Games crashing/rebooting comp

[tonym81]

I have tried a few games out on my new comp but not long into playing a few of them they just shut my computer down and crash. The game becomes extremely laggy and then just shuts off after a few minutes of playing time.

Games that crash my comp: Medal of Honor Airborne, Mafia II so far.

Empire total war works which is wierd it seems that high action FPS games seem to choke up and kill the comp.

I have a intel Core 2 Quad CPU @ 2.66 Ghz
Windows home premium 64 bit
8.00 Gig Ram
ATI Radeon HD 4600

I really dont know what to do I would really like to play these games.

Thanks for any insight.

Edit: Well i can add Call of duty Black ops to that list of games that crash my comp. Call of duty actually runs great on my system but the in the second mission the computer reboots.

I have re-installed the catalyst drivers and the directx, also the physx as well.

Im stumped i just got this comp back from repairs.

 

[Benny26]

Maybe it's software related?...I myself have a certain driver for some software on my computer that crashes games like Sims 2, Microsoft flight sim and more...It kept coming up with the BSOD and it took me awile to find the little bugger.

I suppose you could try killing what you know you won't need in the bottom left taskbar. That's how i got round it anyway.

 

[Route44]

What are your system temperatures like especially for your video card under gaming load? This sounds like a heat issue.

 

[tonym81]

The video card is showing around 95 to 96 celsius then when im gaming she goes all the way up to 116 celsius even 117.

I noticed the PSU is also only 400 W seems a bit low.

The rest of the comp all the core are running 35- 40 celsius, just the vid card seems high .

its a ati radeon 4650 HD

In mafia 2 my performance seems pretty bad, i play with the resolutions and then i get a crash as well shortly after when i set it to a resolution that is not commonly used.

Thanks for you help!

 

[Route44]

95 C = 203 F!! 117 C = 242.6 F!!! Your card is way, way too hot. Check all your case fans and make sure nothing is impeding your air flow.

Especially see if your video card fan is working. If I am not mistaking the 4000 series card fans were underclocked to 20% of their fan capacity rpm. Use your ATI tool and check fan speed and jump that fan rpm's setting to at least 75%.

* get back to us with the results.

 

[tonym81]

upped the fan to 95% and the card is still running hot at 103-106 celsius. still testing but it seems to make no difference. Maybe something is wrong wth this card?

 

[Benny26]

upped the fan to 95% and the card is still running hot at 103-106 celsius. still testing but it seems to make no difference. Maybe something is wrong wth this card?

Chuffin' hell, 103 c is past boiling point!...Something wrong?, i'de say hell yes.

 

[tonym81]

hmmm what do you suggest next, purchase a new card? im thinking of getting a Nvidia card i never had problems with them they are very reliable.

Does the high temp effect performance in game before a shut down?

Is i need a new card then any suggestions i can spend maybe 300 USD on one.

IF not the card replace then what else could be the issue here, the PCI slot incompatible motherboard?

I am really not that experienced enough to past basic computer knowledge/repairs.

 

[Benny26]

The card is probably (like most) fitted with an emergency shutdown when the temp gets so high. Like in your first post, you say the system is shutting down after poor game performance (which will happen if the temp is so high).

Borrowing a friends card to try, or having an old spare would tell you straight away if it's the card thats soley responsible. But if thats not an option and you fancy a new one, like you say, Nvidia cards are reliable (i'de agree with that).

For $300 down, the sort of top Nvida card your looking at is like an: Nvida GeForce 8800 GTS 512 (if you're a gamer)...Why not check out the review section on Techspot and have a look at some cards...That one's there aswell..

 

[Route44]

It's your card. For $300 you can some excellent Nvidia cards such as the 460 or 470 models. Don't get the SE models though.

 

[tonym81]

ok the PSU in my comp says 400 Watts but the requirement states 450 watts for my current card. do i need a at least 600 W PSU or a video card?