What's a safe temp for an 1800+?

[rmatei]

I recently built a new computer, and since it would be my first time doing it, I'm not too sure about how to handle cooling.
- Athlon 1800+, unoverclocked
- Zalman 5005-Cu Cooler, running at lowest RPM
- Enermax Whisper 350W, running at lowest RPM
- Fong Kai 603 case
- 2 x Papst Ultra-Quiet case fans

My CPU idles at around 50 deg C (122 F), going 3-5 degrees higher during full load. Case temp about 32 C / 89 F. Is this too high? An AMD techie told me that about anything under about 70 C is fine, but then again I see all you OCer types with temps in the 20's and 30's around, so there must be some advantage. So, this might sound dumb, but as long as the system is stable, is there any problem with hight temps? And if there is, how much would be safe?

[gerti67]

Hello rmatei,

I think this is just fine - the system and the temperatures. :)

I have a 1.2GHz Duron with my quietized PC case and all my coolers just running at 7 Volts (CPU, PSU) - you can hear nearly nothing from them. And my CPU temperature is about 53-55 deg C and goes up to 62-65 deg C after hours of CCE encoding (or Prime95 torture test) and there is no problem with it - system runs rock-stable for month now. :) (But to be on the save side I have a switch on my case so I can let the coolers run at 12 Volts again - you never know ;))

Greetings,
Gerti

[da franksta]

if peak temp is below 65oC, you're is the safe zone. Sure, cooler would be better, but at the cost of more noise (or if you consider water cooling: more money :) ).

[Zhnujm]

what should i say - i got it "down" from 81 to 75 degree. but its very silent ;)

[theReal]

I always say: everything under 60°C is safe, everything under 50°C is very safe. Mine never went above 48°C under full load, when idle (never happens anyways!) it is between 41-43°C.
I have an Athlon T-Bird 1400@1512, 1.85V Core. It is still very quiet (Noisecontrol Silverado Cooler), only the two 8cm case coolers and the PSU make some noise...

[Zhnujm]

Originally posted by theReal
It is still very quiet (Noisecontrol Silverado Cooler)

do you use 6V or 8V for the silverado ?

[theReal]

I have the silverado connected to a potentiometer, but I give it at least 10-11V. I turned it to the highest setting that I couldn't hear while all the other fans were on (with the case open).

This is not totally quiet, but very far from all other setups -except water cooling- that are able to cool down an overclocked t-bird 1400...

[Zhnujm]

oh, thats much to loud for me (i use 6v and can hear it). athlons are cheap - lets burn them...