Hey guys, I'll try to sum this up as much as possible. Thank you in advance

So I got this desktop back in late 09 that I still use
[img]http://i.imgur.com/uIokS.png[/img]

Obviously I want to play new games like Skyrim, but I can barely run it on the lowest settings.

So I thought a new video card would help do the trick so I could do high settings without lag
Ended up getting a GTX 550

[img]http://i.imgur.com/v9aCF.png[/img]

Installed it yesterday, as you can see its way too hot lol. This is just when I start the pc up.
After about 5 minutes of running a game, it keeps getting hotter until the pc just crashes/shuts off

I don't really have a specific question but is there something I can do like
put in another fan or something to help the card stay cool.
Or would just returning the card and getting another one that could still run Skyrim be a better option

TY to all

How confined is your case? There may not be adequate airflow in it.

Deaths_soul is right.

You can also get aftermarket coolers to install on the card, but AFAIK your card shouldn't be *that* hot, so you'll want to get better airflow first. The 8800GT ran really hot, so a cooler helped there, but my GTX560 is fine.

Yes, make sure your case is not cramed, you need adequate air flow to run everything properly. Make sure that the fan on your new video card is in fact working. Try turning up the speed on your fan manually with this http://event.msi.com/vga/afterburner/download.htm. It could just be a defective card (it happens). Make sure the fan is working properly. Physically look at the fan moving inside your case. Try keeping the sides of the case off to allow more airflow. But it definitely sounds like a cooling problem that you're having. Your PC is shutting down automatically to prevent damage. Also make sure that everything in and on your computer is updated to the latest drivers. This should be the http://www.geforce.com/Drivers/Results/38916 for your card.

As others have said it could be your case,I would be more inclined to ask what your PSU was?

You have upgraded your card quite a bit from your last card but you fail to mention your PSU,If your system was a pre-build then I would imagine your PSU was just enough to run your old card.
Now you have slipped in a much more powerful card it will be burning up through lack of amps on the rails and if I was you I would stop playing games before you kill the card.

Simply putting in a new card is not as easy as it sounds,you need power and amps and cooling for it to run well.

If that's a brand new card, it's faulty. Take it back and get a refund or exchange.

That won't be knowable for certain yet. A bad power supply will make any useful graphics card act out badly.