After months playing without problems, suddenly Et started chrashing after approx 15-20 minutes in game.
I installed some software to monitor memory and temperaturez and astuff, now I have noticed that at the moment that myCPU reaches 58°C, ET crashes.
What can I do about this? except buy another cooler :s
Is this something in ET? Or a security in Windows XP?
Specs :
Athlon 2500+
Hercules 3D Prophet 9200 SE
1gig DDR@400mhz
try to tace of the side casing to improve ur airflow… and yes buy a new cooler… 58 is pretty hot…
sides are open, but the problem is I live under a roof (dakappartement om het in t nederlands te zeggen :-))
With all the sun for the moment, it is hot in here.
My goldfish are almost cooked :s
Well… shall buy a new vent, and some big ones for in the case
58C is a little hot, but no CPU should be crashing or causing errors at that temp - that is, if that is an accurate temp reading… Lots of motherboard dont give anything like an accurate reading, and then there’s the variable reliability of the software interpreting it.
If it’s still crashing with the side off, either the heatsink is crap, it’s installed improperly or it’s really hot in there. Assuming temps are the problem, I doubt better case fans will help if it’s crashing with the side off. First off I’d try reinstalling the CPU heatsink to make sure it’s on properly and that the old paste hasnt dried out (mind to use only just enough quality paste, like Artic Silver 5) and if thats still no help try a huge quality HSF like those from Thermalright, and get a 80mm fan on it with variable speed, so you can run it fast in the summer and a have it a bit quieter when its not so hot. If you stick something insane on it like a Tornado or Delta fan then dont plug it into the motherboard as they draw rather a LOT of power.
What mobo and 'sink do you have on it atm?
Uh-oh, 58 is hot?
I’m using MBM5 and it regularly averages around 70 degrees celsius for the CPU.
It does crash ET if I leave it like that, but taking the side of the case keeps it ‘low enough’ so I can play without crashes.
I think my solution will be to get a new case because this one is too small for all the crap I have on it (plus no vents for front fan to suck air in).
But it still runs fine generally, and it’s still within the operating specs for the chip.
Most of the Athlon XPs are rated for a maximum die temperature of 90°C, and the temperature probes are most often on the motherboard itself (so they’re not measuring actual die temperature.) Measurement accuracy vary so wildly from system to system that I consider anything over about 55°C “way too hot.” I don’t have temperature figures handy for other CPUs, but they shouldn’t be too difficult to find.
Part of the accuracy problem is that the sensor chips commonly in use report a raw number that needs to be adjusted into something useful. For example, the chip used on my motherboard (Winbond W83697HF) has an ADC that isn’t capable of dealing with voltages over 4.096V, so the +12V, -12V, and -5V pins need to have resistors tied to them, plus there’s a resistor on the reference pin for the temperature inputs. Assuming your motherboard manufacturer used the recommended resistor values for everything, you’re fortunate–you only have to deal with any intrinsic error in the thermistor and any error caused by placement (e.g. the probe-under-the-cpu style which seems to be common isn’t going to get you the die temperature, although it should give you a rough idea.) If your motherboard manufacturer used different resistor values and whatever you’re using to read the sensor data doesn’t account for that, all bets are off. The W83697HF datasheet, linked above, has some of the nitty gritty details (PDF page 26, manual page 22) for the curious.
If your BIOS shows sensor readings, that’s generally a decent benchmark of whether whatever software you’re using to read the sensors after bootup is showing sane values. The values shown have been known to change between BIOS releases, though, so even that may not always be accurate.
FWIW, I have an Athlon XP 2100+ that usually runs at about 35-40°C idle and 45-50°C under full load (assuming it’s around 25°C inside, i.e. my air conditioner is working. :D)
I should imagine mine runs hot for several reasons:
Obviously ideally I’d get a new MB (it’s just crap anyway), new fan / heatsink and a new case (already got a few spare fans but nowhere to install them to).
Sadly, cash ain’t available, so it’s open-case-watch-out-for-the-kittens scenario when playing ET for now 
thermal paste comparison-
http://www.ocprices.com/index.php?rev_id=128&page=4&action=reviews
hard to find Shin Etsu:
http://www.chillblast.com/customer/product.php?productid=356
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/tai-sol/shing7thergr.html
another thermal paste comparison-
http://www.dansdata.com/goop.htm 
I really would not bother with shin etsu, its not noticably better than any other quality paste and is a right fucker to apply properly. There’s some laughable reviews of shin etsu showing load cpu temps below ambient, one of which i checked the author’s name and found him to be moderator or something on chillblast forums.
Stick with Artic Silver 3 or 5, easily found high quality paste and easy to apply.
I used the retail heatsink and it’s included thermal pad (You know, the thing most reviews clean off and never compare). The cpu is 34°C as I type this.