I recently upgraded my daughter's PC: new m/b (Soyo mATX), CPU (Athlon XP 2000+), and memory (256 MB, PC2100). Everything seems to be running OK, but the CPU temp is at 48-49 C idle, using stock heatsink & fan, one intake fan and two exhaust (incl. the P/S fan). It's not overclocked, and I don't intend to do so. I know this is well within acceptable temp limits for an AMD Athlon XP; I just wondered if anyone else has noticed similar temps for this CPU.

Tbred or Palomino core?

My Athlon XP 2000+ (Palomino) runs idle at 45 C and temperature never goes beyond 53 C under stress at 25 C room and with fan's assembly like that Daniel posted.

Systenm is very stable and I never had problems since the maiden boot two years ago.

jam, it's a T'bred core.

OK, I asked because the Palomino tends to run a little hotter.

You're nowhere near the danger zone, but your temps are a bit on the warm side. My overclocked 1800+ idles in the mid to upper 30s & get's into the 40s on a hot day.

Where are you getting your temps from? Software or BIOS? What's your system temp & average room temp?

System temp runs around 29-30 C. Temp readings come from both the BIOS and the Soyo m/b utility. I noticed that in SANDRA the temps seem to be reversed, so I know those are wrong. I wonder if too much cable clutter is keeping the cool air from getting to the CPU.

Could be cable clutter...try tying them outta the way & see if it helps.

You can also try temporarily removing the side panel to see if the temp drops. If you have a small room fan, you can try positioning that to blow into the case & see how much that affects temps too.

If your temps don't change much, just go with what you have. If there's a significant difference, you may wanna reconfigure you case cooling fans, or get a better HSF, or both.

What about thermal paste? What did you use when mounting the HSF? Improperly applied paste can affect temps too. These instructions are excellent:

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

jam ...

Since I used the stock HSF, the thermal compound would just be the pad that comes with the kit. I think I'll try running with the side panel off just to see if that makes any difference, and I'm pretty sure I can move the cables around to allow better air flow. I may also check to make sure the HSF unit is properly attached. You know how hard it is to pop the stock HSF onto the AMD CPUs sometimes, and even though it feels pretty solid, it looked like the unit may have been slightly off center. As a last resort, I could remove the HSF, clean it with some alcohol, and apply a better thermal paste - I have some Arctic Silver Ceramique left over from when I mounted the P4 in my computer.

Not really reccomended, but what about extreme cooling using a small plastic drinks bottle, fill it with water, make sure it's sealed tight, freeze it and then pop it in the bottom of your case in front of a fan until the Ice melts??

Juts wondered it anyone has tried this or anything similar LOL?

AMD Athlon XP2200+
Aero7 lite
512mb Crucial pc2700
Abit NF7-s V2.0
80GB Seagate SATA
120GB Seagate SATA
Geforce4 Ti4200 128mb
Benq FP767-12 17" 12ms
SB live 5.1 Digital

Not Recommended!!

I had a 486 DX 33 as my first PC (after my Apple IIe) in a desktop unit with a pop up case. During the summer it would shutdown as it didn't even have a heatsink let alone a cpu fan. My solution was to place a small juice glass of water (had a flat bottom) on the cpu until it got warm (checked by dipping my finger in it) then replace it with another glass of cool water. :) It worked for a few summers. :) Of course summers here in Australia could get to ambients in the low 40s C.
Definetly not a recomended method!!

My current AMD 1000 idles at 50C and can get to the high 50s when really working and I have seen low 60s during the summer and that is with a Thermalake 2 fan cooler. It has never missed a beat however.

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference." Frost