athlon 64 too hot?

well i would have put this in the cooling section, but no one answers to it much sorry
anyways i was testing my chrismas present (an athlon 64 2800+) and a chaintech VNF3-250 mobo, and when i go into the bios, the cpu temp is around 45 degrees!!!
it was out of the case sitting on the ground!
i have a CNPS7700-AlCu and used the thermal paste that came with it
i have a feeling i might not have put the paste on right

any suggestions?

 

You may wish to test the board/cpu again with some airflow around the entire board. if it was on the ground, the ground was acting as insulation, maybe put some risers underneath it to get some circulation.

 

when i upgraded ... i kinna got a lil freaked out at 40c idle 50-5c load, for this system cause I was so used to getting 25-30c with my old rig

the only thing i could suggest it getting a thermalright w/ a Delta fan and use arctic silver or nanotherm

 

It also depends on the ambience temperature too but up to 45*C it is very normal for that CPU...even up to 55*C it will work fine (though better to keep it below 50*C) and 55* and over could cause problems...
'air circulation' is the key, make sure not all case fans are just blowing in or out, adjust the ones blowing in and the ones blowing out so it creates an adequate air circulation. Tidy up your cables and wires inside the case to create a more appropriate environment for the air circulation. Installing high-velocity, blower type 'side mount' fans in an available PCI slot does help quite a bit too but naturally will create more noise, bigger case fans would have a slower RPM but create the same air circulation too and also run quieter (a 120mm compared to a standard 80mm)....etc.

 

Currently running my a64 3200+ and my idle is 38c and load 42c ; idling at 45c sounds really hot. Do you know how to apply thermalpaste correctly? (ie cleaning surfaces with alchohol solvent, applying only paper thin layer etc...)

 

Yeah I was working on a A64 3400+ which ran on idle at about 35C. Under and hour of stress it barly broke 40C.

I suggest
a) using Arctic Silver and
b) following these to the letter: http://www.arcticsilver.com/instructions.htm