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Hi, got a problem with my computer, it crashes but only when playing 3d intensive games - it seems. I get quick flash of blue screen of death then the computer resets. Its always about 10 minutes into playing a game. Otherwise, my computer works great, i don't do any intesive 3d graphics like maya or anything but use macromedia software loads plus playstation emulators which run fine, even hardware acceleerated. The computer used to run everything fine too so i'm trying to identify a hardware or software fault

I've done loads of tests to find the problem but no luck. These are:-

swapping ram sticks round
trying ram sticks separately
running tests on cpu - all passed
swapping graphics cards - computer crashed regardless of card so card is not the problem
setting bios to failsafe

I also upgraded card drivers and mobo drivers + bios to the latest ones - no difference.

Could it be i have a faulty mobo? Is there anyway of testing this? Also - i've been using onboard sound - could this cause complications with games? Anyone had the same problem as me? Any help much appreciated, cheers

My specs:

jeantech 500w silent psu
geforce 5900
abit NF7-S2G - nforce2 ultra 400 chipset
athlon xp 3000
1 gig ram ddr 2700 2 x 512
onboard sound

Well, i just found an old thread highlighting the exact same problem as mine and it did seem to be a faulty motherboard causing the problems. Maybe this would be a good time to upgrade to the athlon 64 platform!

Not necessarily.

This could be a problem caused by your video card.
A lot of games (Such as BF2) require a later videocard because of all the shaders in the game.

I don't think it is your Athlon XP, as my brother owns the same CPU, but with a 9600pro, and his runs source very well.

What about overheating? If it happens only during hardware-intensive games, then it might be an overheating problem too.

Well i don't think its the video card since i tried 2 different ones and the problems still persisted. And I can't imagine publishers releasing games that has serious game breaking errors associated with 2 popular mainstream nvidia graphics cards.

Regarding overheating, i did actually check this and cpu and mobo temps are all operating well within upper temp limits under heavy loads so i don't think that's the problem.

I still suspect it could be the mobo, since the error bluescreen shows memory dump details, but i've checked the memory dimms and they are ok. Maybe its some kind of incompatibilty with the mobo and memory and not a 'fault' as such?

Turn off the "restart on system error" checkbox in Control panel>system>advanced>startup and recovery

I had a similar problem with my system. I have the FX5900XT which I overclocked to 450mhz GPU and 900mhz memory. Would play fine for a short while then freeze and restart. So, i put some ram heatsinks on, put an old cpu fan below the card to get more cold air over it and reduced the memory mhz back to about 750 while leaving the GPU @ 450 (no performance drop ) and put a big fan on the front of the case to suck in more air. Card now only runs @ 45 degrees celcius in full flight.

No more lockups

Well, i don't think its the graphix card - i tried 2 different ones and the same problem occurred - think it could be a problem with the onboard sound overloading the mobo. I'm going to add a separate soundcard when i get the chance to see if that makes a difference.

Hope ypu find the problem because theres nothing more frustating than craches.

Have you tried leaving the case side cover off and getting some cool air blowing over the baord to rule out heat issues unitl you can trial the soundcard

It is so annoying!! the only reason i'm not tearing my hair out is that i don't really play many games on my machine anymore cos my machine isn't powerful enough to do the new ones justice.

I'll get a new one soon maybe but i'm in 2 minds really - the pc games market stinks at the moment, is it really worth it? The only games coming out for pc are MMORPG's and RTS and i don't like those. What's left? console conversions. I might as well get a 360, at least they don't crash (much). Even then, most console games bore me!! What happen to system shock 2 and thief games, stuff like that? bah, i feel miserable. The sort of games i like just aren't getting made anymore

If u like the Thief games, try The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay.
It's a superb game, much like Thief.

I don't think either market is struggling for game release, in fact, I think ifanything we are beckming too picky. Genre's are sort of battling it out for supremacy, and MMORPG's are seeming to win. But there are a few good ones on pc, that I think are worth buying for. F.E.A.R, Call of duty, Half Life 2, WoW is incredible, no arguments there. Heck, even console is cluttered with amazing games, playstation 2 recently released shadow of colossus <--- Amazing.

Hrm, if you're not an MMO fan, or a RTS... Try any of the above FPS.. if those aren't appealing... try forza motor sports, or NFSU2? GT4? GTA San Andreas?

They're all equally awesome, some pc, some console, others both. Oh, and if you don't like PC selection... Wait until you see the 360 section at blockbuster... will it be DOA4? or NFS?

On my new pc I had overheating issues even though my CPU was only at 50 degrees celcius or so and my hard drive was at 25 degrees. However my Graphics card was constantly overheating, probably somewhere around 90 degrees.
I definately sounds like an overheat issue, it would also make no difference which card you used. Try maybe leaving you case open and getting a big fan to blow straight onto you graphics card. If the crashes dissapear, then you know what the problem was.

You need to give us more details.... What was the other graphics card you tried, what were the temperatures that were in the 'upper acceptable range'?

Definately to me sounds like a heat issue, something is getting pushed too hard and giving up the ghost. If its your processor, depending on your onboard sound card, adding a sound card could reduce the load enough to keep your rig stable.

I agree with the countless others around here, take the side off your case, get a big room fan and point that sucker right into the case. Play some vids and see what happens...

Yeh, i think its probably heat too and combined with using onboard sound the pc can't hack it in stressful situations. I've got this ridiculously badly designed desk from staples that doesn't let much air get to the case - I'll sort it out one day soon once and for all!

Yes, I completed that one - very good. Completed half life 2 - that was great as well, though not quite as good as i was expecting - what a disappointing ending! So many questions!

But nothing can touch thief 2 as a 1 player game in my opinion. I played the game for years and years thanks to dromed and all the fan created levels. ( Actually i might see whats happening with the scene at the moment - have they brought out dx9 update yet?) Thief 3 was a real disappointment imo - it just didn't feel right - and the character graphics were awful.

On console scene, shadow of collosus looks interesting, but everything else seems to be rehashes of the same games - i've been playing games for over 20 years now and fancy graphics alone just don't do it for me anymore. Mind you, saying that when (if) gothic 3 comes out on pc, i think i will then get a knew system - that game looks mind-blowing!! Lets hope it plays well too

Alright, my PC freezes and crashes when i start playing a 3d mmorpg . I don't know why, maybe someone hacked me or something. Anyways, i don't know what's happening, whenever i play games like : knight online, GunZ... games that require high quality video cards and stuff like that... So i need a little help, if anyone could please help me!! I'm not a genius in PC stuff, so keep it as simple as possible please...

I also forgot to say that when I start playing, like right when i boot the game or later it freezes, and I have to reboot my Pc manually. Sometimes, it evens turns off my PC, not reboot it, but turn it off. I find it really creapy and that sucks cause those are really awesome game I love to play. Although, sometimes when I get lucky, I get to play for a long time. Because, sometimes, it lets me play for a while, so I keep it on for hours because as soon as I close the game, and start it again... It either freezes or crashes.. I hope someone can help!!

This happened to me also about a year ago..... couldnt work out what was going on until somebody suggested flexing my board..... there was a definate crack near the graphics card on the board..... swapped it out and now dont have a problem

Thanks, for telling me what to do.. It's just I'm not so good in computers, unlike my Dad who'll be gone for a long time in Afghanistan, so I'm wondering if you could tell me how to do it.. Please and Thank You.!!

daniboy007 thank you