CPU overheat or PSU failure?

hi i'm experiencing some crashes while playing NFS Hot pursuit and The Saboteur. my screen goes black after playing for like 3hours? not sure tho. but it forces me to shut down my system by pressing the power button. the reset button wont even work. it's like nothing was happening whenever i press that coz the screen is still black.

after few crashes, i cleaned my CPU fan then i tried to play The Saboteur again. there's a part where you're going to ride a zeppelin, so while i was checking the view the game crashed again forcing me to press the power button then turning it back on. but this time, it's different because before my Windows boot screen appeared it was telling me the my CPU was overheating. right now my CPU temp is @ 51C.

do i have to change my CPU stock cooler? or just add some thermal paste? i've also read on an old thread here that they can adjust the overheat range of a CPU. is there anyway i can do that?

here is the thread:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] emperature

btw, this is my rig:
CPU: Intel Dual Core E6300 2.8ghz
GPU: inno3D GT240 DDR5
mobo: ASUS KPL-AM/SE
HD1: Seagate Barracuda 80GB
HD2: Seagate Barracuda 250GB
PSU: BBPHX Tech. 500W (this one comes w/ my CPU case XD)
OS: Windows XP SP3

is there a possibility that my PSU is the problem? it's just a generic PSU and that one was like 2yrs old. i've read on another thread that generic PSUs are weaker even someone advised me to change my PSU. lol.

http://www.techsupportforum.com/fo [...] 89579.html

thanks for your help

thanks for your advice.

IMHO its not the PSU. If it was I would imagine it wouldn't take 3 hours for your PC to crash and also add to that the fact that your motherboard finds that your CPU is overheating...
So I recommend removing, cleaning cooler and cpu surface adding thermal paste and then reattach cooler firmly into socket. If that doesn't work make sure fans are spinning properly.
Try a program like prime95 to stress CPU only and watch temps in the meantime. If it hangs after it reaches a certain point, then that is your cause.
Sometimes there's a setting in BIOS CPU shutdown temperature at which the PC shuts down (doesn't hang). This is found in health monitoring section in BIOS Usually.

If not come back here for further advice

I suggest you ran it as long as you see your CPU temp is rising... If it stabilises for 5-10 mins you can be more or less sure that it has reached its maximum.
If it reaches a certain maximum for quite some time and pc is still running good then quite possibly the CPU isn't overheating in games and something else is wrong. PSU ? Overheating GPU ?? Just test and report your findings so we can help.

You can get into BIOS when you just turn on your PC or rebooting it if already on and pressing a certain key, like DEL or F2. Usually there is info on screen when PC does the Powe On self test and shows RAM CPU type and speed etc. If you can't figure it out still check motherboard manual where there should also be more info on where to find settings and what they do.

Ambient temp shouldnt be a problem if you have good enough cooling. I live in Greece and indoor temps get close to 28-29 celcius and have absolutely no problem. Although i do have an aftermarket cooler and not a stock one.

Just try prime as it is now and then if is shows overheating problems then you can try improving case airflow (case fans) or add aftermarket cooler. It would definetely help if you were out in Alaska but i'm sure that's not a possibility

Tropical climate means that you may have to worry a little bit more for case airflow and CPU cooler.

yes you should have 2 workers when torture testing as your CPU is dual core then you should see some tests 1, 2, 3 of eg. 4K iterations etc etc slowly going by. I don't know this PC wizard thing you are saying, I personally use "CoreTemp" to monitor CPU temps in realtime. Nice and free. If those temps are legitimate then you do have an overheating problem. Open case and see if fans are spinning fast/slow and if heatsink is warm to the touch...If fans speed is OK and heatsink relatively cool reattach heating etc what we discussed before and rerun prime95

Yes please do, temps are really confusing here, you can also double check in BIOS your temps if you are fast enough temps should not go down so fast. Again in pc health monitoring section. I think the temp when u minimize is wrong as it is always 41 no matter if you are running prime or not. 100% load 41 degrees then ~10-15% still 41. Lets see what core temp shows

Yes now its time to throw some stakes inside your case and have a nice BBQ

I think you are definetely overheating, check what we discussed before about heatsink fans etc. You will have to open the case and be familiar with cooler mounting etc

heres what the sticker tells me.

before i cleaned the fan, i'm already experiencing crashes. lol. uhm after cleaning the fan, i ensured that all the locks are secured after placing it and i also checked the the fan was loose.

which one should i change 1st? the CPU cooler? or my PSU? can't buy em together ><

Fix this one with thermal paste and make sure it sits properly then get a new one if you see that your temps are not satisfactory or you have then money and you think its worth the upgrade. A nice PSU is good to have too and will protect and run your pc better

I second what noble suggests. It almost sounded like you said you didn't use thermal paste. I don't understand how you could blindly attempt to do something while assuming you know what might be causing some sort of problem, and then ask others how to fix the problem. If you are going to do something, do it right. In this case, I suggest that you look before you leak. If you are going to remove a cooler BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE MANUFACTURES INSTRUCTIONS AND DO IT CORRECTLY. If you want advice on how to not break your computer, I suggest you stop messing with it all together. You are probably doing more harm than good, find someone who knows their stuff in computers and ask them to fix what you probably broke.

if i can't find that brand, which of these brands can be my alternative?

Huntkey HK701 SLI 700w
FSP Epsilon Series 80PLUS 600w
FSP Supersonic Series 600w
Thermaltake LitePower Series 600w
CoolerMaster EXtreme Series 500w
CoolerMaster 550w Real Power SLI 550w
Acbel AB-R8II 550w 80PLUS 550w

sorry dude, i am really new to this kinds of stuffs. lol.

ok, ima go for the thermal paste 1st. thanks.
uhm btw, how do i remove the previous thermal paste? coz there are still some residues left on top of the processor.

wow i've seen that one pricelist too. but i'm confused coz it has to types of units. one is just the plain ST50F but the other one is modular. what's a modular PSU? thanks man!