I've seen this happen with heatsinks and fans clogged by dust. If it's a combination heatsink and fan, it's easier to replace the whole thing than to try and clean it out once the dust has become compacted in between the heatsink fins. It's a good reason to periodically vacuum out your computer, especially if it sits on a carpeted floor.

bitflipper
I've seen this happen with heatsinks and fans clogged by dust. If it's a combination heatsink and fan, it's easier to replace the whole thing than to try and clean it out once the dust has become compacted in between the heatsink fins. It's a good reason to periodically vacuum out your computer, especially if it sits on a carpeted floor.

I use the leaf blower part of a shop vac. It works amazingly well at getting dirt out of heatsinks since it pushes a lot more air than a can does. Just need to make sure to put something in your fans so they don't spin up because they can generate electricity (not to mention ruin your fans if they spin too too much like that) which can damage your computer. I'm constantly amazed how dusty the inside of a computer can get.

I'm an old tech(Tektronix), so I have thermal compound in a little plastic container. I have all the cool chemicals!

BTW, with a new computer fan instead of the stock Intel, my avg temp dropped from avg of 57-64 to 47-54. And I didn't get a real fancy one, only $20 at Frys.

Man, I wish we had a Frye's here.