Whats a good temperature?

[Shadowfax]

I am trying to run a p3 650 at 866 or better
I got 845 but it wont boot past that, it also runs hot(i think)

Window 98 SE
Asus Cucl-C w/ golden orb(not great cooler but...)
Msi Geforce 2 MX(at 205 core/190 mem)
192 mb ram(no name) might be the problem?
Hard drive not too sure 19gig 5400rpm
SB live! X-Gamer

Note: This is the first system that i have built and my not have done it entirely right
At 650 and all default settings it runs at about 30C idle and 45C load
At 845 and ram at default it runs at about 32C idle and 48C load
(this is using Asus Probe program)

First i am wondering what is a safe (average) idle and load temperature for a pc like mine?
I am also wondering if anyone may have any suggestions on running my system cooler ?
And any suggests to help me reach my goal of 866 mhz?

Thanks[img="http://"]

[marty]

A good software cooler will likely keep you closer to 30-34 deg all the time.

Also for more overclocking success I suggest a heat sink like the Alpha PAL 6035. Don't get the Delta fan if you buy the Alpha. It is very very very noisy.

Even though your temps reported by the probes on the motherboard may make the system look cool, you need a better heat sink to get to the max your chip will do.

I found this out the hard way. I was running my 700 PIII at 840 for three months or so before I realized what a good sink and some thermal transfer paste would do for me.

Just switching back to the stock Intel heat sink brought me from 840 to 875. Adding some paste raised me to 910. Adding a bit more voltage and a new fan and Alpha sink raised me to a stable 933. I have also run tests on Wintune at 959MHz.

If you are running the CPU at 1.65 volts you may want to raise the voltage in small increments to 1.8 or 1.85 volts.

I have the nice folks on this board to thank for all the help I needed to get my system running faster.

[heavenly]

Hi , Get another tempmonitor , the asus probe is not reliabel !! Get a copy of Motherboard monitor 5.04.