Computer keeps freezing, is it my PSU?

[Paladuck]

1) Several days ago I heard a loud clicking noise coming from my computer. After manually stopping all the fans I determined that it was coming from my PSU. According to NewEgg reviews, my PSU (Cooler Master 650W) is known for having fan failures after 4-12 months.

2) The noise varies in occurrence, sometimes getting louder, sometimes softer, sometimes disappearing all together.

3) I took out my PSU and put it back in. In the process I accidently dislodged my CPU fan and had to put it back on. I got some thermal paste on my hand in the process. I started monitoring my CPU temp but all the cores stayed around 24-34 degrees C

4) Just now my computer started freezing. No error messages, no restarting, just straight up freezing, 1-10 minutes after startup. Is this consistent with PSU failure or could it be something else? I want to make sure that I didn't screw up my CPU somehow.

Thanks for the help. I just dropped a lot of money into my computer and I don't want to accidentally fry it

CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Extreme CPU X9650 @ 3.00GHz (4 CPUs)
RAM: 4GB
GPU: Sapphire HD4870 1GB
Mobo: ECS Black Series P45T-A LGA 775 Intel P45
OS: WinXP
PSU: Cooler Master 650W eXtreme Power RP-650-PCAR

 

[dokk2]

If it were me there two things that I would try,boot to either Dos or some form of 'nix
os from either a floppy or a cd and see what happens after a few minutes,,if the problem occurs then it might be safe to conclude that it is hardware related if not then it is software related,OR 2,,just reinstall from windoze right over existing,maybe it is software related,could be some file got snafued..

 

[daship]

You are probably over heating if you didnt clean and reapply thermal paste.

If you knocked it off it wasnt on right, or you hit it so hard you probably screwed uo the motherboard.

 

[Paladuck]

You are probably over heating if you didnt clean and reapply thermal paste.

If you knocked it off it wasnt on right, or you hit it so hard you probably screwed uo the motherboard.

I guess I misstated it. I didn't really "knock it off" forcefully, it was more like me trying to pull the PSU applied so much pressure on the CPU fan that it came off. In any case my core temps were still normal when the computer was crashing.