Lock-Ups, and Heat Issues?

[RuM]

For about the past couple months my PC has been relatively stable. Now, more into the summer time when my room is rather hot, when playing demanding games like Counter-Strike Source I've been experiencing numerous lock-ups... beginning with my audio crackling, then finally drifting into a loud ring. Then everything freezes. Or, it just restarts on me. VERY annoying when a team depends on you for competitive play.

Best guess is overheating... I have stock HSF with AS5 on a 3700+ running at 50 C idle (reported by EVEREST)! It used to run in the low 40s... I guess room temperature is a big factor.

Blows me away I have to shovel out yet another $30-$60 so I can have a stable PC.

I did some research, and came up with this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118119

Should that prove adequate to get me back into stable grounds? Or should I go with the larger Zalman or the famous TT Big Typhoon costing $20+ more.

Oh yeah, and I don't overclock :-|.

[minsonngo]

That looks like it should be more than enough. You might also want to make sure your video card has adequate cooling. Games can put a lot of demand on it too.

[RuM]

Originally Posted by minsonngo That looks like it should be more than enough. You might also want to make sure your video card has adequate cooling. Games can put a lot of demand on it too.

Yeah also thinking of buying a new Zalman cooler for my x850 XT. The stock fan on that is horrendously loud anyways.

Makes me just wanna scrap my whole computer and start over. Just tested load temps on CPU and it's only 61 C.

I guess I'll just bite the bullet and shell out the cash =/. Anything else that could be done additionally for cooling or to just help with making my PC more stable?

[glc]

Get an air conditioner?

Make sure the innards of your computer are totally dust-free, this will help with cooling. Examine the case airflow - you should have more fans in the rear sucking air out than fans in the front or side blowing air in. Bundle and tuck all cables out of the way, compactly and neatly.