Originally Posted by cyrnel

Prescotts are hot, but that's a little ugly.

The most common CPU temp problem has to be too much thermal compound. If more is used than required to fill the tiny gaps in the metals then it will insulate the junction and reduce efficiency. Bare metal to metal would provide the best conduction if the materials and surfaces could be perfectly matched.

A "grain of rice" is about right on a clean processor. Heatsink surfaces vary, so short of resurfacing it's sometimes better to leave the grain centered. Others work better if you spread the compound evenly. Try it centered first since that's where 90% of the heat transfers. If compound oozes out like a squashed PB sandwich it was way too much.

Start clean. Isopropyl alcohol on a rag helps remove crusty compound.

The other problem I've seen more of lately is people plugging the CPU fan into a temperature controlled case fan power source. That can mean your cpu fan is running at reduced speeds until the case warms up.