CPU randomly started to overheat?

[Kronus213]

So I've had this computer for about a year and a half now, custom built online. It's been working fine up to now. Yesterday, while I was playing a game, the computer randomly restarted after 10 minutes into the game even though it'd been working perfectly fine in the morning. Same thing happened with three different games so I searched online and downloaded a few programs to monitor temperature and stuff.

While in game, my CPU temperature rose to around 70 then to around 83ish, the GPU temperature rose to around 75/80 and the thermal margin in AMD Overdrive went into negative,

Specs are:
AMD FX-6300
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660
Asus M5A78L-M LX - AM3+, USB 2.0, SATA2 (MATX)
8gb Kingston DDR3 1333mhz

Apparently this is an issue with the cooler, but I have no idea why it randomly stopped working properly.
Any ideas?

Thanks.

 

[plasmastorm]

Assuming it's a fan cooler then the fan could be clogged. Whens the last time you had the side off and cleaned it?
An average household pc needs it doing every 8-12 months to keep on top of things with an air duster. I'd say every 6 if you are a smoker or have hairy pets.

 

[thx1138v2]

The quick and easy test is to pull the side panel and monitor the temperature with that panel off. If the temps are substantially lower you have an air flow problem which could be either fans, dirty heat sinks, blocked air entry/exit ports or some combination of those problems.

If there is not much change you might want to look at redoing the heat sink compounds.

 

[C12Friedman]

Start by checking that all your fans are working. You can try blowing out the PC (concentrating on the case fan areas) with compressed air, if no change in temps, you might consider changing the thermal compound but I'd think your case is currently starved for airflow since both CPU and GPU seem to be affected

 

[Kronus213]

I'll try cleaning it out tomorrow.
I should also mention that before it restarts, the computer doesn't feel hot to the touch and there's no sound of fans whirring loudly.

 

[Kronus213]

I tried running the PC with the side panel removed. This time when I ran a game, the CPU temp didn't rise as high but the GPU temp rose to around 80+ish.
Any ideas?

 

[thx1138v2]

I tried running the PC with the side panel removed. This time when I ran a game, the CPU temp didn't rise as high but the GPU temp rose to around 80+ish.
Any ideas?

The max, I think, is 97C so you're probably OK with 80C if that is under full load. You might have problems if it runs at +85C for long periods but short periods up to 90C or 92C would be OK.

Sounds like you just need to get more air through the box.

 

[Kronus213]

The PC still restarted though

 

[C12Friedman]

Check for dust around your PSU since it's likely to be overheating* also if airflow is restricted to it.

* Too much built up heat in the PSU can reduce available current and cause voltages to fluctuate outside of specs.

 

[Kronus213]

Are there any precautions I need to take before cleaning out my pc with compressed air?
I was thinking of unplugging it from everything, taking it outside and cleaning it there, would that be okay?

 

[thx1138v2]

Are there any precautions I need to take before cleaning out my pc with compressed air?
I was thinking of unplugging it from everything, taking it outside and cleaning it there, would that be okay?

Yes, definitely disconnect the power. The other cables are optional. Cleaning it outside would be OK as long as you don't live in a dusty environment and it's not raining That would also keep the dust out of your abode.

FYI, do not put your computer on the floor. That's where dust collects and your machine will be sucking in dust from there. Put it on a desktop to minimize dust collection and clean it every 6 months to a year.