I havent forgotten this, just been a bit busy and have a few problems with $^#$^ cameras.

Should be able to get my hands on a camera that takes shots that dont look like soup in a few days at most.

Cool. Erm bad pun.
Still haven't got around to replacing the thermal paste as in normal use the temp is fine -- I really must though as any stress and the temperature skyrockets.
I don't suppose you know how fast the CPU fan ought to spin? Mine seems to peak just over 4000RPM but I've read accounts on the net of speeds over 7000RPM.
At the moment I feel like a Ferrari owner limited to 3000RPM...

Well, update is I replaced the thermal paste and ...
... a little better.

So, my advice to anyone who comes across this is twofold:
Make sure you have a well-vented case.
Don't buy AMD processors.

I wish I'd forgotten my principals and bought an Intel since at least I'd have been able to use it in a normal case. As it is I have to buy a water-cooled system just to run a VM or two. AMD's 60C maximum temperature is the biggest load of rubbish I've come across since I've been using computers.
Might just burn this out to see what it can do and hope the memory survives so I can buy a proper CPU.

61C TCase. That is NOT 'maximum CPU temp'. TCase is the 'temprature on the centre of the heat spreader', and core temps (which is what is reported) are always higher than TCase temprature.

Its not just AMD using TCase, Intel does as well. Intel current 4/4+ core CPUs have simialr TCase max temps as well (66-73C mostly, the higher the TDP the lower the TCase).

Annoying, but there you are.

Also, from what I've seen the reported temps under windows tend to be 5-15C cooler than the temps reported in the BIOS. If linux is is reporting temps the same as the BIOS, the difference between your 'hot' CPU and what you are seeing on the net is lower than you think, possibly nothing.

You can use FX CPUs in 'normal' cases.

Hardly...and if you do decide that you want lower temps, dont bother with watercooling unless you want to build you own custom system. The water cooling kits from manufactuers liek corsair arent any cooler than a decent airdcooler....which would be cheaper than the water cooling, and require far less stuffing around to fit.

Buying a well vented case isnt a bad idea, though some people might take that too far. You really dont need more than 2 add on fans in 95%+ of cases.

AMD CPUs are OK.

I can see why you are annoyed, but IMO you've become overly worried about reported CPU temps, without doing the digging into what TCase etc. really means.

Well, I've set BIOS to beep at 60C "CPU temperature" and that corresponds exactly to what I'm seeing in Linux.
It's possible I've a faulty part somewhere but the temp I seem to be measuring is the one which is supposedly estimated in AMD CPUs and every google search tells me has to be under 61C or my CPU will be damaged.
The same googling shows Intel to have a real temperature probe measuring it and a max temperature above 100C. The phrasing I've read is along the lines of "... people are used to Intel chips and letting the temperature go above 100C but with AMD you cannot do this as they are designed to be used at a lower temperature and that will damage them".
Perhaps I am overly fixated and worried but I cannot find a single source which tells me my CPU will not be damaged by running over 61C so I have the choice of not using my CPU properly or damaging it. As far as I can tell had I bought Intel this would not be the case.

As a follow-up to anyone who might be interested. I bought an Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 a few weeks ago and the change in CPU temperature is significant. I can now see which is the "estimated form the socket" temperature that always tends to read high and the "true" temperature that reads far too low until it's warm. I can now run mprime torture test and use Second Life without the "true" temperature going above 60C though now I'm wondering whether what I thought was the "true" temperature may not even be it and the one which seemed to mirror it is the real one and that's down at ~55C.
Anyhow, what I mean by that is I ought to have bought a real cooler from the get-go and not relied upon AMD's frankly pathetic and useless cooler which they state is required to protect your warranty. I am now happy I can use my machine without worrying the CPU is melting and I only use conky's temperature readout to get an idea of when I might have been stressing the CPU a bit and so I know whether a fan has failed.
[cross-posting to another thread I mentioned this on]