is this a bad cpu and/or mobo?

[laban]

hey, i have some random system lock ups, which affects firefox (total lock up while running sometimes) and not affecting ie, can't use winrar, can't run games, add remove programs doesnt show a list etc. it works in safemode, except for games of course. ive connected a different harddrive, reformatted it, same problem. tried pulling out the 2 2-gb ram sticks and testing them individually, no help. on some boot ups firefox will run and i can surf, but it will usually lock up and i have to use ie. games doesn't load, winrar freezes up. this all started randomly as i turned on my computer today.

my mobo is a asus crosshair n590, with and amd athlon 64 x2 6000+ 3 ghz 2mb. 2 sticks of 2gb kingston ram. i just wanna know if this can be related to a bad cpu or mobo, cause im very close to buying a new pair of them.

thank you in advance. might seem weird, but then again, arent every pc related issues overly weird.

[SnipingCoward]

check your ram using memtest tool on a linux live cd
if you get errors it does not neccessarily mean the ram is bad, it can also be the mobo

overheating might be a cause too, dedust your pc

have a look at the mainboard and cards and see if capacitors are leaking, bloating of rusting (http://www.mad-monkey.co.uk/resources/p ... acitor.jpg) this means grave system failure is imminent and the part needs to be replaced

if you know your way with hardware you could check underneath the coolers if the cooling liquid is not properly distributed or looks like it got cooked (multiple colors)