Well I cleaned the existing thermal paste and reapplied it and....Everything is still spiking and very hot. Ran it through the Firestrike benchmark and it hit 100c during the physics test....Everything was fine 3 days ago and this happens....Did I get a defective cpu?

Shin- etsu microsi paste

Yeah I know. People often say a size of a pea/large grain of rice in the middle is the perfect amount

I did NOT remove the thermal paste that was already there. Should I clean both the cpu and heat sink with rubbing alcohol?

I think you misunderstood me. It hit 95c not Fahrenheit. Temperatures seem to have gotten way worst. Not only is it fluctuating like that, but when things were working perfect my cpu would be like 60c when playing tf2. Now its like 70-78c

I'm using an s340 with plenty of airflow. 3 fans, 1 in the back and 1 in the top blowing air out and 1 in the front blowing cool air in. My power plan is currently at high performance and though the place i'm in can be a little warm it definitely wouldn't cause this. Like I said 3 days ago everything was perfect. I haven't changed anything since then

I just build my new computer about 5 days ago and i have noticed a big issue with my i7 4790. At first everything was great until yesterday my cpu temps were fluctuating and spiking. 35c to 50c, 40c-30c just when browsing the internet. When gaming it fluctuates as well. I'm using the intel stock cooler and it worked fine at first and since i can't overclock i wouldn't think I would need an aftermarket. I've tried to resolve this issue by reapplying thermal paste and making sure the cooler is installed correctly. I think might have even gone worst. Before this issue occured I ran my pc through firestrike and the max temp I saw from the cpu was in the high 60c and that was from the physics test. Today I tried it again and during the physics test as soon as it begin my cpu HIT 97 at a point. Kinda pissed right now and really don't know what to do.

Did notice however my cpu usage is spiking as well and it might correspond to the temperature spikes. Anyone got any suggestions? Didn't install anything new and like I said 3 days ago everything was working perfectly.

I'm on a Desktop. I've always been on a desktop since I started playing tf2. Nothing has changed at all.

Here are my Specs:
Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 945 Processor 3.0 ghz
Graphics: ATI Radeon 3100 Graphics
Windows 7 64 bit
8 Gb Ram

Like I said, I haven't replaced or done anything new to my computer. Before the last 2 months, my computer could run tf2 fine at a constant 132 fps with no drops ever. It's only been the last 2 months since this happened. Also, when I put my hand at the back of my tower while playing tf2, it seems a little warm but not like it's overheating.

UPDATE: I've found a problem. Turns out you were right Cowmanglia. I realized that my cpu was overheating and at about 97 Celsius. So, I opened up my computer, cleaned the fans a bit, and now my cpu is at 40 celcius and my tf2 runs great. Thanks a lot.

Well basically, I've been playing tf2 for 2 years. I've used chris' maxframes, use no hats/particles, lowered resolution, mat_viewportscale 0.5, and more. I've been able to play the game smoothly at a constant max of 132 fps. (Had my fps_max at that). Now for the last like 2 months or so, my fps goes from that 132, to 70 for no reason. This causes audio and mouse stuttering. Is anyone else having this issue at all? I've tried switching fps config (currently using Cowmanglia's cfg), reinstalling the game, tried using fps_max 0 instead. No difference. I can literally be staring at a wall in spawn and from the 250 fps, it goes to 70. The drops occur about every 5 seconds and it really annoys me. This has literally quite ruined the game for me and makes me not want to play anymore. The weird thing though is it may not drop at first but about like 1 minute or so in my game, it starts happening and will never end. If anyone is also experiencing this or knows how to fix this that'd be great.

Yeah I don't know really what to do at this point. The only thing I can think to do is just capping my fps at like around 80 so it won't drop as much and won't cause as much stuttering

I've tried capping my fps at 151 (75 hertz x 2 +1) and having not capped at all and nothing changes. MY fps drops for no reason . It's really bothering me and causes stuttering still

Is there any reason having to use your refresh rate x2 + 1 as a cap? So if I had 120hz, I couldn't just use a cap of fps_max 121?

So Basically I have a regular computer. Nothing Special. Without anything to boost my fps, tf2 runs below expectations. So to improve this, I've got chris' max fps config, no hats mod, dxlevel 81, deleted particles, razer game booster, practically everything possible to maximize my fps. I have my fps capped at 132 for a more consistent frame rate like it says in chris' config. Before everything was fine. I could run tf2 at a constant 132 fps with no drops ever. However lately, whenever I play tf2, I have a constant 132 fps but, suddenly it drops to 60 for no reason and goes back up. This absolutely happens for no reason and causes stuttering which gets very annoying. Anyone know how to fix this or is also having this happen to them? Without any action going on my fps is at a constant 132 but suddenly it drops to a 60 in the same exact scenario.