How hot should this motherboard be running?

Whib96

Distinguished
May 30, 2011
50
0
18,640
So I have an Asus M3A78-EM mATX motherboard. Not the best board, but it works well for the family computer. Yesterday I wanted to overclock my AMD Athlon II x4 620 to get it to a nice 3 ghz by adjusting the FSB and HT Link speed. Didn't touch the voltage settings at all. Well, after this, my cpu obviously increased in temp (never goes higher than 45 c, so it's all good) but my motherboard is climbing up to about +50 c when under stress and is at 46 c right now with just firefox and Speccy open. Is this okay? How hot can these things get? Today I'm gonna clean out the fans to ensure it's getting optimal airflow, but I'm still worried it won't help much...Might just clock back down a bit, but before I do I wanna know if the temps I'm currently at are okay or not.
 

mo

Distinguished
Apr 7, 2004
339
0
18,810
50c while not ideal, is not ubnormal either. Your motherboard is not in any danger at this temp. Depending on your room's ambient temperature 50c is fine.

EDIT: Double post glitch
 
You're fine at 50c; I wouldn't start handling anything. Static discharge can occur anytime you touch any components on the board. Best to leave it alone. Static discharge (also called esd) causes blown or damage circuit paths. Your cpu can handle temps up to 70c for brief periods of time.
 

Whib96

Distinguished
May 30, 2011
50
0
18,640


Well, before I read this, I went ahead and cleaned out the computer. Used some paintbrushes mostly so I mean I wasn't touching the components with my hands. However, the results of cleaning it out were dramatic...My CPU runs at 25 C idle now :ouch: Nearly a 10 degrees difference!!! Not only that, but my MB went down about 10 C as well...Now sits at about 32 C idle. Crazy crazy. There wasn't even that much dust in there, so I'm honestly not sure why it made that much of a difference. But whatever...I'll take it! :p
 

mo

Distinguished
Apr 7, 2004
339
0
18,810


Air flow does make a difference.