Help - computer games freezing/ re-starting

FASTXR · 10-07-2005, 06:59 PM

Hi all,

I have been having trouble recently playing some games on the PC (Call of Duty & Medal of Honor). I can only get about 15 minutes or so of play in before the screen suddenly goes blank and I either get booted back to the desktop, or the computer restarts altogether. On a few occasions, when I've been kicked back to the desktop, the wallpaper and icons are all really bright and washed out. There are also occasions where the picture in the game is ok but the sound "freezes" and sounds like its stuck in a very fast loop.

I put up with it because I figured it was the video card and I was picking up a new 6600GT card today. Installed the new card and thought everything seemed better, but guess what - it just crapped itself again.

I'd really appreciate any thoughts on what my problem could be, so my sanity can be restored!

xr8ute · 10-07-2005, 07:04 PM

Could be one of a million things. What OS and Mainboard (chipset) are you running?

Try re-installing the current service pack for your version of Windows. And download/install the latest chipset drivers for your mainboard.

...also make sure you are running an up to date Anti-Virus package, and try something like Ad-Aware from Lavasoft to cleanup any bull$h!t software that may have installed itself onto your computer.

FASTXR · 10-07-2005, 07:18 PM

Whoops, should have put that stuff on there!

P4 2.4ghz
1gb RAM
ABIT IS7-E2 motherboard
Windows XP

Currently running Norton Internet Security, as well as Spybot, MS Antispyware and Ad-Aware.

Paris Hilton · 10-07-2005, 07:19 PM

Sounds like a heat issue

LUXO_8 · 10-07-2005, 07:29 PM

what selekta said, a lot of video cards will do this if they are getting too hot...

if thats the problem, maybe invest in a fan on your videocard if you dont have one already???

the_scotsman · 10-07-2005, 07:39 PM

Yep, another vote for heat issue...

FASTXR · 10-07-2005, 07:43 PM

Well the new card has its own built-in fan, and I've had the sides off the computer tower for a few weeks now so I would have thought it was getting plenty of air?
It just seemed strange that I had run it for ages without a problem, and then suddenly it can't go 20 minutes.

LuvinmyEB · 10-07-2005, 08:05 PM

What rating and what brand is your power supply?

I know someone that had the exact same problem as you are having with the same games, he also has a very similar setup to you also.

FASTXR · 10-07-2005, 08:10 PM

Its an Omni brand 350w power supply

LuvinmyEB · 10-07-2005, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FASTXR

Its an Omni brand 350w power supply

Ok I might be on track here. Do you know anyone that might be able to lend you a better PSU for troubleshooting purposes?

FASTXR · 10-07-2005, 08:46 PM

Unfortunately not.

By better do you mean a better brand or a higher wattage?

LuvinmyEB · 10-07-2005, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FASTXR

Unfortunately not.

By better do you mean a better brand or a higher wattage?

I'd go both a better brand and higher wattage. That graphics card and other hardware devices will probably be approaching the limits of your PSU if not exceeding it. Thus you're getting dumped back into windows or your PC is restarting.

It could be other things, but from the info you've provided this is what I would suspect as the cause of the problem. This was how my friend fixed the problems he was having with his PC, similar set up and the same games.

Good luck!

FASTXR · 10-07-2005, 09:19 PM

So what brand PSU is suggested, and more importantly, what wattage?

LuvinmyEB · 10-07-2005, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FASTXR

So what brand PSU is suggested, and more importantly, what wattage?

How much are you willing to spend?

:

A Thermaltake 430Watt will set you back about $60, and even if it's not the problem it's a worthwhile and easy upgrade. However I'm willing to bet that it will fix the problem. ;)

I'm not sure if they come in red though, the Thermaltake logo is red if that helps. :P

pk2000 · 10-07-2005, 09:35 PM

to see if its a heat issue, then take the side of the case off, and point a deskfan at it.

run what ever program you where running to crash the computer, and see if it happens again. if it does, and in about the same time, its not a major heat problem usualy, so i would be looking at the power supply, or the hard drives/ cd roms

if it does not crash, its a heat issue. install a program called mother board monitor (free off the net), and watch the gadges to see if the cpu runs too hot(~ high 60's c).

alesia · 10-07-2005, 09:39 PM

yep,
my opinion definatly a heat issue with your video card, had the same problem myself not to long ago, i also had some problems with the memory on my video card as well,
my solution , brought a new one

TURBO_GHIA · 10-07-2005, 09:49 PM

mate ive had sort of the same problems on my pc ,i put it down to video card drivers ,i'll tryed so many of them and the only one that works is the cd that came with the card ,so try some older or newer drivers and see how they go

xr8ute · 10-07-2005, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FASTXR

So what brand PSU is suggested, and more importantly, what wattage?

