Ok, so I get this stupid idea to try my old P4 in my machine currently running Celeron D (I know - lame...). It didn't fit, so I took it back out, re-atached everything etc. Now my CPU fan is spinning like its never done before!

I can't get to the bottom of the fan business. It's actually helping my computer stay cooler in general, but is a bit noisy.

Anyway, I asked about the CPU elsewhere, and was told that I needed to apply more thermostatic paste. I did that this morning and guess what? It made it run around 20 degrees hotter!?! After the system knocked itself out, I decided to try again, this time applying more (God knows why). Hurrah it's now working... But at around 75 degrees idle!!! Is this natural for a Celeron D clocked at 3.2 ghz?

I played a game (Dark Messiah) afterwards. Before my pc was ok with this - I could run it maxed no trouble, but now it keeps cutting off. After starting the pc again I ran a test and found the temperature had risen to a whopping 115 Degrees - cmon this is bad for a Celeron!

I'm thinking about taking the PC to someone who really knows what they're doing, but before I do, I want to see if you guys can come up with any suggestions or solutions. Thanks so much for the help (and for standing to read this :S).

In with the new, out with the old.

Before applying new thermal paste, you always need to remove the old. You should use isopropyl alcohol and a Qtip. Completely remove all the old, then apply a TINY amount of new. About the size of a grain of rice, and gently smear it across the top of the CPU making sure none leaks over the sides.