Computer Crashing?! Help!!

[cman21]

Hey guys. I am going nuts over here. I am a computer technician too, which is making this even harder. I am way too tired trying to figure out this problem. First off, I need to show my specs:
AMD Athlon64 x2 3800+
ASUS A8N-E Motherboard
ATI x1600pro 256mb pci-express video
1GB DDR400 CAS2 MEMORY
250GB SATA2 Hard Drive
floppy, and all the other small parts

Now, This has to be my 10th time installing windows xp (32bit version). Once in a while, while playing games or anything to do with using the video card extensivley, the display locks up, but not my keyboard (i am able to turn on/off num lock still). The inside case temp stays at 30C, which I was told by AMD that it is sufficient with my current setup. I downloaded the demo programs from ATI to test the video out, and probably 2/3 times i run it it runs without a problem. The heatsink and fan on the video card is massive and works fine. Before I pull my hair out, im wondering if any of you guys have a suggestion what I possibly can do that doesnt deal with my hair or a hammer. Thanks. Dave

 

[Eland]

So this happens with anything 3D right? I've been hearing about slot voltage being an issue on certain motherboards.

I had a similar problem with my AGP Radeon 9600 where anything DX9 would cause VPU locks every few minutes. After bumping the AGP voltage up by +0.2v, the crashes became far more infrequent (now every few hours). Does anyone know more about this? On the other hand, the 9800 I had before ran fine at default voltage.

 

[cman21]

It happens only in 3d. I was playing Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 for hours on end with not a single problem. I just went to run Postal 2 and within 5-10 min of playing it just hangs. I noticed my video card GPU is running at about 65C full load, maybe even hotter. I just added yet another case fan right next to the video card and its showing 53C idle. Hopefully its just a heat problem, however This is a pci-express card, i will try upping the voltage a little to see if that will help. *crosses fingers*

 

[oxeyereed]

bios is up to date?

Sounds like overheating. I dont think upping the voltage will help unless you are overclocking.

Leave your case open, makes sure all the fans are working. See if it still crashes the same. depending on your cpu temps reseting the heatsink may help.

 

[cman21]

I just talked to a friend, he bought the exact same card and 2 days later it died, fully wouldnt start up or anything. Maybe Sapphire made a bad batch of these or something? I noticed this GPU is 55C idle and over 65-70C+ full load. Hot cakes anyone? Im rebuilding this into a new case tomorrow, RMA'ing the video card and probably spending a few bucks on watercooling. yay. Finally an excuse to put water into my computer.
BEWARE OF THE SAPPHIRE X1600 256MB PCI-EXPRESS VIDEO CARD!

 

[cman21]

Okay. NOW im bewildered about this problem. Replaced the video card. Worked fine for about 1 hr. THEN IT CRASHED!!! I replaced the case to one which gives me temp readings on my HD, CPU and video card.. it is showing my cpu @ 82F, HD @ 102F and video card @ 93F.. is this normal?