Computer is suddenly hot when games are running

[brittp30]

Recently my friend replaced his GPU on his relatively old computer. As soon as he did this his computer started to get extremely every time he starts a game. His motherboard idles at a consistent 61 C, his CPU runs at 60-70 or more when he is in game, and his GPU runs at 60-100 when he is in game. Is there anything he can do to fix these heat issues? I know nothing about fans or cases...

His specs are as follows (temperatures shown are idle):

Operating System
MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1

CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 @ 2.50GHz 50 °C
Yorkfield 45nm Technology

RAM
6.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 531MHz (7-7-7-20)

Motherboard
Dell Inc. 0K83V0 (CPU 1) 61 °C

Graphics
X171 (1280x1024@60Hz)
1024MB GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Gigabyte) 41 °C

Hard Drives
932GB Seagate ST31000528AS (SATA) 33 °C

Optical Drives
TSSTcorp DVD+-RW TS-H653G
KTUR AVOD27W9MJKD SCSI CdRom Device

Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

 

[Chairman Ray]

Are the case fans working? On most cases, there should be two or three fans. The fan in the front takes in air, and the fan in the back blows it out. The PSU fan should also take air from inside the computer and blow it out. Are these fans working correctly?

 

[ArcticWonder]

ALL those temps are high, not just the graphics card. Like Chairman Ray said, I'd check for case ventilation and maybe upgrade the fans because those are very high.

 

[geofelt]

The Q8300 is an older and hotter technology.
When the graphics card was replaced, it was no longer the bottleneck, and allowed the Q8300 to run full out, getting hotter in the process.

What to do?

First of all, perhaps nothing.
The cpu or gpu will downclock itself for protection if the temperature ever reaches damaging limits.
Added heat in the room might feel good this winter

Yes, the cpu idle temps are higher than normal.
One possibility is that the cpu cooler has come loose.
With the power off, and disconnected, try to wiggle the cpu cooler. It should feel solidly connected to the motherboard.
If it is loose, it would be a good time to replace it with a better cpu cooler.

Check the case, particularly the cpu cooler for dust.
See if your temperatures get much better if you run with the side covers off and a fan directed at the interior.
If temps become normal, you have a case cooling issue, and spending $50 or so on a case like an Antec 100/200/300 case will fix it.

If there is room, a $30 aftermarket cpu cooler like the cm hyper212 will nelp the cpu.