Ok so lately my computer has been getting major slowdowns when i have many programs open(like itunes+firefox and etc) it "lags" and the sound in itunes crackles and skips.

Now I checked the temperature of the processor, and it hit over 70 degrees Celsius :o
And i read about thermal throttling.

Also when i play games it slows down at times
but im thinking this is a heat problem

i might have put too much artic silver 5 on the processor die
(my processor is a pentium 4 prescott lga775 2.8ghz ht 800fsb)
and i put it on in a circular motion.

Should I clean it off and reapply it with a thin layer by spreading it out with the straight edge of a card and put it over the die equally?

ps. the rest of my case is at 40-45ish.

Could it be the power voltage? I have 420W, but its the power that came with my raidmax case.

so please help me out

thanks alot in advance

hello help, welcome to PCHF...


your temp for a CPU of 70C or 158F is running a little bit on the high side.. what type of cooling system do you have in your rig? is ur PC by a heater? you usually like your processor to be in the 50's to low 60s C or 130 to 140 degrees.

I have a freezer from artic cooling (lga775) copper bottom with artic silver 5. it isn't by a heater, its actually far from my vent. So I'm asking if I reapplied the thermal paste, with a lighter coat(first time i might have over done it) and maybe if i spread it with a straight edge would that help any?
cause when its just idling i think its around higher 50s to low and mid 60s, then when i load things it goes to 70 and even almost higher, which is when the thermal throttling kicks in?

thanks for the help btw

I would try to reapply the thermal paste , it should be as thin and smooth as possible , and still cover the entire chip.

well i reapplied the paste as little and as smooth as possible

which cooled not only the processor down, but also lowered the case temps

but i still get some slight lagging when i open alot of programs. could it be my power supply cause its not getting enough to the processor so it works harder?


thanks again

i would say this heat isssued is resolved, as for the lagging programs i would check the memory and malware/spyware issues.