Pardon my newbness on this one, but I was just curious as to what kind of responces I could get. Just curious on something I've been noticing. When I first got my 5690, I could play farcry without any lag in the fps. Nowadays, theres a little lag in the fps during game play, not much but its noticeable and just a little annoying. Just curious as to why computer parts do this. Is it the CPU, vid card, or just wear and tear on the system? Any way to help maintain my 5690's performance in any way? I have an Antec notebook cooler that is modified for optimum cooling, so I dont think heat is an issue here.

Most likely dust - it collects in the cooling system. Use some compressed air to blow it out (make sure that yo keep the fans from moving by using a toothpick). Unit should be turned off when you do this. If that doesn't work, open it up and clean out the heat synk.

in addition:
defrag
remove programs that load on start up
reinstall windows every year or so--you'd be amazed how much zippier a fresh install is. Though not as critical as the old windows 98 days, a fresh install is still a good way to give an old machine new life if you have the time. Better yet, install your basic system, make a disk image, then you can restore to that point afterwards

Thank you for the good feedback guys. Can anyone recommend a good cleaning kit or a specific product that has anyone has used and had good results with?

Arctic silver
Can of compressed air
Make sure you clean the old heat compound off...

Oh, and hold the fans in place when cleaning them0--compressed air will spin the fan FAR faster than they are designed for and can burn out bearings.