Just bought a Amd 4200 x2 processor for my Am2 mobo.Bought a nice new fan (compatable of course),applied thermal compound,assembled and tested.From the beginning I have got temps starting around 45 degrees and quickly rising to a concerning 60! At this point tried a new fan,new layer of thermal compound(after thoroughly removing last layer).....Still high temps! What I would really like to know is: Could these high temps be due to a faulty Cpu,I have installed numerous processors on Socket A,939 and AM2 boards and never seen this before. Thanks for your time

Are you applying the thermal paste properly? Just a tiny dab in the center of the CPU & NOT spreading it around? Heatsink is sitting flush & fully locked down? Could it be that your board doesn't report the CPU temp correctly? And where are you getting the temp readings from - software or the BIOS? Have you checked for a BIOS update to see if it corrects temp reporting issues? And while I'm at it, why are you running DDR2-533 with an A64? You're killing performance. The proper RAM is DDR2-800 (if your board supports it). "If my answers frighten you then you should cease asking scary questions" - Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) in Pulp Fiction

oops sorry I meant pc2-5300 (667Mhz) But your right i should really upgrade to some 800mhz modules. With regards to the heating problem found out my system fan had ceased to function.I have now replaced it with a nice new one and the temps are a lot better......idling 41c and round 50 under load..... Thanks for the help