can overheating slow computer without killing it?

[chopficar]

my sisters got a 3 year old computer and she recently complained that it sounds like a race car when she watched videos. i have repeatedly told her to bring her computer home so i can put a new fan in for her but she has not listened. one week ago she told me "the noise stopped, hurray!" i figure the fan gave up on her completely. now she complains that her computer is drastically slower/ some large memory using applications dont work. im wondering if it is possible that some of the memory registers or transistors in either her cpu or grafix card blew out because of overheating. can this happen without rendering the computer completely unusable? can overheating cause temporary or perminent slowing in another way?

[SonicSnif]

some motherboards are able to throttle CPU speed when they detect high temperatures - sounds likely your sister's case.
the computer will be under stress still, and should not really be used if can be helped.
IME the motherboard and other components will fail before the CPU, but such failure will usually mean failure of POST, though not necessarily - get it back for service ASAP - only then can you know for sure.

[gshv]

The slowness may go away when you fix the fan. When overheated, Intel processors either throttle their frequency, or will turn off CPU clock for short periods of time (microseconds), which effectively works like throttling. So, when you put new fan in or fix the old one, the CPU will start working on its intended frequency.

Gennadiy

[hugo929]

3 year old computer should have a P4 installed. P4 produces much much heat when working so a good fan is a must!

[chopficar]

i guess im kind of worrying about my computer now, wondering weather or not formatting fixes everything. it seems slower that it was years ago, but it could be just me becoming more impatient.

[Guest]

i guess im kind of worrying about my computer now, wondering weather or not formatting fixes everything. it seems slower that it was years ago, but it could be just me becoming more impatient.

[jdk]

were do i get help to upgrade