So while I was at work this morning, a thought ran through my head. Since my CPU is overheating and shutting off the system, I had to wonder why I hadn't psychically looked at the CPU fan to make sure it was working properly on the outside. Sure enough, as I remove the fan, I see that the plastic cover that was on the bottom of the fan when it shipped was still on the fan/heatsink, thereby putting a layer of insulation between the fan and the CPU. I take it off, throw it back in, and sure enough, the CPU stayed at a constant 62.5 Fahrenheit in the BIOS.

I still have to RMA a part though. As I suspected from earlier noises, the hard drive is bad and I need to get it replaced before I can do anything with the system. But the hard drive being bad really doesn't worry me too much.

Also, Watchmen comes out today, and I will be sure to go see it tonight to drool over it.