Antec PSU are great. About ~$100...

XplosiveR6 · 10-07-2005, 10:06 PM

try setting the AGP speed down to 4x i have seen alot of motherboard being unstable at 8x even though they state that its compatible, give that a try (if its an AGP card of corse). just set it in the bios just as the pc boots up.

LuvinmyEB · 10-07-2005, 10:30 PM

Is anyone reading ALL the posts?

It is a new GFX card and not a low end card, so why should he buy another new one?

Time of year, it's winter, hardly the time when you have the sides off your PC and still have overheating problems unless your sitting next to the heater!

60 degrees is not a high temperature for a newish P4!

However Omni, low wattage, low quality PSU, which would be struggling to put out 300 Watts despite it being rated 350 Watts, which would be at best a very optimistic estimate.

Think more, post less!

:

11-07-2005, 12:05 AM

^ What he said.

The fact that it's running fine for a while and then dies, and presuming it's not a heating issue due to it being winter and as he said already having the sides off the case.. pretty much guarantees the graphics card when running full force is pulling too much power and ends up failing.

Deadman · 11-07-2005, 12:33 AM

Can I make a weird suggestion that might just work? (or not - but we know PC's - sometimes the most out there or simplest thing can cause issues)

Try setting the sound quality as low as it will go. (bare minimum). Then play. See how it goes.

I know it sounds weird - but it's been something that caused a similar issue on a few PC's at a gaming place I got to occasioanlly. Hope that helps (althought in all likelyhood it will not - still worth a try right?!?!)

*please ignore any typos - long day and about to crash

cheers :1syellow1

The MaDDeSTMaN · 11-07-2005, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by irke

^ What he said.

The fact that it's running fine for a while and then dies, and presuming it's not a heating issue due to it being winter and as he said already having the sides off the case.. pretty much guarantees the graphics card when running full force is pulling too much power and ends up failing.

Hehehe, yeah, what LuvinmyEB (she) said, I think the #1 suspect would be the PSU, for a few reasons:

It's a cheap "Omni" 350w, which would probably struggle to supply anywhere near to 300w
The problem only seems to occur when the system is running games - which put maximum load on the CPU, RAM and Video, and on a card such as the 6600GT, cause it to use much more power then just displaying a 2D Windows desktop or running applications such as FireFox or Word.
The problem has arisen without any changes leading to it (the Video card has been upgraded since, which didn't fix the problem), such as upgrading the CPU, which to me indicates that it's probably NOT heat related.

To give us a bit more information, what other devices are connected to the PSU? I'd be guessing that you'd have at least one optical drive and one hard disk connected as well. Does the 6600GT video card you've got also require it's own power plug?

Also, to rule out driver issues, what video card was the old one you upgraded from? If it wasn't a Nvidia card, did you remove the old drivers completely?

I would highly suspect the PSU, and if that doesn't fix it, THEN I'd be suspecting driver issues, heat is a remote possibility.

It's funny how so many people are so quick to say "it's a heat problem" whenever anyone has a problem with their PC, it's just like people saying "head gasket" whenever anyone has a problem with an E series Falcon :hihi:

In my opinion, the weakest link is definitely the PSU, the rest of the set-up sounds like it's pretty good, but that Omni PSU is like having wooden tyres on a Ferrari - it stands out as the weakest and lowest quality part.

Here is a PSU load calculator:
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_sup....php?cmd=INTEL
Try that, and see how much it says your system actually needs... Anything more then about 230w and I'd say upgrading to a Antec (best, but expensive) or Thermaltake (not the best, but still much better then what you've got now, and far from rubbish) PSU would be a worthy upgrade. Anything more then about 200w and I would say it confirms our suspicions that the PSU is the cause of your problems.

FASTXR · 11-07-2005, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The MaDDeSTMaN

To give us a bit more information, what other devices are connected to the PSU? I'd be guessing that you'd have at least one optical drive and one hard disk connected as well.

