cpu at 90 degrees prevents crashing..

[neuro]

so yeah i've had an issue for a while now where my PC would freeze epicly when playing games.
some more 'reliably' than others.

skyrim for example would freeze about 5 minutes in every time, and games like RAGE make it never freeze at all.

i tried a few things, downclocking my RAM, over/underclocking my gpu etc etc.
nothing worked.

then i decided to hit the OC genie button on my mobo, (automatic overclocking tool which works really well actually) which overclocks my cpu.
i've no had a single freeze since.
only downside is, it dles at 60 degrees, and tops out under load at 90 degrees (in skyrim, haven't checked other games)

specs:
mobo: P55-GD65 mobo
processor: I7 860
GPU: GTX 295
PSU: 850W PSU
RAM: 4x 2GB DDR3 clocked at 1333 with 1.75 volts (can't actually change the voltage)
all stuffed into a giant Coolermaster case with more airflow than a goddamn jetengine.
my CPU only has a 'plain' intel cooler fan though, i'm probably going to look into getting a better cpu fan, but it's not really something i'd like to do right now.

will 90 degrees (max) hurt shit?
so far it's been running very stable, but i don't like risking actually damaging shit.
(also any suggestions for fixing my damn freezing problem would also help)

[Jelly]

after googling a little it looks like you shouldnt
a) have a 90 degree cpu (lol)
b) have 1.75 volt ram

https://www.google.com/search?btnG=1&pws=0&q=1.75+volt+ram+core+i7+860

http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic146722.html

I'm surprised you cant change the ram's voltage from the bios, but if thats really the case you'll need to get some different ram.

[Patrickssj6]

In BIOS, even though the field seems unchangeable since it's grayed out, you can still press + and - to change the values.

[{XG}Gijs007]

Try updating your bios and use default settings.

[neuro]

that's the point, using default settings makes shit unstable. (go figure)
the ram's voltage has been at 1.75 for two years now, and it's still fine (theyre rated for 1.85 i believe)

what's odd, is that it's always been running relatively hot, but 60 degrees on idle seems to be rather... 'off'
i guess ill just go look for a new cooler instead.

also, what's this wire for?
http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt312/Neurologicaldisorder/gpuwire.jpg (coming out of a GTX295)

feel free to point out where it goes on this image: http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt312/Neurologicaldisorder/IMG_0622.jpg :D

update:
downclocked it a bit manually, and it maxes out at 75-ish now, and still runs stable, so i'm cool with that.
funny how i actually -need- to OC stuff to get it stable though..

[Amit]

I'm pretty sure that random wire is an audio connector. The GTX 200 series doesn't have an in-built audio chip like all ATi Cards do since the HD 3000 series. You need to route a cable from the sound card's optical port to the card. Still, I can't confirm that the cable is an audio cable until I see the flat side of it. Freelancer had GTX 280's so maybe they had the same sort of cables. Then again, I don't remember the pics of his cards showing those wires. I've searched pictures of the GTX 295's on google and found no cards with that wire in the pictures.

Also, major problem: Your system is overclocked with the stock CPU fan. That's a big mistake. Your PC may be freezing and crashing less now that your MB is OC'ing it (usually its the other way around), but at the temperatures that you're getting on your CPU, it's hazardous to the longevity of it.

[Cortexian]

Yeah that's a SPDIF cable for motherboard - HDMI audio pass-through since the GTX 200 series cards don't have their own audio chips like Amit said.

I only had one connected on my GTX 285's because you probably won't ever need to output HDMI Video + Audio from a PC to more than one device IMO. My cable was just cable-managed away, but it was there:
http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/648/img3815.jpg
Rear of top card, little white-connector near the power-cables. You can see the HDMI dongle attached as well.