Primarily I was wondering what the safe/standard operating temps are for my processor.

My system currently idles at 49 degrees Celsius (118 Farenheit) and when stressed climbs to ~67C. Surfing the posts it seems this is a bit hot. This is measured with ASUSprobe (I have an ASUS P5P800 mobo).

As a side question, my computer has locked up 3 times recently while in-game, and needed to be restarted by the button. I recorded the temperatures the last time and it occured when my CPU temp hit 66C or 150F. Is this a safe/standard temp for it to be at, or is this likely to have caused the problem?

Sorry about the run-on message, and I know there are several posts regarding P4 temps on here, but none that I read through seemed to say precisely what is average/safe temp for my processor (Or does it go on a system-by-system basis?). Thanks for the help.

oh, sorry just thot it might be relevant or not (im a bit of a noob) - 800mhz FSB on the cpu.

-mike

The world advances, and I stand in its wake and watch, as it marches on without me.

Yes, your temperatures are fine. It also depends on the room temp ofcourse.
Your CPU is a prescott and these get higher temps than older cpu's.
I used to have an Northwood cpu which ran maybe 10 degrees C lower than the prescott I now have.
Also, if you have the stock fan installed, i'd recommend to get either a Zalman or Thermaltake. These are quiet fans with good cooling abilities. Remember when applying thermal paste; this should be a really, really thin layer.
If the temps still bother you, you can take a look into watercooling. But personally, I think your system will run fine with aircooling.

Good luck

~Liz

Intel P4 3.2E Ghz@ 3.8Ghz
Asus P4P800-E Deluxe
Kingston 2GB PC3200
Asus AX800 Pro w/ZM80D-HP
WD Raptor 37 GB
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300 GB
Asus E616P1
Plextor PX-740A
Reserator 1

While Liz is correct in her assesment, it does not address your lock-up issues. 67c, while within safe range of your proc, will cause the proc to throttle and result in lost performance and/or lock-ups. I'm concluding you are not overclocking, so there is no reason for your temps to get that high. Moving to water-cooling should be your last step if you are a noob. So there are several things you can do to help the situation.

a) Reseat the processor using arctic silver 5 for your thermal paste. This will actually lower your temps almost 5c on average. Some report a higher decrease. Don't use anything but AS5 on your proc. The size of a grain of rice is sufficient.

b) Add a side-of-the-case fan. If your case doeas not already have one, cut a hole in the left side panel to add an 80mm fan that points in the area between your video card and processor. This helps a lot.

c)Use a 120mm exhaust fan out of the back. Some even add one to the top, though I don't see you needing that.

d) Use a 120mm intake fan. This can be critical because it will actually give the case a constant stream of cool air coming in so that the air inside the case doesn't become stagnant. That will result in higher temps if it's not forced out.

e)Last step (if none of the above help that much) would be to replace the heatsink like Liz suggested. The Thermalright XP-90 is by far the most popular. People have gotten really good results with it.

With the acception of the side fan, most cases have accomodations for the intake and exhaust fans. Try to get liquid berring fans to ease noise. And absolutley make certain the fans are blowing in the right direction.

I use the same proc. It idles at about 47 and under load never over 62. I don't play games but do a lot of video editing, so it gets a pretty good workout. I am using the stock fan & HS with one 120mm exhaust fan, although I plan to add an intake.

Thanks, I'm now planning on adding another fan to it. I'm leaving anything involving the porcessor and related gear as a last resort, as I'd rather not have to alter any of that.

The world advances, and I stand in its wake and watch, as it marches on without me.

Sorry, forgot to answer to the lockup problem.
I have a feeling this is because of your RAM. I'm not that familiar with DDR2, but is it also downwards compatible? Because your motherboard goes up to DDR400 while you have DDR2 memory.

Intel P4 3.2E Ghz@ 3.8Ghz
Asus P4P800-E Deluxe
Kingston 2GB PC3200
Asus AX800 Pro w/ZM80D-HP
WD Raptor 37 GB
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300 GB
Asus E616P1
Plextor PX-740A
Reserator 1