well if you take the cooler off you will need to reapply thermal compound, so i would recommend dusting it as is unless you're looking to change the grease. the compound goes in between the GPU core and the cooler and i don't recommend just slapping it back on there after it's off.

CPU temperatures are that high!!! 77c on idle!!! Such temperatures may damage the processor permanently. Re-apply some TIM on the CPU and get an aftermarket HSF if necessary.

Also your GPU temperatures are pretty high on idle. The 9800GT is a card that runs hot but it shouldn't idle at anywhere over 60c.

I think you need much better airflow in your cabinet or all components may sustain permanent damages.

i got 234F yesterday after playing the game..

use a different os dude, win 7 or xp

also could be your sound card maybe, use onboard

CPU or GPU?

What do you mean?

the OS doesn't matter... and there's no way your CPU survived 234F, that's like ~112c! GPU maybe but most processors would fry exceeding 80c so I'm guessing that's the heat on your video card? you need to rebuild the cooling system or you're going to fry something...

@ EXCellR8 - I'm surprised he already hasn't. 90+ temps on a CPU from what the OP says in the above quote. That's why I wondered if that 234F was CPU temp!

234F was my GPU temp right after i got done playing COD.. all of my cores are at average temp its my GPU that's the problem.

i would recommend taking the heatsink off and cleaning it and the main chips with isopropal alcohol and then apply new thermal paste to the main chip and ram then put the heatsink back on and then install it in the system. then take riva tuner and turn the fan speed up to like 80% and see where your temps stand

he 9800GT is an ample solution for all of the games mentioned. If swapping the power supply doesn't solve the problem, I would recommend trying the card in another computer if you can. It's a bit strange that the card has worked in the system for a year and is just now having problems though. Was the 9800GT installed with the computer when you bought it or did you upgrade yourself?

i really don't know if it worked 100% when i first bought the computer because i only played counter strike 1.6 and that game does not need much of a computer to play the game at 100 frames..when i started playing newer games like L4D or COD i started noticing my game crashing, then i downloaded speed fan and saw that the card is over heating. As for the power supply i already swapped it for a better one. the problem is not my PSU it is my card over heating.