CPU Questions.

alright, i dont know a whole lot about processors, but.

i have a pentium 4 2.4 oc to a 2.75 all i have for cooling is the stock heatsink and fan, anyways i have had the computer for a little over a year and ever since ive had it the performance has been steadily declining. ive noticed that the cpu temperature has also been rising. when i noticed it was running at 175'F
i clocked it back down to 2.4 but the temperate remained the same and over time it got hotter, so i clocked it back up to 2.75 and the temp has climbed and climbed to about 180-190 im pretty sure that is terribly hot for a cpu and im running it into the ground. just thought i'd ask someone who knew... thx

 

If you havn't cleaned your case fan since you got your pc, i would do that first. Your cpu fan should be also checked for dust.

 

First off I agree with hammer1 on the dust issue. Heatsinks and fans can collect alot of dust and, without a doubt, cause overheating, which in turn can cause poor performance. Secondly, why are you running an overclocked CPU with just the stock HSF? That's not really a good idea. OC'ed CPUs produce more heat and the stock HSF isn't usually able to cope with it. Just a suggestion, but I'd find a better cooling solution for your CPU. Overclocking, heat and dust will shorten the life span of your CPU measureably.

 

you also might want to take the heatsink off of the processor and remove the thermal paste with isoproponal and then reapply thermal paste. Usually after awhile the thermal paste will go away.. espically on hot cpu's

 

ty very much all your advice helped much