Intel i7 960 processor temperatures normal?

I have just constructed a new computer with Intel i-7 960 processor and system specification as :
Nivida 8800 gtx x2 sli enabled
ThermalTake 1200w power supply
asus rampage 3 extreme motherboard
Intel i-7 960 quad core processor.
But problem here is that idle temperature approximately 50c to 56c on all 4 cores which are used. Tried many things after which the temperature is still idling the same through a rampage III extreme motherboard. I have not tried too much thermal compound since they came pre-applied in the system. Where as in similar type of cooling my other system idling at the temperature of 32c and when it is with full load temperature is between 42c to 50c. Because of this problem I have nearly lost 3 fans in alienware case still not able to understand why such idling is happening in the system that it so warm. If anyone having solution for it please do provide me with the solution.

I think there is something wrong with your processor which is creating such kind of problem. There can be some ventilation problem in your machine or the environment in which the system is kept is not suitable to work with such ventilation system. I think you should keep you system to proper ventilated place and you should also need to use a coolit systems eco liquid cooling which will surely resolve your temperature problem in your system. Try to resolve your problem with the help of the mentioned solution and let me know if there is any affect on your system processor.

I have not come across such thing happening because the standard reviews with an Intel I7 920 have 72 max loads with stock radiator fan and 55 with good substitute fan. You should make sure that you have installed the latest Intel chip set drivers and also turn on power management both in windows and your BIOS. Because with my I7 with the default BIOS and XP settings the idling is around 65C which reaches to 80C with max-load. This will surely help you to resolve your problem of Intel i7 960 processor temperature.

I was facing similar problem which have Intel i7 960 processor in it it use to get temperature something between 52c to 56c in idle position. I was very much fad up with the problem but as mention in above post just i have installed the latest Intel chip set drivers and turned on power management after which the problem does not appear. But here i wanted to know after power management enable there is any effect performance in gaming?

Yes it may affect the performance for games which are much older than 5 years old. Because the game is meant for hardware slower than your current system specification in this situation low power state it will not be noticeable. I am considering your system is and ASUS rampage as posted earlier and it supports ASUS EPU, which has a two click power management disable ability if you are running a game having an issue then can simply disable power management. You can try this which will be the best solution in that situation.