CPU running hot?

You have have a Pentium 4 and it is running too hot and too loud?

I myself have a 2.8Ghz Pentium 4 Prescott core CPU and it ran hot and wild which made me worried, but fortunately I found a solution and when I saw that many people have the exact same problem with their newly acquired P4 I decided I will make this page to help all those good souls.

What to do about it?

YOU DONT HAVE TO USE A 3RD PARTY COOLER! 90% of the companies who make 3rd party coolers are in much lower quality than the heatsink that Intel itself provides.

Instead, buy an Intel approved case.
Intel has made a recommendation of using an "Air duct" ATX case which has a hole in the left side of the case exactly where the CPU heatsink fan is, this hole has a tube which will allow the CPU heatsink fan to get fresh cool air directly into the cpu heatsink.

Intel support even made a video and a page explaining this.

How hot is too hot?

According to Intel Processor Spec Finder a 2.8E Ghz Prescott CPU max operational temperature is 69.1C I would guess that at that temperature the CPU is already throttling to lower speeds/cycles. Highest load CPU temperature must remain around the 60c to avoid throttling and overheat. Highest Idle temperatures should stay around the 50C.
Use the Intel Processor Spec Finder to find out what is the exact thermal spec of your CPU, but the difference between CPU's is small.
Download ThrottleWatch To find out if your CPU is throttling.

Where to buy?

Newegg sells those
I personally have this case My comp: Pic 1 Pic 2 My 2.8E Idle temps in Israel: Winter Summer
Intel Stock Coolers - If you need a replacement Intel cooler you can buy it here

How did you find out about this?

Those of you who bought the retail package of Pentium 4 will have a paper inside that explains what kind of temperatures the CPU is validated to operate, it will say that the inside case temperature must not exceed 38c.

It will also give you this website address: http://www.intel.com/go/chassis/ from there I found out about these cases which solved my problem.

Remember that if you have a problem with a device, among consulting forums, friends and etc, you should always consult the support of the device company.

Does this work for AMD processors too?

It should work for AMD processors. But, I have never personally tried.

Made by PeteRoy March 13, Copywrite 2005