Should I upgrade or buy a new PC?

[Richard7]

(My apologies if this is the wrong forum section)

Hello everyone,

I have recently been confronted by two problems with my computer, which I purchased two years ago. These are my specs

Quadcore Intel i7 860 @ 2.80Ghz
ATi Radeon HD 5770 1GB
4GB of DDR-3 RAM
500 GB SATA hard drive
600w PSU
Running Windows 8 Consumer Preview

Whenever rendering videos (Adobe Premire & Sony Vegas) or playing games (Battlefield 3) my computer suddenly shuts off.
I thought it might be a heat problem so I ran Real Temp while playing BF3, and saw that the tempereature on all cores was hitting 99 degrees celcius. This is of course pretty dangerous and so I decided to clean the fan and heat grill, but this didn't help.

Do you think such problems and high temperature have damaged my CPU? I really hope not... Please advise.

I guess I might need to add some thermal paste, as it seems very dried up and there are only a few patches here and there. I ordered some online but it might take a while to arrive.

The other problem is that my graphics card seems to be a bit outdated and I cannot play games such as Battlefield 3 on maximum settings, which is a bit of a problem seeing as I purchased this computer for gaming.

Now my question is, do you think it would be wise to simply buy two more sticks of 2GB ram, and upgrade the GPU instead of buying a new PC? Buying a new computer would mean waiting qutie a while, because for less than 500-600 euros I won't find anything decent.

However, if I were to upgrade what (releatively cheap) GPU could run BF3 on maximum? And I'm worried that my CPU might be damaged... What do you think?

Thank you for your help,

-Rich

[rubberman]

It shut itself off in order to avoid damage. That said, it is likely that your system doesn't have enough cooling capacity to deal with high performance computing. Mine used to have a problem with overheating memory chips until I reorganized them so they got better airflow. I now monitor both CPU and RAM temperature on a continual basis. Does it help to open the computer's case? Mine runs cooler that way.

[JorgeM]

I would tend to think your CPU and other components are OK. These systems are designed to shut themselves off when the temp reaches a threshold.

If you are going to upgrade, you'll need to work on the cooling first.

[Psyho]

The CPU is shutting of because it has thermal guard, so it is still working (otherwise you probably wouldn't be able to boot either).

Cooling your CPU is not just putting a big aftermarket cooler on it. (not trying to insult, just saying.)

We could probably offer beter help if you could describe how ventillation is set up.
(How many fans do you have in front/rear and how big they are, and what cpu cooler you use)

Also wiring is important, as they can obstruct airflow.

Also, I would advice you to just buy a newer GPU, as CPU is strong enough for gaming. But how much would you spend on it?

[twentytwotwo]

I agree with the others, there is no need for a new system as your CPU is powerful enough and you can always add more RAM in the future if you need to.
I would upgrade your graphics card and look at airflow as already suggested. What case do you have?
Is liquid cooling an option? You don't NEED it but its a thought if you are a serious gamer.

[dee101g]

Did you have the same problem with Windows 7? If not, I'd wonder if the problem is related to Windows 8 CP. You might want to see if Microsoft is interested in getting some info from you or has a hotfix ... it might help them too.

[sheikhali449]

yes when the computer reaches the certain temp level it shuts down automatically