I know that heat, cooling and the CPU all link very importantly and significantly to eachother and that adequate cooling is vital for the CPU.

What i dont know and need to know however is what are the average 'normal', 'safe' temperatures for a Pentium 4 (2.8Ghz) to be running at for different tasks. My system has a CPU heat monitor, but the temperatures dont mean a lot to me as i dont know what is the highest a CPU you should heat up to without damaging it.

Could someone kindly tell me......

a. What should the temp be for normal, not-demanding tasks, e.g. internet browsing, MSN Messenger, MS Word running, etc.

b. what is the average to high temp for a CPU when playing demanding 3D games, and running applications alike. e.g. a game like Splinter Cell, Far Cry or Halo. 50 celsius? too hot?

Many thanks, this will really help keep my system performing well and to make sure i have enough cooling,

Thanks.

No, mid to high thirties for non demanding tasks for a P4 is normal, rising to mid 50° C for very demanding tasks, such as gaming is acceptable

If you are running this higher tempeature for anything other than intensive work then, i would lookat etter cooling options

Ok Thanks, so.....

NON-DEMANDING TASKS: 30-40 celsius
VERY DEMANDING TASKS: 40-55 celsius (e.g. far cry, Halo, games etc)

Just to make sure is that correctly summarised?

Please let me know, thanks for your help.

You summarised correctly