Is your CPU running as cool as it can be

I use special cleaner by the company that makes Arctic Silver heat sink compound.  It is a two step process, the first step cleans off the old heat sink compound and the second step prepares (purifies) the surface for the new compound.
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100010
 
I also use the Arctic Silver heat sink compound.

gustabo
With a Noctua cpu cooler sitting on my cpu, I occasionally get messages from my cpu letting me know it's cold, please turn up the heat...

+1
I have the D14 and it's an ice box. :))
 
Also, I leave my PC on 24/7 (per the DAW builders suggestion)......but do clean out all the dust bunny's inside on a monthly basis. 

TerraSin
Should also mention that i7 chips tend to run a bit hotter than i3/i5. Just the nature of the beast. If you're overly concerned about it, an aftermarket CPU fan might be the way to go though I've always found the stock fans to be more than sufficient if you're not overclocking.

The i7 Ivy Bridge CPU's are known to run hotter and when I built my current machine, the recommendations here as well as other forums were to actually get an aftermarket cooler as the stock cooler wasn't up to par in keeping it cool enough. 
Of course, I also planned on overclocking (and do overclock) my system......so that may have had some weight in their suggestions on using an aftermarket cooler. 

I've an Ivy Bridge and with a big Noctua cooler and a 140mm fan at 5 volts it's within thermal spec even after 15 minutes at 100%. Only other fan in the PC is another 140mm pushing air out of the top back of the case. The psu and graphics card are fanless and everything stays cool enough.

Giving the internals a good dusting out every so often helps though. As does trying putting the cpu fan beneath the cooler blowing outwards rather than on top blowing down towards the cpu. My current DAW is built that way and not only is cooling better than with the fan on top or blowing sideways but there seems to be much less dust buildup between the cooler vanes than in otjer PCs I've built which had the fan working the "conventional" way. PC cooling is worth experimenting with if you build your own or modify an off the shelf machine. Sometimes the conventional fan positions are far from optimal for noise or cooling.

It has to be said that more recent motherboards seem much better designed for quiet heat dispersion. The little high speed fans that used to be stuck on motherboard chips were dreadful noise generators. Component and PC manufacturers also seem to be paying some attention to keeping noise down these days (at last).

The hottest running cpu I ever had was a P4. Those things really drew some watts and gave of a great deal of those watts as heat. The Ivy Bridge is cool running in comparison. The noisiest PC I've ever heard was an off the shelf gaming machine a friend's son bought. Translucent case, everything lit up with LED chains inside and (count 'em) 14 90mm fans going flat out. Sounded like an airliner starting down the runway and it still ran hot. The case design was simply dreadful for airflow.

Thanks Sycraft......I've been thinking of what to use to clean out the fans inside....this might do the trick. How long does "Derpy" generally last?

Mesh: Do you mean per use or total? Per use it lasts as long as you like. Though it is perhaps not clear from the pics it is an electric vacuum (just has the intake and exhaust reversed form a normal vacuum) and runs on 120v line power. It goes until you turn it off. If you mean total life I can't say, we've never broken one. 10 years or so I'd imagine.
 
slartabartfast: WAY more effective than cans. With its large attachment, the long one you see sitting on the ground in the second picture (which looks like a big nose and earns it the derpy name) it has a higher pressure than the cans generate at their peak, and of course do so over a wider area. It's performance does not degrade as cans do when they get cold since it is just a blower. It maintains peak output 100% of the time. It is enough output that the smaller nozzle you see has an opening in the top to lower the pressure.

I am a big fan of blowing the dust out. You will get much more dust out that way.  All the hidden dust a sucking vacuum does not get to is left behind.  I put the computer down sideways out on my driveway outside on a soft blanket.  You can see what looks like an explosion of dust that rises like a giant nuclear cloud.  With the light out there you can see what you are doing much better too.
 
It is important to stop all fans turning when getting in real close with the air. The air will make the fans turn at speeds far faster than normal.  It could damage them.  They are easy to restrain.  I remove fans from the computer chassis and clean both sides.  Much more dust comes out.  I use a very soft brush on the end of a long handle in conjunction with the air to clean the fan blades.  I also remove the CPU fan from the top of the CPU heatsink and give that all a great clean out too. Tons of dust gets jammed down inside the CPU heatsink itself.  Sucking may not even get to it or move it but power blowing certainly does.
 
You need the right tool for blowing.  Air compressors can be too strong and easily damage delicate internal components.  Reversed vacuums are often not strong enough.  I have found a great product here that is mains powered and had a range of attachments.  It blows normally but can be reversed to suck and it makes a fine vacuum too.  I use it more so for blowing air.  Because of the variable ends you can attach, the air flow can be varied too. On the end of a little hose too you can get into nooks and very tight areas I bet the large powered can type device may not.
 
http://www.godfreys.com.a..over-flow-blower-vacuum
 
The air flow can be pretty damn fast too when needed.  Fast and powerful enough to even clean out the dust that gets buried in your power supply and that gets full as well making it less efficient.  You don't have to take the power supply apart.  Just focus the air in through the various fan openings etc and it all comes out the other openings too. Sucking would never remove that internal power supply dust.
 
My computers always look pristine after cleaned out this way.  I made the investment in the machine because I have four towers that all take in various amounts of dust in various locations.  Synthesisers can get quite dusty inside too and this comes in handy for them as well.
 
My OP was not so much about improved CPU cooling as such.  Although the discussion on cooling CPU's always interests me a lot. After removing and cleaning the fan I was able to easily unclip the heatsink from the CPU core and that is when I noticed the poor thermal grease there. I cleaned and re applied some new stuff and as I said the CPU temp has taken quite a nose dive.  The dust in the heatsink would not have helped either if you think about it.  No air flow around the fins.  And the dust would warm up the heatsink as well.  Not cool.
 

Mesh
Thanks Sycraft.....yeah, I didn't realize there was a power line and thought it like a pressurized can or similar.
While we're on the topic and thinking out loud....wouldn't it be better to have small device like this that vacuums the dust/dirt from the case rather than blow it everywhere? (less of a mess to clean??)

On account of how pressure works in these situations, no. With a blower, you can get good movement on things even from some distance away. With a vacuum you have to be right next to it. Try it some day with your vacuum: Stick your hand near it and notice how close you have to get for any real suction, then compare that to a fan (or the vent on the vacuum). Blowers do a better job.
 
That said, I usually fire up the vacuum and/or a HEPA filter to grab all the dust that gets blown around.

CPU temps are usually monitored in the bios before you actually bootup into Windows. You need to get into your bios and you will find it in there. There are programs and free ones too that you can install under Windows and also get that info.
 
It would have been good to do a reading before and after your clean but at least once you do find you CPU temp, do some research and make sure it is within range and not at the high end of the range.
 
Sounds like you did some good there. You have got me thinking about my laptops now. I have never thought of opening them up at all!

I use this tool for temps and checking drive health
http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php
 
The sensors are not always correctly identified.  I especially like it when HD is listed as -999.
 
I have had to replace fans in laptops. Not a pleasant task. Using the small paint sprayer compressorto blow through all the holes usually works. But I the fins can become clogged. And fans can be stopped by dust piles.
Mostly these problems occur from actually putting the computer on laps and other surfaces without using a hard surface between the computer bottom and the cloth. When not sitting a t a table I use a clipboard to elevate the openings, and to prevent sucking fibers.
 
This past week I disassembled a client's laptop. Looks like a bad MB. took at least 30 minutes to get the thing apart slowly, finding and noting all the connections, and fighting with some of the little dudes, and hidden screws.
 
I recommend to not disassemble unless you havta.