Too many posts with stock settings. In my opinion they are useless. Also, what do you mean by load.

If we want good readings and reproductible results, some more rigour methodology is needed.

- NB voltage
- A quad core or dual core (quads will produce so much more heat)
- What OC setting people are running and CPU/SB vcore: it will increase mosfets and SB temperatures, and through the heatpipes, the NB will be less cool

In my opinion, you should OC your quadcore at 1.5vcore and your NB to 1.6-1.7v and see how it does. Anything stock or a C2D won't need watercooling the NB with the massive heatsinks. As soon as you extreme OC: that passive stuff will be limiting the NB.

I'm also daring about the mosfets, for sure passive cooling won't be enough.

That's my opinion, I don't have an X38, but hey, it is hotter than a P35 that already needed active cooling on high quad overclocks