My heat sink got dirty and caused a thermal event alarm (overheated) the computer will shut down when the cpu is taxed. do i need a new cpu

CPU/ Processor resources and due to the heavy processing the PC heats up. Excessive heat up beyond usual is alarming and PC shuts down by itself when the processor/ CPU temperature exceeds the safe temperature limit. There are mainly two reasons for heat up.
Heating issue generally occurs due to fan failure, which may damage the system, if not checked properly. Another most likely cause of overheating is the dust present inside the PC, which clogs the fan and heat sink.
1. Make sure the fan is running. (if not, it needs replacement)
2. Clean the fan and heat sink (thermal module). Take out the fan and heat sink. clean them with the help of tooth brush and put it back.
3. Also, make sure that the PC is placed in a well ventilated environment and the air flow the the PC is correct.
The procedure is very simple and I believe immediate action is required to prevent any damage to your machine and data.

Hope it helps! Good Luck!
Thanks for using Fixya!
CreativeTECH

CPU/ Processor resources and due to the heavy processing the PC heats up. Excessive heat up beyond usual is alarming and PC shuts down by itself when the processor/ CPU temperature exceeds the safe temperature limit. There are mainly two reasons for heat up.
Heating issue generally occurs due to fan failure, which may damage the system, if not checked properly. Another most likely cause of overheating is the dust present inside the PC, which clogs the fan and heat sink.
1. Make sure the fan is running. (if not, it needs replacement)
2. Clean the fan and heat sink (thermal module). Take out the fan and heat sink. clean them with the help of tooth brush and put it back.
3. Also, make sure that the PC is placed in a well ventilated environment and the air flow the the PC is correct.
The procedure is very simple and I believe immediate action is required to prevent any damage to your machine and data.

Hope it helps! Good Luck!
Thanks for using Fixya!
CreativeTECH

Overheating When the CPU overheats then it will shut down (i.e. thermal overload) and won't boot up again until it has cooled down. If this is the problem is not fixed then the CPU will eventually fail.
A faulty fan causes the problem or the fan and heat sink assembly are clogged with dust.
Check the CPU fan to see if it spins freely, if not replace the fan.
If the fan and heat sink is clogged with dust the remove the dust and make sure the vents are clear and dust free. Use a small brush and can of compressed air to do this.

Three causes of ovheating:
1) Dust. Dust inside the computer, Dust around the vents, fans, cpu and heat sink. Take a can of compressed air and clean the dust out of the computer.

2) A Fan not working. Make sure the fan inside the Power Supply where you plug the power cord in works. Also there is a fan that sits on top of the CPU and Heat Sink. Make sure it works. Normally the system will give you an error message if the fan is not working.

3) Thermal Paste - The Thermal Paste around the cpu and heat sink has dried up or is too thin to keep the unit cool. Apply a fresh coat of Thermal Paste on the CPU and Heat Sink.

There can be many reasons of unexpected shut down of your system.Below are some remedies to solve it

1
Run an anti-spy ware and anti-virus utility to make sure that the shutdowns aren't being caused by a malicious program. If the shutdowns are infrequent, install a CPU temperature monitor utility to keep track of the CPU's temperature. If the CPU is overheating, or the shutdowns are frequent, then you will need to troubleshoot your computer's internal components.

2
Check any recently installed internal components to ensure that they are properly connected to the computer's motherboard. Make sure any new expansion cards or memory modules are securely seated in their slots, and ensure that the power and data cables are properly connected to any new drives.

3
Check for large dust buildups on your CPU fan. If the fan isn't effectively cooling your CPU, the overheating CPU will cause your computer to power off. Carefully pick away large pieces of dust with your fingers, and then spray the CPU fan with a can of compressed air to remove the rest of the dust.

4
Reapply the heat sink compound between the CPU and heat sink if the computer continues to turn off unexpectedly. Heat sink compound is a pasty substance that fills the space between the heat sink and processor, which increases the heat sink's ability to absorb heat from the CPU. But worn heat sink compound won't properly redirect heat away from the CPU. Power down your computer, disconnect its power cables and open the case. Unplug the CPU fan's power cable from the motherboard, remove the heat sink and fan combination from the CPU, and then apply the heat sink compound to the CPU--refer to your product manuals for details on reapplying heat sink compound.

Thanks .
Have a great day.

You could have a problem with your OS, it could be viruses, or other things.

It could also be a force shut down by your motherboard. Before you replace the motherboard, check to see if you computer might be over heating. Touch the heatsink on your CPU/Motherboard. Feel if it is too Hot or Cold. You only want it to be warm.

When you encounter about this issue this is overheating problem maybe the CPU fan is not spinning and faulty already, you need to check the CPU fan and replace a new one.

Computers may not be smarter than people, but if they’re designed properly, they will shut themselves down before overheating to the extent that they do themselves damage. If the smart person keeps turning the notebook back on and figures out a way to foil the protection, the laptop is probably doomed.

Once a laptop shuts down for thermal event protection, it may refuse to power back up for a fixed period of time, five or ten minutes, or it may begin to boot and shut down immediately as soon as it boots to the point that it can figure out that its too hot.

The over-temperature protection is generally a BIOS rather than an operating system function, so one sign of an overheated laptop is one that shuts itself down while you’re using it and then refuses to boot as far as the operating system unless you leave it alone for an hour or so to cool down.

Unless you’ve been working in a very unfriendly environment, high temperatures, direct sunlight, etc, you should take even a single overheating shutdown as a warning to back up your data at the first opportunity and to give the cooling system a serious cleaning.

Hi
You must ensure CPU fan is operating as an overheated CPU will shut down PC. Sounds like you may have cooked the CPU.

Cheers cbacer

try applying new cooling pest between cpu heatsink and cpu. Heat from cpu surface should be quickly transferred to heat sink. Either coolent problem or heatsink doesnot properly fit on cpu. But be carefull, you need an 'EXPERT' to do this, or you end up damaging everything.

Hi oilian,
Be glad it did shut down. If it didn't, your new CPU could haveover heated. There are a few reasons for a CPU to over heat.
1.) There is no thermal grease or too little on the heat-sink assembly.
2.) The old thermal grease was not removed or the old thermal tape was not removed.
3.) The heat-sink assembly was not cleaned completely with alcohol before applying new thermal grease.
4.) The CPU fan is running too slowly.
5.) The heat-sink fins are possibly filled with dust build-up & the CPU fan can not cool the heat-sink assembly. Boot to the bios & go to Hardware Monitor. There you can check voltage, CPU fan speed, CPU temp & other bios monitored settings.

Good luck oilian!
Mike