Using standard thermal compound should not be a problem.

We would say that an average enthusiast will not leave the system untouched for its whole life span. Exchanging the motherboard, the CPU or the CPU cooler are likely tasks on the future to-do list for any geek. So we repeated our measurement with a standard thermal compound, since this is what your typical user would use.

The result is shocking, since both zone's temperature thresholds were exceeded. In addition to that, processor temperature exceeded the limit, too, which eventually caused the Prescott to throttle. This results in a performance cut and a reduced component life span.

The BIOS temperature display confirms what Intel's Active Monitor showed us: The temperatures in both motherboard zones are clearly over the limit!

THG Video 14: Prescott At The Thermal Limit

We put together a new video, documenting our tests for this article. For playback you will have to download the latest DivX codec at DivX.com .

Downloading THG's Video: Intel P4 560: Prescott at the Thermal Limit