has happened in more than one game. also this problem started recently. as i recently installed the cpu so im pretty sure its the cpu causing the problem. i have also ruled out my graphics card because ive run stability tests on it for over 5 hours under full load and it had no crashes. my question first is the CPU overheating? would the system freeze up like that if it was overheating? and would removing the heatsink, cleaning off the cpu and heatsink, then re-applying new thermal compound fix this overheating problem?

Zo

Why are you overclocking when your chip heats up like that??

Set your CPU&RAM back to stock settings and see if your problem goes away..
I wouldn't recommend doing any overclocking before you get your temps down, clean your HSF or buy a better one, and be sure to have good airflow in your case.

AMD64 X2 4400+ @ 2,5GHz
Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe
2GB OCZ GOLD DDR500
Asus EN7900GTX 512MB @ 700/1750
Maxtor 250GB 16MB SATAII
WD 160GB 8MB IDE
Thermaltake Kandalf STEEL

yea i already brought down the clocks. havent tested if this fixes the problem yet. wouldnt the computer restart rather than freeze if the CPU was overheating? i mean the screen just freezes and the image of where the game froze stays on the screen. what other things could be causing this kinda lock up? as far as air flow goes i have a fan on the front of the case and a fan on the back, one fan blowing air from outside onto the graphics card and the PSU has 3 fans as well. the GPU has never recorded above 67C which is fine for the 7800gs.

Zo

Your case cooling setup is counter-productive. All you really need is one exhaust fan below the PSU. Although many sites recommend an intake fan in the front of the case, AMD states otherwise. (Yes, I realize that your's is an Intel system)

The following was taken from the "AMD Builder's Guide":

"Here are some basic guidelines to aid in finding an enclosure with adequate cooling capability:

• Standard horizontal cases are not recommended — use vertical cases only.
• With the vertical case, a power supply with ATX-style bottom air intake vents maintains a better thermal environment than a power supply with only a front air intake vent.
• Cases with an added fan in the back cool better than cases without an added fan.
• The rear fans must all pull air in the same direction; otherwise one fan pulls warm air out of the enclosure while the other fan pulls the preheated air back into the enclosure.
• Front intake fans have not proven to be a significant benefit for vertical cases.
• Fans 80mm or larger work best.
• There must be clear space in front of the system case to allow cooling air to flow in, and space behind the case for the heated air to flow out.
• Cables inside the enclosure can cause airflow disruptions. Cable-tie and route the cables out of the path of the cooling airflow."

I suggest that your reconfigure your fans & you may wanna remove the CPU HSF, clean it & reseat it with a fresh layer of paste.

fixed.bought artic silver 5 thermal compound, cleaned and re-pasted the cpu and the temps dont go above 61C now. not a single crash since. however idle temps stayed at 42C which isnt really a problem since i havent had one hang up since friday.

Zo