i just got a new mobo recently and its been working very well except i get a bsod every now and then and so i looked around my comp a bit to see if i could find anything outta the norm, my hw monitor in the bios is reading my cpu at 192F...is it just me or is that like impossible? wouldnt it be like burning lol? the board heat readout is about half that....im curious of what all i should get to help cool it down? i live in a small town so its kinda hard to come by good pc upgrades n stuff but i'd really like to tackle this problem before it destroy's my cpu,oh and its a socket-a msi delta atx board with heat sink/fan properly inserted with some generic paste on it from radioshack, no case fans...any help would be appreciated!

1st of all, you have to somehow verify that temp reading. 192F (89C) teeters on a complete meltdown. A crude way to check is to get your system up to temp, then shutdown, unplug it, quickly remove the side panel & carefully touch the heatsink...it should be warm, but not hot. If you can't keep your fingers on it, you have a problem.

Make sure the heatsink is installed correctly...there's a step in the bottom that is supposed to go over the end of the CPU socket...if you install it backwards, the heatsink won't make full contact with the CPU core.

Radio Shack paste is fine, but just like any other paste, it has to be applied properly. You should have used a dab about the size of a BB & spread it thinly & evenly over the core. Here are some excellent instructions:

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions_small.htm

You should also have case fans...one intake in the front & one exhaust in the back. In the meantime, try running with the side panel removed. The system temp should be as close to room temp as possible.

ASUS A7N8X-X
Athlon XP 1800+
8.5 x 200MHz
1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7
Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB
WinME/WinXP Pro SP2

i decided to try to reseat my heat sink and i found the cpu fan was very very very dirty so i cleaned it and now i get an extra 1000 rpms on it than prior, and i finally figured out what you guys mean by the step in the hs that makes it avoid full contact if backward, it WAS backward, i also put the paste on the CORE this time not just all over the top like last time (paste didnt have very good instructions on it)...im now 59c with this browser and a few other progs runnin, seems much better, i think the room im running in averages around 70f is 59c a decent temp for low cpu usage time? keep in mind im NOT over clocking even though my subject asked for them, i just figured they would know best how to cool down the equipment, im thinking of buying a new heatsink setup but im hoping this will at least stop those random crashes for now, thx for the reply btw, appreciate it

Those are typical temps if you have a P4 or similar Intel, which I'm assuming you do, because unless your temp gauges were giving bogus readings, any Athlon would've shut itself down above 70 degrees C.

My mildly O/C'd 1800+ idles in the mid 40s, with an avg room temp of about 20C (68F). Try leaving the side panel off for a while to see how that affects your CPU temp. If you have a small room fan, try positioning it so that it blows into the case & see how much of a difference that makes too. That will give you a general idea of how your CPU temp will change if you properly ventilate the case.

ASUS A7N8X-X
Athlon XP 1800+
8.5 x 200MHz
1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7
Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB
WinME/WinXP Pro SP2

192 degrees? Call the fire department! Somethings getting ready to blow!

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