Frequent crashing while gaming

A

apolloman

Posts: 8   +0
Hi everyone, i did some searching via google for ways to solve my problem and found this site. I apologise in advance if i have broken any rules.

Basicly my PC is crashing within minutes of starting the game. It just freezes and loops the last second of sound that was playing for a few seconds and stops, causing me to reboot. Ive no idea what the problem is.

heres my system specs
OS: XP
Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 945 , MMX, 3DNow (4 CPUs), ~3.0 GHz
Grapics card:ATI Raedon HD 5700 series
Memory:3328MB RAM

Could someone please help me determine the cause of this. I apologise if there is not enough information here, i am not very tech savy although i would like to learn.
If more information is needed please let me know.
 
Is XP fully updated to Service Pack 3?
Your video card may be dying or it is clogged with dust and overheating...
 
Thanks for the reply Tmagic650.
XP is fully updated to service pack 3.
I took my side pannel off to check for dust and i cannot for the life of me identify the video card, i have never messed with the inner workings of my PC before and im worried i will cause some serious damage. Is there any sort of guide out there that could help me clean all the dust out properly.
For the moment i have left the pannel off and am using a fan to keep it from overheating to see if that makes a difference.
 
The ATI Raedon HD 5700 series could be what they call on-board video. Just check where you connect the monitor to the computer, that's where the video is. You can use a vacuum cleaner and hose/brush attachment, just be careful not to bump into the motherboard or other things too hard
 
thanks, i will try out the hoover at a more appropriate time (ie not 11 o'clock at night). The fan thing didnt work. Could there be another issue i wonder? I read something about power supplies not being able to reach the demands of the graphics card...
Sorry for the noobness but i want to be sure what the issue is before i spend loads of cash to fix it.
 
I believe the total power suply wattage is 600W.
I may be misreading it though. Im not sure what im looking for.
Its from OCZ technology, model number: OCZ600SXS
 
OCZ's are pretty good supplies... Let us know if you find your video card, or is it on-board (ie Part of the motherboard and not detachable)
 
i have found my graphics card and noticed it was the hottest component after my PC crashes. It was also very dusty especialy the fan. It is detatchable but how can i remove it safely, it doesnt want to come out. I need to take it out and give it a proper clean.
 
apolloman said:
i have found my graphics card and noticed it was the hottest component after my PC crashes. It was also very dusty especialy the fan. It is detatchable but how can i remove it safely, it doesnt want to come out. I need to take it out and give it a proper clean.
Click to expand...

There is usually one screw that you remove, 2 screws with the bigger video cards like mine, and a small plastic clip that you push or pull gently near the edge of the video connector on the opposite side of the screw(s), while pulling the video card up. The clip may be hard to see because of all the dust... Handle the video card carefully and don't break any of the delicate fan blades
 
Hi guys, i think i may have disovered the cause of this. It would seem my system doesnt meet the requirements of the game im attemping to play:digimon masters online
http://www.joymax.com/dmo/Property_Front.aspx?WorkUrl=http://dmocp.joymax.com/us/Community/FreeBoard/FreeView.aspx?bno=17465^bid=1^page=1ng to play.
I tried out the old games that used to play on my system and i had no issues. I feel really stupid.
Now in order to play this gamre it would seem i need to upgrade, which i am totally fine with, ive had this rig for years and its about time it got some new stuff. My worry is if i get the nessescary components to play this one game, wont i be Very limited to the games i can play in the future? Will i run into all sorts of compatability issues and all that?
 
So did you finally remove the video card and clean it? As far as upgrading for better gaming, pay attention to upgrading to a bigger power supply and better video card. Everything else should be okay. You may only have an AGP slot video card, so you will have to stick with AGP, not the newer PCIe card
 
Well i just tried to remove the graphics and i could not remove it from the motherboard. Using a great amount of force i was only able to pull it out halfway. The rest of the card just will not budge. It was so stiff i think i may have broken a small peice of it. I suspect because its been in there so long( im talking years) dust has gathered and made it nigh impossible to remove without causing major damage.

IF it comes to needing a new system would it be possible to salvage parts of my current rig : Hard drives, ram sticks, processor etc. The fact i cannot remove the video card worries me i will also need a new motherboard.

BTW on the subject of gaming, would insuficent RAM have anything to do with the crashes?
Also what im worried about with getting a specifc brand of video card is that it wont be compatible with future games. Any advice on this.

Sorry if im unclear , im not very articulate. Thanks your help guys
 
With a computer as old as yours, only the case might be re-usable... XP 32-bit can only "see" a little over 3GB of memory and that would be enough memory for most games. To "see" over 3GB of memory you need a 64-bit operating system. Before you worry about a video card, you'll have to decide on a motherboard
 
Yes that would work, but don't forget the Operating System. You need to upgrade that too. Windows 7 64-bit. Do you notice the video card I have in my specs?
 
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