> My question: Does anyone know what the safe normal operation tempreture for this chip is? AMD lists the maximum die temp at 90C.

Bit hard to answer. The die temp will be quite a lot hotter than the case/heatsink temp, (as you know), and any chip will run happily while too hot to touch, so that is no guide.
OK, Searching research just told me that an ath 2.2 outputs (and therfore consumes - that's alot of current at 1.65V!) 67.0 Watts. Now to find the typical degC/Watt figures for a smear of heatsink goo

OK, another source lists arctic silver grease as having a rating of 0.0024degC/W, for a 1" square contact, which means that if the chip was emitting 1 watt of heat, the chip case would be 0.0024degC hotter than the heatsink.
Now we have, in an athlon, a 1/4 square inch contact area, so let's make that 0.01degC/W between the case and the heatsink. At 67 Wats, we have .67 of a degree. Now, from the die to the case we have more thermal resistance. This is fun.
I think it should be in the Tech docs, which I am getting Hold on...
Well, It Wasn't. hold on, it leads me to another doc, of which I have little further hope.
OK, Having read several MB or amd docs, I am pleased to report that they have not included that figure. However, the`Flip Chip' format means that the chip is bonded to the metal cap that we connect the heatsink too. So, much to my surprise, the die temp would be no more than 1 to 2 degrees above the temp of the base of the heatsink. Now Your turn.
See if you can find the deg.C/W figure for your heatsink. Multiply that by the power rating for your Processor According to the spec sheets, this is 51.0 Watts for a 1.8. Add about 2, no be safe(ish) 3 degrees. This will give you the difference between ambient case temperature and die temperature. (in degrees C). Add the ambient temperature, maybe make it 45 degrees if you are in a temperate or air-conditioned area. What's the figure like?

That is guaranteed to be far more than you wanted to know. If you know Ohm's law, it can be applied to heat too - Heat flows like electricity, and degC/W is like resistance - Got it? No? Never mind.

Rob `Hey, well I did ENJOY physics' bak