CPU idles between 45-55 Celsius (when others have reported that this CPU should run about 40 celsius on max load.

System temperature is also high at around ~40 Celsius.

The graphics card temperature is 42 Celsius.


These numbers are all at idle, I haven't put a load on this system yet.


Coolermaster Centurion case, coolermaster 550 watt PSU, pentium 4 3.6 ghz cedar mill, 7800gt, asus p5wd2 mobo, all stock cooling. Even with stock cooling people "report" significantly cooler temperatures.

None of the heatsinks feel hot to the touch. All fans are spinning.

Have you opened your case, and cleaned out the inside, lately?
If not, here's a tutorial that should help.
Cleaning the Interior of your PC

Are you getting the reported readings from your BIOS, or do you have temperature sensors placed inside your case? Sometimes mobo's reported temps aren't always spot on. I just use Asus Probe which reports my CPU at 45C HSF@1300 rpm's; mobo at 40C and my 7900GT at 50C. I have 4 120mm fans and even on load, these temps rarely change. I wouldn't sweat it.

how do you tell how hot your cpu is?

Are you sure that's celsius and not centigrade?

Download, install and run Everest Home:

Everest Home Edition (the successor of AIDA32) is a system information and benchmarking tool with full hardware & software information available as freeware for the individual user. It comes with a built-in hardware database and physical information for CPU, motherboard, hard disks, optical drives, chipset and much more. The information can be displayed on-screen, printed, or saved as a report in HTML or text format. The built in diagnostics module can help you find potential problems, by highlighting them in the report and also includes links to manufacturers web sites, driver updates and more. An easy to use report wizard allows you to create detailed reports in the format of your choice.

Get version 1.51 which is the last freeware version that includes the software module which lists all software installed on your computer and provides all the license key numbers – a great tool which has been deleted from all successive freeware versions.

Download here from the Utilities section:
http://www.oldversion.com

See what it says your temps are.

Surely a 3.6GHz CPU (Pentium especially) would run a fair bit hotter than 40°C on max load!! Mine (3.0GHz P4) would crank out about 62°C before I got a Thermalright SI-120 aftermarket cooler (which also has a Panaflo 120mm fan).
It may have something to do with ambient temps - the room my PC is in wasn't the coolest (temp wise) and I had 120mm intake, 120mm exhaust, stock cooler on CPU and VPU, and an 80mm over the CPU in the case side.
Now (with the newer cooler, and much better cable management to stop airflow problems) my CPU idles between 35~37°C and maxes out around 52°C (depending on the weather). Nothing over 55°C anymore.
I don't have a temp gauge on the VPU, so I would only be guessing. However that used to go to the VPU recovery console (ATI cards) every five minutes. Only after investigation did I find it was overheating. Put on an ArcticCool a/m cooler, and now there are no problems.....

Where are you getting your reported temps from "others"? It may be that they're just bragging and it may not be all that accurate.

My 3.0 gHz P4 runs at about 53º C - and that's with a SP-120 type cooler and cooler room air ducted straight onto it.

I'd say that you're at the normal range for that CPU - although the room temperature may be affecting the temps to some degree.

Also, have you considered another CPU cooler (and some Arctic Silver) to help with the CPU temps? If you're using the stock Intel unit - it's really not very effective if you're going to push the system.