Flickering monitor, Freezing Computer, and Lock ups in game

[AkDang]

recently, my monitor has been flickering and then the whole computer freezes and/or the monitor just shuts off [with a soundloop of the last sound in game]

before i could play HL2, but now i cant even play Counter-Strike without this problem occuring. i used to run CS at 85 fps before but now i'm forced to run it at 60 fps because of the flickering/freezing. It still freezes at 60 fps sometimes. I tried to play Lineage II. . .same result.

i suspect that this may be overheating or my outdated hardware, but i'm not sure what to upgrade

according to EVEREST Home Edition:
OS: Win2000 Pro
CPU: Intel Pentium 4, 2.4 GHz
VGA: GeForce FX 5200 [128 MB, AGP 8x]
Memory: 512 MB [two 256MB DDR SDRAM]
PSU: DC Output 250 Watts

Temperatures
Motherboard: 38 °C (100 °F)
CPU: 48 °C (118 °F) it goes as high as 122°F in games
Aux: 31 °C (88 °F)

is there any other info i need to provide ?

i only have 1 fan and it's used to cool the CPU, the video card does not have a fan, it only has a heat sink that gets really really hot. . .i touched it and could not keep my finger there for more than 2 seconds literally. I tried opening the case with a fan blowing into it. this seems to help a bit but my computer ends up freezing anyways.

i have already updated the drivers for my video card. i haven't tried to overclock anything.

Any suggestions to what i should buy ? i got alot of christmas money =) Thanks so much :wave:

 

[Federelli]

Apparently the card is overheating, i'd suggest either updating to a newer, better card, with a heatsink and a fan; or just get a new heatsink/fan system.

 

[AkDang]

Can you suggest a good video card for me?

PSU: DC Output 250 Watts, +12v = 16A

Do i aslo need a new PSU?

 

[truflip]

u might need a new PSU.. 250watt is quite low for computers nowadays.. whats ur budget to get a new card? also do u play a lot of graphic intensive games? if so, what games (some cards are better suited for some games)

 

[AkDang]

My budget- 100-200 $ USD for graphics card

the game i play most is regular CS [not source], not intensive
i also wanted to play Lineage II and HL2 that's all

on a side note, i did some looking around and apparently, my DELL 250 Watt PSU can hold it's own with the newer video cards. . . i plan to buy a new video card and upgrade the PSU, etc from there.

 

[truflip]

well a good 'base card' would be the 6600GT .. u shouldnt get anything lower that it as it wouldn't be really an upgrade... its 139 (minus 20$ rebate) right now at newegg.com:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130214
I believe this particular card comes with lifetime warranty from eVGA so ur safe for as long as the card lives.. eVGA has a reputable customer service

this will leave u with enuf money to get a nice PSU here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104953
awesome PSU gives u solid 400watt power and very quiet n reliable and did i say cheap? yes i kno ppl wil lsay more $ better the PSU but this one PSU doesnt follow that suit. its less $ jus as good of a PSU as a high $ one

these cards are recommended to be used with atleast 300watt PSU.. i dont care what dell says (sorry) but those PSUs their give u prolly only give out about 200watts anyway..

Now, if u wanna keep ur PSU and really want to keep ur PSU and really want to kill up to 200$ + taxes n shipping then this is the best card in that situation:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130258

hope this helps

 

[AkDang]

the problem with those video cards you sent me is that they are PCI-e :knock:

i have 4 PCI slots and 1 AGP slot :hotbounce

o yea, and i was thinking of getting the 6600GT today haha

 

[swker98]

they make 6600gts in agp 8x also

 

[David Alexandru]

maybe it's the software ...i'm not sure....or the card is recked ....
as a suggestion of videocard.....ani radeon 9800xt ....or if u have pci-x x800xt...

 

[AkDang]

thank you thank you :grinthumb

anyways, should i upgrade to 1 gig RAM? I heard this will help my video card not overheat so badly. Even the 6600GT has been accused of overheating at times.

At this point i'm thinking of buying:
6600GT
1 gig RAM
400W PSU

good idea?

 

[truflip]

with ur current budget and the games u plan on playing.. u should get the 6600GT AGP as top priority.. install it n see how ur PSU handles it.. run a stress test n see if ur system fails.. if it does.. its prolly the PSU... then that would make the PSU ur 2nd priority.. if u dont need a new PSU.. then upgrade to 1GB ram (try to sell ur old ram somewhere tho and try to get 512x2 as it is not usually a good idea to fill up all 4 ram slots)

 

[AkDang]

hmm where can i find this stress test?

should i also get some extra pci fans to help cool down some more?

thanks so much

 

[penguinrusty]

The stree test is just in the CS menu. As far as cooling goes, just go for a little PCI blower, and place it right by the card's heatsink.

 

[truflip]

u can use prime95 and run it for several hours
http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=103

its a tool used for testing an overclocked systems' stability but some stock systems are still unstable anyway so its best to try this out. jus start it whenever u go out somehwere... n leave it running all day.. it doesnt test the video card as much though.

to test ur video card, use the counterstrike stress test. its pretty good
or u can use this tool called rthdribl:
http://www.daionet.gr.jp/~masa/rthdribl/
it'll show u ur cards current core speed, temp, and fps its giving out. so u can monitor how ur cards perform.

as for PCI fan card. IMO, they are useless. they dont do much but recycle the warm already running around in the system. its better to jus get a couple large fans. use one for intake (maybe place it at the front bottom since cold air stays down low) and have a big one at the back top (hot air stays up) to blow out the warm air) if u have a side panel, maybe u can mod it.. make a hole or someitn n have a fan blowing fresh cool air to ur video card. :grinthumb

 

[David Alexandru]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO....buy a x800xt ....it's a tousand times much better....and it comes in agp....
about the ram....it's more important at the card's performance than at the card's cooling