hi, somebody knows what is the max recommended temp for a 775 3Ghz p4. The thing is that I have the fatal1ty aa8xe mb, so I have a great overclocking potential. By the way, I'm using the intel's hsf, and I'm not planning to buy a different one soon. Thanks

Technically there is no "max" temp. The P4 is thermally protected so if it overheated it just shuts off so it doesn't get damaged. The stock HSF is hard to beat. However, if you plan on OCing the thing to death (BTW, the multiplier on that pressy cannot be unlocked) then you may consider a larger/ different method of cooling. Mine runs idle at 41C and load at 50C. I have a thermaltake tsunami HSF along with a pair of 120mm case fans. ASUS P5GD1 P-4 3.4 SOCKET 775 OCed to 3.9 1G Corsaire PC400 ABIT RX600SE 256MB PCI-E

The Intel HSF is pretty good - I've got a 3.0 @ stock and it idles about 37c and loads around 50c, not great but not too bad. If you can mantain an ambient case temperature of around 30c then there should be no problem, should be easy with all those 40mm fans on that fatal1ty ;) Temps around the high 60s and into the 70s on the cpu I'm sure would cause some throttling under load. Around 80-85c it would shut down. Post back if you have some success with the overclock - I'm thinking of getting a Fatal1ty, my intel board has almost no overclocking options lol. P4 LGA775 3.0GHz 2x256Mb DDR2 533MHz XFX 6800GT PCI-E

Well, thanks for the info; I've managed to oc my 3Ghz p4 to 3.4Ghz with the cpu reaching 57°C, and sys temp of about 40°C after playing ut2004 at 1024*768/16-bit color. I also played with x700 pro oc to 473Mhz, 16x Trilinear AF, and 6x AA; video card reaching about 70°C. By the way, I'm reciving another 4 temperatures named PWM1-4 that gave me temp of 51-58°C, what is that?

Those are the Pulse Width Modulation circuit temps. To over simplify, it delivers and regulates power to motherboard components and includes the MOSFET chips, capacators, resistors, and voltage regulators (you'll see 'em planted around the cpu socket) that make everything from fans to cpu work. These are important temps on systems like yours that use a lot of power to operate. Generally, good airflow thru the case will keep everything running just fine. Temps inside the case should be just a few degrees above room temp. This may not be the same as the "system temp" reading you get now. It's easy to measure with a thermometer and if it's 22°C in the room, something like 25°C would be a good temp measured around the center inside area of the case. Temps much higher than this can mean better airflow is needed. Responses 1 & 2 above show good temps...I'd like to see your system temps somewhere around 35°C max. Notice he's running a high end video card on that rig. Some things to consider: The stock hsf is a very good cpu cooler. Good case cooling is a must...those who cool with water coolers often overlook this and the end result can be cool cpu temps and a dead motherboard because the PWM circuits overheated and failed. Temp reporting can be very inaccurate; a ±10°C swing is not uncommon among various motherboards installed on an otherwise identical system. Good airflow, good airflow, good airflow. Did I mention good airflow? Now I want you to read everything lazyman has posted on his website. He has extensive experience with overclocking and cooling P4C's and P4E's...especially air cooling. Two lazyman sites for ya: http://home.earthlink.net/~lazyman/ http://www.koolsolutions.net/ Point of all this is just to try to understand how all the pieces of your system interact; that is, a cpu that draws lots of power also stresses the motherboard and everything connected to it. More power...more stress. As technology advances, we'll all be able to have more power with less stress. Until then, remember good case airflow. Skip

Thanks Skip, and your right about the system temp, because I only have one fan blowing fresh air to the cpu, and the OTES and psu fan are the only exhausts. That why I'm planning to add an intake fan right under the vcard, and another exhaust fan. Thanks for the PWM info & links.

By the way, I'm kind of worried about my psu, because it's 300w, and I have 5 40mm fans and 3 80mm fans, plus it's an overclocked P4. Should I upgrade to a 450w psu?