crash in middle of game???

[menace2070]

hello people,
so the thing is,
i just bought a brand new system:
motherboard: msi k8n neo4
processor: amd athlon 3500+
memory : 2x 512 mb corsair
hard drive: maxtor 120gb sata
graphic card : nvidia Geforce 6600 gt
power supply: mercury 400W

And the problem is,when i play games like ET, star wars battlefront or any other modern 3d game, the game will roll nicely, mostly after 10 minutes or so but sometimes up to 3-4 hours but then, without any warning,sounds etc... it freezes, the screen will not move any more, and the won't be any sound

when i look at the errormenu it won't show any error bout the game or so...

i already brought it back to the store, they said it was a heating problem, but i put in another fan and yet... still the same problem

do any of u guys know what to do?
cause i been working my **** of to afford the pc, and now i still can't play proper...

thanks alot

 

[mailpup]

Have you checked the temperatures of the CPU, NB and GPU? What are they? I know at least the motherboard comes with a utility program for the CPU and NB.

BTW, you say you brought it back to the store. Do you mean they assembled the PC?

 

[menace2070]

i put it togheter, but i brought it to the store where i bought the parts!
and the heat can't be the problem i think, the program you mentioned is not installed on my pc, i will do it tonight, but i just discovered that my motherboard has 24 pins and my powersupply only has 20...
could this be the cause and, if so is there any convertercable or something i could use,intead of buyin a new psu?

 

[mailpup]

You have two choices with the 20 pin power supply. Your MSI motherboard is tolerant and will allow you to use it as is. Check your motherboard manual for proper connector alignment. Or you can get a 20 pin to 24 pin adapter which is what I did. They cost about $5.00 or so.

Also, keep in mind the motherboard utility programs are found on the CD that came with it, however, there may be newer versions available from the MSI site. I used their Live Update utility program to find and install them (that program has updates too).

The graphics card monitoring utility should have come with the graphics card but the manufacturer's website should also have it.

 

[menace2070]

i know i can use it with only 20 pins, but the 4 remaining must be there for some reason???
and could this be the cause of my problem?
i talked to the store again and they told me that couldn't be the prob, they told me i might need a new psu but i need to be sure, cause i don't have much money to spend :-s

thnx

 

[mailpup]

i know i can use it with only 20 pins, but the 4 remaining must be there for some reason???

That's what I thought too so that's why I used an adapter. Mine works fine.

I'm guessing your power supply came with the case. If so, those no-name brands are notoriously of poor quality. That's all the more reason to suspect the power supply. When I built my system, the case came with a 450 watt power supply but I didn't use it and replaced it with an Antec unit.