Been getting frustrated trying to keep my CPU cool. My computer is currently running with 4x 80mm fans in front, one on the side, a 60mm in back and and 120mm/80mm exhaust through the power unit. Not my favorite case, but it does alright.

I originally started obsessing about my computer's cooling when it started freezing due to overheating. I finally figured out about checking the CPU temperature and found that it was running at an idle 70C. Turns out my heatsink was clogged solid with dust. Cleaning up the dust brought my idle down to around 50C. I read up on it and decided that a passable idle temperature to strive for was 45C. Then I found out that my case had a bunch of fans that weren't even plugged in, so I turned those on, coupled with extensive cable management, a better power supply, and an additional side case fan, and I eventually got my idle down to 39C.

However, I found that attempting to watch full screen movies on my computer bought my CPU temperature up to around 68C and sometimes as high as 77C. My processor's "safe zone" is around 70-73C. Anything below that is considered tolerable. Going above that is bad news. I've been trying to figure out how to fix that, and I finally figured out that my heatsink wasn't affixed properly.

Redid the heatsink, now my idle is 34C and after two hours of watching full screen video my CPU's record high was 48C.

48C under heavy lode is really nice. Heck, that's about my old idle temperature on a hot day.