9/20    Underclocking my CPU has been the best decision I've ever made since
        I bought my AMD last year. It was so hot, even when idling, that I
        had to turn on my AC to keep the room from heating up to 85 degrees.
        I have an AMD 2500+ (1800 Mhz, 1.7v) and after underclocking,
        it is now 1.1Ghz, 1.1v core and is as cool as my friend's P4
        3GHz. I just reboot and regular clock again when I play games.
        BTW I'm never buying another AMD.
        \_ Is it just me or does this sound highly implausible unless you
           have a multi-cpu with really big fans blowing out of the case?
           I mean, come on, it's pretty much thermodynamically implausible
           that one CPU is going to heat up a whole frickin room to 85
           degrees. Did you flunk physics or something? If what you say
           is true I can cool my room by opening up the door to my
           minifridge.
           \_ I had two AMD machines that were so hot they were overheating
              the room and then shutting down.  After underclocking them
              the problem went away, but the room is still noticably warmer.
              \_ So in other words your AMD machines were overheating because
                 the room was too hot, which probably means that the room
                 isn't good for running computers in, and basically has
                 nothing really to do with the design of AMD cpus. Folks,
                 you can't assume that you can run computers in a really hot
                 room, i.e. the second floor of a not very well ventilated
                 apartment during a heatwave. I've had stuff like drive
                 failures on laptops occur because of this. If your cpus
                 are failing at their rated speeds because the room is too
                 hot, that should tell you something about your computer's
                 environment...
        \_ You can get a 286 that will beat the pants off of your 1.1Mhz
           CPU, and it doesn't even have a fan!
        \_ What kind of shitty heatsink do you have? My 1.5ghz rarely goes over
           50C in the dead of summer; mostly 35-40C othertimes
        \_ Cooler than a P4 3 GHz?  This *isn't* really saying much.
           Also, I have an Athlon 64 3200+ (Newcastle), and it runs at 37
           degrees idle with the stock fan.
        \_ I have an AthlonXP1700 with a ThermalTake fan ($15, decent but not
           any overclocker-whizbang) and my CPUs usually 45, or 55 on a hot
           day.  If you're running at 85 that suggests either your CPU fan is
           badly clogged or failing, or you have terrible airflow in your case.
           Do you have any case fans?
           \_ I have a LOT of fans. My room is tiny, barely walkable. I have
              a 30w LCD so I blame everything on the AMD                -op
              \_ Case fans help keep the case temperature down, but help make
                 the room hotter.  You, your power supply and every other
                 component are more to blame than the CPU.  Open some windows
                 or get a 20" box fan to put in the doorway.
           \_ btw 85 is ambience temperature. My CPU used to run at 145F but
              now runs at 102F. My 1.1G is "as cool" as a P4, pathetic. Never
              buying another AMD                                -op
              \_ What kind of moron uses F for anything other than weather
                 and cooking these days? Get with the program and start posting
                 C, especially if you are a Berkeley alumni.
                 \_ Wuss.  It's degrees C or °C.  If you're a real man you use
                    K.  Remember that room temperature is about 293K.
                 \_ Morons like doctors and nurses use degree F for body
                    temperature these days.
                    \_  Please explain why that makes them morons.
              \_ Gah!  We're all talking centigrade and you meant Fahrenheit!
                 85F as a case temperature is not bad.  145F as a CPU temp is
                 a little hot, but not extreme.  102F as a CPU temperature is
                 very good.
                 If your room is getting up to 85F that sounds like a building
                 problem not a CPU problem.  You put out about 100W of heat,
                 your computer puts out 100-200W of heat and your monitor puts
                 out up to 150W of heat if it's a CRT.  Out of this 250-450W of
                 heat, blaming the 60W contribution of your CPU for making the
                 room hot is stupid.
                 \_ Why are the american pig-dogs still on the imperial
                    system?  Shouldn't they join the rest of the civilized
                    world and use SI and, you know, decimal fractions.
                    \_ Celsius is not the SI unit of temperature.
                       \_ Tedious twit.
                    \_ And Kyoto.  We need Kyoto to run our computers cooler
                       to prevent global warming.  This is another Bush
                       disaster that will destroy American credibility around
                       the world for generations to come!
              \_ My P3 runs hotter than your AMD.  Stop being such a crybaby.
                 I can only dream of the day my P3 runs that cool.  When I
                 turn it off it takes 10 minutes to get to your temps.
                 \_ This whole thing sounds like "Wah!  My AMD CPU is warm but
                    my friend says his P4 is super cool.  AMD = TEH SUCK!"