Freezing computer

[hitterquiter]

Hello everyone,
I built a PC about a year ago and I've been having freezing issues. It mainly happens when I'm gaming which is why I think it may be a heating issue but I'm not too sure. When it does, freeze, everything locks up, even the mouse. At this point I have to restart by resetting the power. The strange thing is, Its not consistent which just adds to my headache of trying to pinpoint the problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated. (Below is the basic setup)

MSI P6N Diamond nForce 680i Socket 775 Motherboard
BFG GeForce 8800 GTS OC 512MB PCIe w/Dual Link DV
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66Ghz 12MB 1333Mhz CPU
Kingston 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667MHz

 

[Route44]

And it could be a video card driver issue. Try the following...

1. Download Driver Cleaner Pro or Driver Sweeper (both have free versions; make sure the version will work with your OS) to your desktop screen and install.

2. Download the latest diver(s) for your video card but don't install them.

3. Uninstall your video card drivers and reboot your PC into Safe Mode. Run Driver Cleaner Pro or Driver Sweeper but ONLY for the video card drivers. I had someone use it on their chipset drivers! If it doesn't find any video card drivers that is quite okay.

4. Reboot and install new video card drivers.