I have a problem.

It seems that my CPU temperature hovers around 55-60 degrees C. Reached up to 70 when I play Sims 2 (which lead to sudden restarts).

What are good brands for cooling fans can you recommend? I can't order online since the online shops don't ship in the Philippines.

I also wouldn't be able to buy a cooling fan until March so can you also provide alternative solutions?

My Specs (just the important ones)

P4 3.2 Ghz
2 GB RAM
Nvidia GeForce 7600 GS (made by Palit) AGP 8x
160 GB drive
still have stock cooling, sadly

How do you check your CPU temperature?

There is a free program called SpeedFan here: www.almico.com/speedfan.php

Eek um.. Well the 55-60 is fine. The 70 is not good. It depends on the model you have but P4 max temps range from 67-78C.. most of them being the high 60s/low 70s so the 70 is something you want to bring down. I would recommend this cooler:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16835186134

If it will fit in your case.. it's not small. Also of course need to get yourself some thermal grease to install it. Reccomend this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16835100007

In the meantime you could simply try reseating the heatsink and fan you have with some Artic Silver 5 and see if that helps. Open it up and clean for dust at the same time.. and you know you could play TS2 with your case open for better venting. I recommend being careful though and if you find none of this works don't play TS2 until you can the temps down. You don’t want to fry your processor. If you're not sure how to clean/reseat a processor I can tell you how.. Best dust clean up is done with a can of compressed air.

Well my cpu hovers around 45c and its a AMD and has stock cooling.

70C isnt good at all.....the cooler callistra said would do the job.

Thanks, callistra (you have earned quite a reputation here). I'll look into that. This is the reason why I don't play TS2 now.

I have a standard ATX case, so it isn't really a problem. I can't really open the case and reseat the processor (no time). Arctic Silver 5 is quite hard to find here as well.

That fan will probably cost me a little more than a thousand pesos. Not bad, but I would probably have to share the cost with my dad. It's a good brand from what I have heard so it's woth is

It's hard to find the good computer stuff here. They have to order them from somewhere.

EDIT: Whee! I found the fan for sale here in the Philippines: http://www.tipidpc.com/viewitem.php?iid=1576936

If you haven't already, you should try just cleaning out the dust like callistra says (before running out to buy a new cooler). I had the same problem a little while back, CPU going into the 60s when playing The Sims and other games. I just gave the fan and top of the heatsink a quick workover with a toothbrush to get the worst dust out, then did some rearranging inside the case for better airflow, tying up cables etc. And my stress temp had dropped magically by about 20 degrees. And that was from a pretty half-assed cleaning, I didn't even have to take off the fan or apply new cooler or anything, though I probably should...

Yeah, I would agree with uglytownie. I mean I understand time and everything but wouldn't it be nice if you can drop your temps without spending 1500 pesos? Overtime dust really does cause crazy troubles in machines. That might be enough. If not then reseating might. Seems like so much money compared to the less than $30 here in the states Also if you do actually go so far as to remove your current heatsink and either try to reseat it or put the new cooler on you HAVE to use some sort of thermal grease when you install it. So hopefully you can find some Arctic Silver 5, or at least something.. though that would really be best. If you can't find some sort of thermal grease, you can't install the new cooler or reseat the one you have. Glad you found that one though :D

I agree, it's quite expensive...Stupid economy ($1:40 pesos, and that's already considered a good sign).

I already cleaned the dust (with compressed air...easy to find), but I'll not play TS2 for a while just to be safe I'd probably need a break anyway.

It's a steady at around high 40s-to-low/mid 50s now.

Or perhaps I'll try an exhaust fan instead ($2). That's what I remember they used to fix my old PC's constant hanging due to overheat.

my PC also overheated often and i cleaned the dust; this didn't stop the random restarts, but now the PC crashes only... once a few days or so...
my advice is to play TS2 without fear :D

^ Only if you want to spend hundreds replacing system components you fry. Looks like you could do with a reseating of your processor too if it's still overheating. I didn't think you mentioned overheating in your other thread :\ Forget about upgrading your system. We need to get the stability/heat problem under control first.

Philippines you say?
Whats the temperature outside today? Cause that could have alot to do with it, you're exhausting hot air and replacing it with hot air, might be worth getting water cooling.

Why bump a month old thread which has already been resolved? They cleaned for dust and their temps dropped to acceptable levels..

always gotta get your 2 cents in?

Why make this personal? But yes I do respond to all threads.. sorry if you have a problem with that, but really no need for that comment or the pm I got. I have no problem with you, and I ask that you please also refrain from getting personal with me. I was simply pointing out that you revived a month old thread where the issue was already resolved.. in the case you may had not noticed. I will continue to respond to all threads. Thanks for understanding.

SRY Callistra for the comment I tried to PM you the apology but your mailbox was full.
Guess your pretty busy around here.
Again my apologies