The load temp should be below 55°C and the idle temp should be below 45°C
for stable operation of your entire system. The CPU will most likely work
at temp up to 65°C without memory errors but that does not mean that other
systems such as the north and south bridge chips on the motherboard will
operate error free at those temps. If you look at your motherboard you will
see a heatsink on the north bridge chip directly below the processor. If
the processor is getting hot then some of that heat will dissipate to other
components such as the memory modules and mother board. If you can keep it
cool the system will last longer and run error free.

If I were you, I would buy a CPU heat sink (copper) and replace the current
case fans with an adjustable fans such as the thermaltake smart fans which
can be manually controlled. Also remove the metal case fan covers with a
demal tool or tin snips to increase fan air flow through the case. If you
need to you can cover the fans with a standard fan grill. Total cost is
~$50.00 for 2 adjustable high volume case fans and a good solid copper CPU
heatsink such as thermaltake volcano 12 or thermalright 800.

"Jody Pellerin" wrote in message
...
Today has been really hot here and my CPU temperature is at 56 C and it's
not even under load. It's a P4 2.8C HT. P4PE-X motherboard.
What would you guys say the safe range for temperatures are for my CPU?
What
is the danger zone?
Thanks in advance!
Jody