Hot 3.2ghz prescott

[hjs2]

I'm having problems with my cpu, i'm not sure if it's normal, but at idle my 3.2 ghz prescott p4 is at 50degrees celcious, and under load it's about 72. Is this bad i'm pretty in experianced with computer cooling, and i just purchased this computer and was wondering if it's a problem.

 

[P4Man]

Its pretty common with Prescott cpu's. Wether or not its really a problem, you'll (hopefully not) find out in a few years. Its running within spec, and if ever it overheats it should throttle before it dies. It does put a strain on your powersupply and motherboard though, but there is not much you can do but cross your fingers.

However, do consider at those temps you are very close to the tresholds where Prescott starts throtteling to reduce heat, which will decrease your performance. Its nearly impossible to determine if/when it throttles without benchmarking tools. So on a hot summer day, its not at all unlikely you'll be sitting behind a 2.8 GHz performance computer where you paid for a 3.2 one. You might want to buy a better cpu cooler and/or improve your case cooling (airflow).

Next time though, get yourserve informed before you purchase, then you'd have known Prescott is hot, and underwhelming. A similary clocked (and cheaper, cooler and overall faster) Northwood would have been a much better choice (not to mention an Athlon 64, depending on what apps you run).

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =

 

[hjs2]

actually, i did a test with blakchakw down, full graphics on a custom map with loads of bad guys, and the max heat, i believe was 62. And it's a fairly hot night here. i may invest in a better fan.