Idling at high temperatures OK?

[kumquat]

I have my X2 3800+ overclocked to 240x10 if that makes a difference to the question.

When I leave the fan settings to "Always On" in the BIOS, my idle temperatures are in the high-20s range. However, in the interests of keeping the PC quiet, I use "SMART control" to control the fan speeds automatically, and it tends to idle at around 38 - 40 with the current settings. Load temperatures are the same for both settings - about 48 - 50.

Is an idle temp of ~40C anything I should be concerned about? If it is, I'll invest in a bigger HS with quieter fan if I can find one for my QPack. If the answer is a resounding "no" I'll go about my merry way.

Thanks.

 

[Ebenol]

It's just a matter of noise vs temperature. An idle temperature of 40C is no problem at all.

 

[Esben]

My CPU idles 800 MHz at 52C with the fan off. For me, that's the optimal idle. I don't mind if my CPU only lasts 10 years.