[NobodyFresh]

Ok I seem to be having a problem keeping my CPU cool. Its running at about 51*C (while playing a video game), and i'm trying to track down why its running so hot.

My Specs:

Rosewill RP550-2 ATX 2.01 550W Power Supply
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Manchester 2.2GHz Socket 939 Processor
EVGA 256-P2-N612-TX GeForce 7600GTS 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
ASUS A8N5X Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard
APEVIA X-Gear ATXB5KLW-BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer
160 GB Seagate Barricuda HD
2 GB RAM Kingston HyperX
3 Case Fans
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler

I figured adding the new heatsink/fan recently would help keep it cool but it really didn't do anything. I didn't put any thermal compund besides what came with the heatsink/fan, maybe thats why?

I have a fan on top/side/rear of the case do I need to add one to the front of it?

Any other suggestions? I'm kinda stumped, I thought the new heatsink/fan would drastically reduce the temperature but it seems to be the same with it.

Any suggestions? Help?

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51 degrees for that processor under load is nothing to worry about.
51 degrees under idle might be be something more to worry about.

[Neil Jones]

51 degrees for that processor under load is nothing to worry about.
51 degrees under idle might be be something more to worry about.

[NobodyFresh]

So under a heavy load 55-56*C is acceptable? At idle it runs about 37*C.

[Neil Jones]

Processors are designed to run happily at high temperatures, in fact they will quite happily run at over 80 degrees for a stint if needs be (if a computer ever idles at 80 degrees you have serious issues). Idle temperatures are dependent on the seasons and the state of heating of the environment, by virtue of common sense the idle temperatures will be higher in the summer than they would be in the winter and therefore the load temperature would probably be off-set by the same amounts give-or-take a few degrees.