Nvidia GeForce 9500GS very high temperature

[Illegion]

Hi!
I've had this computer for 4-5 years now and it has had it's ups and downs.
A couple of months ago while I was playing Diablo 3 the framerate dropped significantly, I thought it might have been a new patch or something, but then I tried some older games and got the same low framerate.
It works fine for about 3-5 minutes then it just drops to like 5-10fps.

I had the same issues watching video, on youtube and playing a local file.
Did some research and found that if I turned off Hardware acceleration on my video/flash player it worked fine again!
Since I'm not a big pc gamer I just let the issue slide.

Fast forward to present time, I was trying to play another game and of course the frame rate dropped again. I did a bit more digging and came to the conclusion that my graphics card is probably the culprit. I downloaded CPUID HWMonitor and saw that my video card temperature is at a staggering 98-99 degrees Celsius (206 F). And this is when it's idle, the only program running is the HWMonitor.

Help please! Is my video card f'd?
Let me know if there's anything I try to fix this.

(Oh and I'm using an Nvidia GeForce 9500GS in case you missed the title)
Thank you in advance!

 

[RockSmasher]

Have you checked to see if your GPU is caked with dust, or if your fan is turning on your card?

 

[Illegion]

Hi again!
Yeah the fan is not moving at all. I cleaned off the dust as best as I could but since its an HP computer the graphic card is basically bolted to the motherboard, so I can't remove it and clean it properly.
Anyway seeing as the fan isn't working at all, am I going to have get a new video card or could I just add an external fan like user "xa376" suggested in this thread http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/370094-15-nvidia-geforce-9500gs-overheating ?

 

[Illegion]

Looks like I misunderstood the concept of VGA coolers, my bad.
But my question remains, would I be able to replace the fan with a new one like he suggested or am I better off getting a new video card all together?
I've been looking at a Zalman VF700 that one is compatible with my graphic card right? Or does anyone know a better model or brand?

 

[xrayshot]

Dont bother using that old card , just get a 600 series nvidia card of your liking

 

[Illegion]

What would be an appropriate upgrade? If I'd like to keep myself in the same range as the 9500gs maybe slightly above. And what would that cost me?
I have no idea what to look for in a video card.

 

[Illegion]

Ps. I have a 300W power supply, it's pretty much the standard for HP pavilion right?

 

[jaideep1337]

I can't think of any good cards out there that will run good on a 300W.

 

[jaguarskx]

Get the Radeon HD 7750 which can be had for around $90 after rebate at Newegg.com.

The performance increase will be so great, that there is simply no comparison to the 9500 GS.

 

[Illegion]

Thank you for the tip jaquarskx, would that work alright with my 300W power supply?

 

[Illegion]

Just to be clear, I'm not looking for to run games on the highest settings, an upgrade from my geforce 9500 would be nice if its possible with my current power supply, but I'll do just fine with something that matches my current video card.