Matthew's Journal

Thermal transfer compound does not normally age in such a way that it would be worth replacing, unless you move/have moved the heatsink relative to the CPU, in which case new thermal transfer stuff would be a good idea. I have some - but if you want it tell me now and I can bring some to Oxonmoot.

I often find fluff in the cpu heatsink, and have to unbolt the fan to vacuum it out. That has usually fixed the problem - do you know how much it has reduced the temp on your cpu?

A complete new cooler for the cpu might not be totally unwarranted. If the present one is not good enough, it is surely possible to get a better one. You could bring it here sometime if you wish - I have some spare fans that might help, along with heatsink compound, an IR thermometer, non-reversible thermal strips, and so on.

You can get coolers for the hard disc, which might help slightly. Otherwise, a transparent cover on the machine and a bit of smoke at the intake fan might show you if the airflow needs to be improved anywhere. If one fan is really not running, that might explain a lot of the problem. If all fans are trying to draw air out of the case, that could be a problem as well.