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I noticed my QX6850 has been running around 90-100 celcius for quite some time, it's an old Windows machine I don't use anymore, but I'd like to set it back up and use it.

Is the processor fried if it's been running that hot for quite some time? I get the over temperature message and it freezes quite often, but it still boots up, and runs just fine, but if you push it to hard, it freezes.

Is it worth getting a better heat sink and reapplying it and saving the CPU, or is it bad?

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You know your avatar kind of looks like the newer guy from burn notice...rated as one of the top 50 sexiest men on TV. Completely off topic but everyone needs a morale booster every once in a while. – aking1012 Dec 11 '10 at 16:07
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That is still a good performing CPU, but Itel's stock heat sinks are really bad.

I myself have a Q6600 stock 2.4ghz, overclocked to 3.0ghz. I use a zalman 9700.

HUGE!!!

Look how big the fan is compared to the contact point on the cpu. You should get a fan that is in that style I think. Make sure its massive, and blows back out the system to remove the hot air from the case.

And when applying the thermal grease make sure to not apply too much.

Edit: Here is a nice guide to applying thermal paste

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OMG that pic is HILARIOUS – aking1012 Dec 11 '10 at 16:10
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What is considered to much thermal grease? Thank you – Andrew Fashion Dec 11 '10 at 16:15
@Andrew Fashion, you want just a small amount that is almost translucent, it only needs to bridge any tiny gaps between the cpu and the heat-sink, if you add to much it will actually degrade heat transfer. I edited my answer to include a guide on how to apply thermal paste. – AttackingHobo Dec 11 '10 at 16:35
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