I have 2 optical drives (CD/RW and DVD/RW) and 2 hard drives (40mb and 160mb) I also have a 3.5" multi-card reader.

Quote:

Does the 6600GT video card you've got also require it's own power plug?

Yes it does - that stumped me as I'd used up all my power cables on the optical and hard drives. I've had to piggy-back one of the hard drive power leads to power the new card.

Quote:

Also, to rule out driver issues, what video card was the old one you upgraded from? If it wasn't a Nvidia card, did you remove the old drivers completely?

Old card was an Nvidia geforce MX440

Thanks for your comments - I'll try that link and see what it comes up with

FASTXR · 11-07-2005, 11:35 AM

Hmmmm....says my minimum power supply shopuld be 352 watts!

:

Funnily enough, I installed and played Doom 3 for over 2 hours last night before it died. I assume because the graphics are so dark it doesn't tax the graphics card as much as something bright with more colours?

Oh well, looks like its time to upgrade....

pk2000 · 11-07-2005, 11:44 AM

According to Intel Processor Spec Finder:

a 2.8E Ghz Prescott CPU max operational temperature is 69.1C
here:
Linky

I would guess that at that temperature the CPU is already throttling to lower speeds/cycles. Max CPU load temperature must remain in the around the 60c to avoid throttling and overheat. Idle max temperatures should be around the 50C.

im guessing that thats probaby something to do with it, and in winter, inless the comps in a room with no heater on, its gonna be under thermal stress.

the power supply also is a valid point, and if your sure heats not the problem, grab a middle of the range power supply and see that makes a diffence - run something like 350/400 for some over head.. (real 300 watts will power any gaming rig(not massivly over clocked), 300watt is ~ what a stacked server needs)

Paris Hilton · 11-07-2005, 05:42 PM

Hmmm. You're running 4 IDE devices, so I presume (with my psychic powers) that you're running 2 CD and 2 HDD drives? Try unplugging one of the CD drives (unless you can run the games without the CD's...I suggest Daemon Tools (for legit purposes only) for mounting image) and the secondary HDD (unless you have system files on it or if it is a stripped drive) and any cards that you don't need to run the game (ethernet cards, internal modems, SCSI adaptors, etc) and see if you can take some of the load off the PSU...then try....however if it still locks (after also testing it with a better PSU) then you may want to look at the cooling. If you'e anything like me (get that shoicked look off your face, i'm not that wierd

: ) then you'll also find this interesting: http://www.madshrimps.be/gotofaqlink.php?linkid=2239

LuvinmyEB · 11-07-2005, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Selekta

Hmmm. You're running 4 IDE devices, so I presume (with my psychic powers) that you're running 2 CD and 2 HDD drives?

You wouldn't have to use psychic powers if your read through ALL the posts, there is already a list of what hardware devices he has in his computer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FASTXR

I have 2 optical drives (CD/RW and DVD/RW) and 2 hard drives (40mb and 160mb) I also have a 3.5" multi-card reader.

:lookedat:

FASTXR, have you had time to get a new PSU yet? Let us know when you do and if that was the problem.

FASTXR · 17-07-2005, 09:30 PM

Ok, here's the update!

Purchased a new PSU today - Antec Truepower 480 watt. I'm thinking "this'll blow the socks off everything and be the answer to my prayers!".

Just tried playing Call of Duty, and 10 minutes into the game, the same ****ing thing happens!!! Screen goes black, then kicks me back to the desktop, which is really washed out/over-exposed looking. Reboot the computer, start playing again and about 10 minutes later exactly the same thing happens

out: :jab:

I'm really at my wits end with this. The sides are still off the machine, so I guess all I can do is try to aim a fan at it and see if that improves things.

The MaDDeSTMaN · 17-07-2005, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FASTXR

Just tried playing Call of Duty, and 10 minutes into the game, the same ****ing thing happens!!! Screen goes black, then kicks me back to the desktop, which is really washed out/over-exposed looking. Reboot the computer, start playing again and about 10 minutes later exactly the same thing happens

out: :jab:

DAMN! Oh well, at least we now know your computer PSU isn't overstressed anymore, looks like we have to turn to other suspects...

Ok, have you tried any drivers for your new video card other then the ones which came with it? And have you tried using the latest drivers for your motherboard chipset?