PC crashes while playing games

[poteljito]

Hi. I'm new to the forum.

So here's the deal.
My pc has been crashin' for some time and by now I've ignored it but since not being able to play GTA4 I decided that I should try to fix the problem.
So I start the game and play it for 10-30 minutes(30 if lucky) and then the screen goes black and the sound starts to loop like when i get a BSOD, but there's no BSOD screen but a black screen. It doesn't happen on all games. It happens when playing Bioshock, GTA4, Hitman:BM and so on. Doesn't happen on COD4.
Also BSOD sometimes happens when using utorrent(maybe connected)
I have the latest drivers so I think that's not the problem.
My setup:
Intel core duo E8500 wolfdale
4GB RAM Mushkin Value Series 800MHz
DFI Lan Party DK P45-T2RS
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD4850 Toxic
Chieftec 550W
Os:Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit SP1. DX 10
I don't think that other parts matter that much.

Greets and thanks in advance.

 

[gillianbrown]

Sounds like a possible overheating problem or possibly an underpowered psu.

Make sure your case has adequate ventilation and that the case isn't full of dust etc, especially around the fans and heatsinks.

Check that your psu is capable of delivering enough power for your system.

Pay particular attention to how many amps it puts out on the 12v rail/s.

 

[poteljito]

Yea i was planing to buy 4x90mm fans and a 120 fan to cool it better. The pc is quite new so there is not much dust. Should I do a memtest? And how do i check if the psu is good enough?

 

[gillianbrown]

Running memtest86+ is a good idea if you suspect faulty ram.

As for checking your psu, the details should be on a large label on the psu itself.

You can also use this PSU Calculator to try and work out what you need.

 

[poteljito]

The PSU Calculatorshows that i need about 410W. Don't know it seems that my PSU is strong enough.

 

[poteljito]

So.. is there any help? Kinda want to play games. Every day I'm losing faith in my rig. Maybe i choose the wrong mobo : /