Friends, I need some advice on my configuration

[StApostol]

Hello, to everyone in this forum!

Following advice from THG, I just bought a new PC with the following configuration:
AthlonXP 2500+ (Barton - 166FSB * 11 = 1826MHz - locked multiplier)
512MB PC3200 no-name RAM (I'm afraid this was a bad decision on my part)
ASUS A7N8X Deluxe
Cube Radeon 9600 Series, based on ATI's 9600 Pro series (original timings for the time being)

As is natural, I'm trying to OC this system without compromising its stability or life expectancy (not too much anyway!). After many trials I gradually upped the FSB to 200MHz wherein the system started rebooting. Setting the vCore voltage to 1.725V (from 1.65V) seemed to help, but after testing with POV-Ray (a 3D raytracer program, good for razing the cpu) for 37 mins the system started giving errors. To make a long story short, the system now runs with a 198MHz FSB @ ~2170MHz - 1.7V, in which it seems stable (everything fine after 1h and 20min continuous 100% cpu usage).

The sole problem seems to be that it gives away too much heat - ASUS Probe reads 66 C, which could probably be dropped to 64-65 C by dropping the vCore voltage.

The question is: is 66 C too hot? I just read a temperature of over 60 C may reduce the life expectancy of a cpu. Is this just a speculation r are there facts for this? I mean, I wouldn't really care if the cpu stopped running 6 or 7 years from now, but if its life shortened to 3 years, then I would worry. (Which reminds me: the cpu is cooled by its original cooler, and without OC it touches 54-55C at most)

What is your advice? Should I drop the MHz until it cools down to 60 C, or is it OK to keep it running there? I am afraid that I cannot afford to buy a better cooler right now (and in any case I would prefer to save money and opt for a water cooler)

PS: Is 3267 3dmarks a good score for this configuration?

 

[ytoledano]

First, I find <A HREF="http://www.mersenne.org" target="_new">Prime95</A> running torture test on the CPU alone to be the best way to check for stability.
Also, consider that water-cooling systems cost 4 times and more than the best heat sinks and provide only marginally better performance. For less than 40$ you can find a great HS and for less than 30$ to can find a good one.
Check to see if the surface of your stock sink is hot when the CPU is under stress or just warm. If it's just warm you might gain a significant temp decrease if you apply some quality thermal compound like Arctic Silver 5/3/Ceremique which costs 3-7$.

66C is probably too hot.

3267 is common for your card, if you want a better score overclock the vid card and not the processor.

Got a nice overclocked overvolted system to keep you warm at night? That's great. Guess I'll have to settle for a woman...