SPCR

I have had problems with my Soundblaster Live sound card for a long time.

I finally decided to remove it, and, lo, my temperatures dropped by ten degrees.

Queer, ain't it? Does anyone have similar experiences?

that sounds bit too extreme/odd. i removed my sound blaster audigy card just for the heck of it but cpu and motherboard temperature difference between before/after of sound card removal is 0... i can't think of any likely reason for your findings... other than some outrageous coincidence i can think of using the creative side of my brain.

did u have it right under the video card, maybe it was disturbing the airflow in the case or something?

Nope, it was crackling, so I tried three different spots, only one of which was below the VGA card. No differences in temperature.

I'm willing to bet this one was a bit defective. Maybe it *was* pouring out heat, or maybe it was interfering with my mainboard in some devious electronic way? Maybe it didn't like the onboard sound card, or maybe the onboard sound card didn't like it?

Maybe I'm glad it's gone.

sound cards don't put out much heat, they just block it from escaping

There is a thing called ACPI(Advanced Configuration and Power Interface). If your motherboard, bios and operating system supports it and the HLT(halt) command, it will tell your CPU to go to "sleep" while idling. It could be that your SB Live somehow disrupted it.