AMD processor max. temp

Try to keep it bellow 35 deg C.

Maximum operating temperature really depends on the model of the CPU, but AMD generally recommends 55-69°C. 35°C is more in the ideal operating range. I have a newer high end AMD CPU that is over clocked and normally operates at 35-40°C with an aftermarket heat sink. I've actually run older AMD Athlon CPUs for an extended period at 65-70°C with an OEM heat sink, and they did not burn out. I wouldn't recommend that unless you are testing with expendable parts.

Yes you are on the mark, I have built many AMD based machine an use third party heat sinks and fans, this machine is currently running a 3200+ at 2.2Ghz un over clocked. I use SANDRA Pro.to keep an eye on things under the hood.

Hey, I have a 3200+ too! Mine is at 53C because I have it running "Folding at Home" which does computations for medical research (protein folding). It's been running that hot every day for about two years now I think. It used to be about 8 degrees cooler, but the unique heat sink tends to catch a lot of dust (it has 200 some ribbed aluminum pins stuck into a copper base, and weighs almost a kilogram). I've been meaning to upgrade to something faster and more energy efficient... you know because those darned young people and their new fangled gadgets and loud music

Modern processors in general are made to withstand amazingly high temperatures (especially Intel. Some of their older mobile P3 chips were designed to run at 200 degrees F!!!). I've had processors literally start smoking and they still work. For any processor though, keep the temp below 60C, just to be safe.

Mmmmm... you seem to be a marketing guy!!

"designed to run at 200 degrees F" and "keep the temp below 60C"... it means: when you speak about what a great processor you use F... when you want to keep it safe, you talk about C.

Ha, yeah, well Intel says that for some of their chips, they are designed to operate at such high temperatures (and they use Fahrenheit and I use Celsius), but I would never actually let them get that hot, because that's just crazy. If you let it get that hot, you would be getting that "hot smell" from your computer.

And no, I'm not a marketing guy

Hi! I have an AMD XP 2000. I had it running at 1,66 GHz, and it was at 65ºC. After I took off all the dust it had inside the heatsink (a lot!) and I changed the lubricant (as I'm not english native, so I don't know if its called that way, I'm talking about the silicone product between the heatsink and the microprocessor itself), it's now running at almost 2GHz and at 45ºC.

I think you should take a look at the manufacturer's website for a datasheet about your specific microprocessor, but think that the lower the better (as a general rule).

Anyway, my motherboard has hardware temperature protection, and the lower I can set it up is 70ºC (so that we can think that lower than that is always safe).

AMD 3800+ overclocked on air: I saw 98C once for as long as it took to get a finger on the kill switch. No harm done. I ran at 40C on idle because when I ran f-secure on full scan Probe would report 68C. My RAM was ticked up 0.3 V and the Video card ticked up 0.2 V, short run at 130 fps, all out was 32 fps. The RAM was Corsair twinX PC3200xlpt 2.2.2.2.5. 1Gb at 1T. The CPU and ATI Card were on OEM fans. It was a very quick PC. It was number one in it's class on PC PitStop.

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One of the reasons I only buy AMD chips is that they can generally speaking run a lot warmer than I**** chips without getting damaged - eg. a bigger safety margin, but I don't use it as a matter of course.

The other reasons are that until fairly recently, you also got more 'Bangs for your Buck' with AMD. I am sure that will happen again too in the near future.

The last reasons are the to my mind unfair and it would appear sometimes illegal way that I**** have been keeping their market share. I am still waiting on the outcome of that chaos of a couple of years ago where it would appear that I**** was giving special discounts to keep AMD out of some shops and suppliers here in Germany. Its all gone quiet on the subject, but I will avoid I**** products anyway as much as possible....

I find that the AMD forums are chocked full of information, and opinions, on this subject.

http://forums.amd.com/forum/index.cfm?forumid=1