Question : Problem: Computer freezing very often - probably due to overheating

Hello,
I recently got a new computer, as a gift, that was custom built. Lately it's been freezing very often. Usually after a few minutes of photoshop and/or dreamweaver use or even if I'm just doing things on the web and have a few windows open.

What I'm using:
OS: Windows XP Pro
Motherboard: Abit KV7
CPU: AMD Athlon XP 3000+ 2.19GHz
Graphics card: Nvidia Geforce fx 5200
Ram: 512Mb

It started in February when for some reason my graphics card stopped working and I had to get it replaced, which I did. Since then, whenever I put a little strain on the CPU, as mentioned above, my screen freezes and there's nothing I can do aside from pushing the reset button. Although, I still have the ability to open and close my cd/dvd drive by pushing that units button. The other day, I had a couple MS Word doc's open and I stepped away from the pc for a while. When I moved the mouse to wake it up, the login screen showed that I'm logged in but have no programs running. When I clicked on my user icon, it loaded and immediatly froze.

I have a fan on my cpu, one on my graphics card, one in the power supply, and one built into the wall of my case but am guessing they arent doing a good enough job. I checked my cpu temperature through boot-up and it was between 110-120 F. I have a little radiator fan that I have positioned behind the fan on the wall of my case (in fan mode, without heat) to help push air and it has been giving me longer time on my computer though it still freezes often. Am I correct to assume I need a better cooling system and if so, how many and what type of fans will I need? Otherwise, if its not my cooling system, whats wrong and how can I fix it?

Answer : Problem: Computer freezing very often - probably due to overheating

have you also made sure that there is thermal compound between the heatsink and processor and that it is not too thick?  


I like any of the Thermaltake Volcano series from 9-12.  not only for thier cooling power but they are fairly cheap.