Overheating?

I just got a new computer today that I had built online, its a p4 3.2 ghz, and in monitoring the temp i've been a little scared....when idle it hovers around 56, but when i use anything that takes some power, ie games or big apps, it will bump up to 61, 62, even a little higher.....i've got 4 fans in the case, one is the normal processor fan, one power supply fan, one on the side wall that is an intake fan, and one on the top of the case above the processor....is this normal and is there anything i can do to remedy it? Thanks for any advice for a newbie.

oh and, in classic newbie fashion, I forgot to mention its a pent4 3.2ghz PRESCOTT chip.

Prescotts do tend to run hotter than Northwoods, your temps are not out of range. If you want to lower them, your best bet is a new and better cpu cooler. I always recommend the Zalman CNPS7000a-Cu or the big copper ThermalRight coolers with a big fan. Also get Arctic Silver thermal paste rather than the cheap silicon stuff that comes with the heatsink.
Additionally, you can add case fans if you have any more space, and make sure you have clear space around the case for good airflow. Good cabling inside can help too, keeping the cable out of the way and allowing airflow.

karsh is leading you on the right track.

but i suggest a thermaltake volcano +7 if it's compatible with your cpu.i think it is but i'm not 100% sure.

also make sure the fan on top above the cpu is blowing out.
try to have all fans on the sides or front as intake and all on top and back as exhaust.....and i'd replace the ide cables with rounded ones.hope this helps....

The volcano series will do a good job of cooling, though they can be a bit loud. If that doesn't matter, you can save some $$ over a thermalright or zalman. guitarboy's other comments are all good too

thanks for the help guys....i did an update of the bios and that dropped the temp to roughly 47 on idle and a little over 60 when loaded, which still seems high to me, so i'm going to look into a new heatsink thanks to your advice.

Now i'm having voltage problems....but thats a problem for another forum, eh?

if it's still high....try getting a nice copper heatsink.and good thermal paste.also try taking the side cover off.so your cpu fan takes air from directly outside see if it cools any better.it may be that none of your intake fans are feeding it enough cool air.


and thanks karsh

Alright, i bought a nice thermaltake spark 7+ and replaced the stock hsf with it....temps are nice and low now, idling at about 46 and going no higher than about 55 when fully loaded....thanks again for the help guys.

One other question - according to speed fan, i'm getting some weird spikes on my MB chip temp....like going from 40 to 70 and back again every once in awhile....think this is just a glitch, or could that be? If so, is there any benefit whatsoever in getting a new hsf for the northbridge chip? I've read around and some say you don't even need the stock hsf on it, so who knows.....