Can't get lower temps with 3200 winchester, MSI NEO2 Plat, XP-90

Okay, so it has been a couple of weeks since I installed the XP-90 on my 3200 winchester in an MSI NEO2 Platinum board. I used AS5 and put a dab in the middle and installed the HS.

My idle is around 35-38 and my loads are 50-55. My case temp is usually around 27-30. Should I be worried? I have not OC'ed at all. The fan is a Panaflow 92mm M1B blowing down. I see some people with sub 30 idles and sub 50 loads. Should I be worried?

Those are about the same temps I get with my A64 3200+ (90nm) and the same XP-90 and Panaflow M1A on an Epox 9NDA3+.

reapply as5, spread it out even and very thin with razor and see which is better

What's the room temperature? Case Temp? There are some other factors to consider. If your ambients are kinda high, I'd expect a simiarly high idle/load temp for your CPU. One can always try reapplying your AS5 (Or whatever compound floats your boat) and seeing if it makes a difference. How is the airflow in the case? Is it even in a case? Either way, those temps are well within spec - but with a XP 90 I'd probably hope for a bit more. Also, keep in mind that MB monitors aren't necessarily 100% accurate - I'm not sure on the MSI board, but I believe I've heard up to a 5° difference in reported and actual temperatures. If you're really concerned (And I wouldn't be), find a friend with a good heat probe or pick one up yourself and measure temps yourself with a calibrated instrument.

Hope this helps!

My room is around 70-75. My case temp is usually 27-30. I have tried the thin layer of AS5 and I get the same temps. Airflow in my case is okay. I have an Antec p160 case with 120mm in front blowing in, 120mm in the back blowing out, an Antec Neo with a 120mm fan sucking out, an eVGA 6800gt with NV5 silencer blowing out (67 under load so its nice). That is all the airflow I have in my case - no side fans, no blowholes - silence is key.

Well, if my temps are within specs, then I won't worry about it. However, I did want to OC this thing to 3500 levels. How hot can I expect the CPU to get at that level? Is it doable? I have 2x512mb of Corsair XMS C2PT.

People don't always list their ambient (or room) temps and this can be the difference between different CPU temps in many cases... My stock temps at idle were around the same as yours but load were slightly lower (47C IIRC). OC'd to 2.3GHz my idle temps are anywhere near 42-45C and load anywhere from 46-49C. It almost never spikes to 50C from what I've seen of my stress tests (with the video card running rthdribl and Prime plus an MP3 running).

Case temp is usually at 26-29C as read by the mobo which is pretty close to my room temp I'd guess... Super Lanboy with two 120mm fans. Weather here is 73-82F (23-27C, doesn't really go into the low 70s until night/early morning; no AC here, tropical island, high humidity, concrete walls so maybe even a lil' hotter inside the house).

I was actually about to start another thread to see if mine were a bit too high compared to other Winchesters + XP90 but I guess this'll do. My temps should serve you as a good guide of where yours will fall once OC'd as well. I'm still working on getting it to 2.4GHz but I don't think it'll happen, keeps locking up at that speed and I've tried just about everything (still got to try very low, near stock, vcore and a high HT which goes against the common advice but it's worked for some).

You can try pumping up the FSB, I think to a 3500+ level that you'll be fine, you really don't want that CPU going over 60° ideally, and 50sh is where you'd like to see it. I'd be careful with pumping up the voltage to reach higher clocks. Also consider the possible temp difference in reported/actual temperature - a good thermal probe could really help here. Like I said before, I don't own a MSI board, but I know for a fact that many mobos have skewed temperature readings - I'd look into this more, as you may not be running at those temps. Either way, it shouldn't hurt to attempt to OC it and see what kind of temps get reported.

For reference, I'm getting between 27-31 idle and up to 45-47 load, but it's winter here and we leave the heat off to save on electricity (Yay college!), so YMMV.

One thing you may want to check (And I'm sure you have, but better safe than sorry) is how your CPU fan is powered. I would not plug a high CFM fan into the motherboard, even with a good PSU. I'd use a 3pin-> Molex adaptor and just have the RPM lead going to the motherboard. If it's hooked directly into the mobo, consider switching it out and seeing if the RPMs on the fan jump - if so, then you're looking good, the fan wasn't getting enough juice to run full speed. Another thing you can try to lower temps is lapping, but only if you're majorly concerned and you've temp probed the CPU for accuracy.