overheating :(

Hello /comp/, im having some motherfuck serious overheating problems.You see my computer just recently started overheating out of nowhere right now my temp is a steady 60-70 celcious and i don't know how the fuck it's this high.I have a p4 1.6Ghz, 1gig DDR ram and a radeon 9600xt 256mb and i have a mid-size tower.My Power supply is 250w and i don't know what the hell is the problem, did my CPU go haywire? did my motherboard go bad? did my video card go crazy? do i need to upgrade my Power supply? how would i know which is the problem without having to go to best buy and spending $80 for just having them look at my computer.Also i have a i845d motherboard


Thanks..

ps i posted this in /g/ and they told me to post it over here, so yeah..

Well, first of all, check all the fans in your box. There should be some intake fans, a fan on the CPU and video board, perhaps one on the motherboard. There are also fans in the power supply, make sure they still run. While you're at it, clean the dust off the air intake filters (if there are filters). You can simply try running your PC with the case open. If that solves the overheating problem, something's wrong with airflow in the case.
Next step is to make sure that the CPU heat sink is still properly attached. If it seems loose, you need to unmount it, clean the base of any residues of thermal compound, apply new compound SPARINGLY and re-attach the heat sink. If you have never done this before it is a good idea to have someone do it who knows what I'm talking about.

well i have 3 fans, one for the oower supply, one for the video card, and one for my CPU which stopped working.It's not moving at all.

>>3

Yeah, if your CPU fan died, that'd do it.  Stop running your computer and replace it.  And be glad you don't have an AthlonXP of similar generation to your P4, 'cuz it probably would have damn near cooked itself by now.

Note-- If you aren't familiar enough with your computer to have already checked the fans when this problem occured, I recommend dropping the extra $20 and having a professional install the new heatsink/fan for you.  It'll make your life easier, and $20 really isn't that much in the big scheme of things.