How much should core temp deviate from room temp?

[GreatwoIf]

I'm trying to determine whether I need to reapply the thermal paste or reinstall the heatsink because the temp feels a little high for me. Here's the setup:

AMD XP1800+ @stock
Antec Clone SX1000
Abit KX333r
Thermaltake AX-7 w/ 41CFM fan w/AS3
Crucial 256 PC2100@2.5CAS for now
VisionTek GeForce3 Ti200 64megs
Philips Acoustic Edge
NetGear NIC

The room ambient temp is currently about 30c (since I'm in nyc, last few days room temps has gotten to as high as 36c). The onboard diode shows case temp to be 34-35c and the cpu diode reports the core temp to be 45c -- a 15 degree difference compared to room temp. After running prime95 and a few other benches for several minutes, the load temp goes up to 48-49c -- almost a 20 degree difference. This is the standard expected temperature for such a set up? I'm going to investigate on the airflow in my case and see if anything could be improved but I would like to know if there's anything I should do on the cpu/heatsink part like reapplying the paste, reseating heatsink, etc. What kind of core temp deviation do you guys get compared to the ambient temp your rig's in?

Oh yeah, I also got 2 exhaust fans and 2 intake fans in the case w/ intake at 30CFM and exhaust a little bit higher then that.

Thanx

 

[GreatwoIf]

This deserves a *bump*

 

[PCHPlayer]

Your temperatures are excellent. No need to change a thing. My case runs about 5C above room temp and CPU temp is about 12C over case temp while idle and about 16C during load.

 

[Gene396]

You temps are OK. I find that case usually runs 5C over room and CPU is another 10C more. Most people will agree that above statements are "in the ball park." I sometimes get a larger spread. Look at your temps; they generally fall in this range. Your problem is room temps are high due to no air conditioner. If you start with room temp of 36C and add 15C you get 51C -- a little high due to high rooms temps.