New CPU overheating problem...

[Saddlebacks]

I recently bought a brand new HP computer. It cost around $600 and came with a dual core AMD 64 4400+ processor (2.3 Ghz). The motherboard has an integrated Geforce 6100 nForce 430. I also bought a NZXT Lexa case. This case is supposedly "known" for its great cooling design. It has 3 120mm fans and 1 regular 80mm fan. I installed all the parts from the HP computer into the Lexa case, and everything worked fine, i installed Ubuntu Linux, and i also installed some free games...

Now heres where my problem began... i was playing a free game called "tigger" which apparently utilizes the cpu quite a lot.. as i was playing, i saw that the CPU temperature gauge on the case was rising. Usually its at around 32-33 degree's celsius, but when i was playing the game it got up to 38.. It stopped at 38 and after about a minute at that temperature, the computer completely shut down.. fully. I turned it back on and a bunch of lines of code flashed on the screen and i saw the message "Your Cpu might be corrupted" or something along those lines.. i turned the computer off once again and restarted, this time everything was normal and i was able to load my OS as usual... my question is.. why/ how did this happen? The cpu was presumably at 100% and overheated? but its a brand new CPU and the case is made for good cooling... so why did it happen? and How can i prevent this in the future...

any help is greatly appreciated, sorry for the lengthy post.

[JAC]

Cant comment on all these parts, but a while back I had a similar problem with overheating. It turned out I wasnt cooling the PWM chips ( power supply chips around the cpu ) enough. So as the CPU worked harder, those chips worked harder and everything got too hot and it shutdown. It also helped when I chnaged my CPU cooler. The one I had before blocked airflow from the cooling fan directly onto the chips I mentioned before. Good luck w/ your cooling problem.

[Saddlebacks]

hmm, i suppose i could always add more fans, but it just seems strange since the case is specifically designed for great cooling, and the CPU has the original OEM heatsink-fan assembly on it...