games cause computer to crash

D

doomtop

Whenever I play a game that needs a graphics card I can play for a
little while then the machine crashes and reboots. After it reboots if
I go right back into the game it will crash more quickly. I have tried
turning off all other applications and turning the desktop resolution
down and turning down all the settings within the game. The crashes
seem to happen randomly, although the time I can be in a game before it
crashes is less if I go right back into the game after crashing.

My specs:

Windows XP Pro, SP2
Biostar M7NCD Ultra motherboard
Athlon XP 2600+ cpu
Sapphire ATI Radeon X800 Pro AGP 256MB video card
2x 200GB Maxtor 7200rpm hard drives
16x DVD-/+RW
420W generic @-Power power supply
2x 80mm case fans and 1x CPU fan w/ heatsink

Anyone ideas would be much appreciated, I can't seem to solve this
problem.
 
K

Kerry Brown

Whenever I play a game that needs a graphics card I can play for a
little while then the machine crashes and reboots. After it reboots if
I go right back into the game it will crash more quickly. I have tried
turning off all other applications and turning the desktop resolution
down and turning down all the settings within the game. The crashes
seem to happen randomly, although the time I can be in a game before
it crashes is less if I go right back into the game after crashing.

My specs:

Windows XP Pro, SP2
Biostar M7NCD Ultra motherboard
Athlon XP 2600+ cpu
Sapphire ATI Radeon X800 Pro AGP 256MB video card
2x 200GB Maxtor 7200rpm hard drives
16x DVD-/+RW
420W generic @-Power power supply
2x 80mm case fans and 1x CPU fan w/ heatsink

Anyone ideas would be much appreciated, I can't seem to solve this
problem.

Sounds like a heat problem.

Kerry
 
C

ChrisC

Hi,
'Sounds like a heat problem'
Although it could also be a PSU problem as it is a generic one and is
running quite a few pieces of hardware. However the way to check if it's a
heat problem is to remove the side of the case and see if there's any
difference, also try a hairdryer on cold blowing into the case. If the
problem is cured then you might need a more efficient HFS and fan, or it
might be that your HSF is not seated correctly, check the temps with this
tool http://www.hmonitor.com/ and get back to us with the readings. If your
CPU temp is ok, and my suggestion with the case works, it might be that your
GPU running too hot as well, thus also req another heatsink & fan. I suggest
you have a nosey around these forums
http://forums.amd.com/index.php?s=b3e9abbc8c7705a548b576e208d12062&showforum=7
http://forums.pcper.com/forumdisplay.php?f=8
http://forums.sudhian.com/ for more info about PSU's and heat issues....
ChrisC
 
D

doomtop

Hey thanks for the responses guys!
I have tried already removing the side of the case and it does not seem
to make any difference in stability within a game. I have monitored the
temperatures of the CPU while playing a game and watching it crash, the
temperatures do not seem to go up significantly, but a few times they
have. Say the normal temperature is 46c, when I'm playing a game it
will go up to about 49-50c, which is normal for playing a game. The
game will crash at those normal temperatures, but sometimes it will
crash and when I boot up I see that the temperatures have gone up to
like 56-58c. If overheating is infact a problem then it can't be the
only problem because games will crash even if the temperature has not
gone up.
I'll also add that every game that uses 3D graphics crashes, it's not
any one particular game. I previously had an AOpen AK79D-400VN
motherboard that failed and I replaced it with the Biostar one. I don't
play games very often, but I remember playing games before with my
current video card and CPU, but on the old motherboard.
I'll also mention that when I am playing the game (before it crashes)
the game runs fine and very smoothly, it just crashes very suddenly and
without warning. Other than crashing everytime I play, the game looks
and plays quite well.
Outside of games I have found that the machine will crash in the same
way even when nothing is running but background applications, but this
type of crash will occur very rarely. As little as once or less than
once in a day.

Thanks for the list of forums to check Chris, I'll be noseying around,
hah.
-doomtop
 
K

Kerry Brown

doomtop said:
Hey thanks for the responses guys!
I have tried already removing the side of the case and it does not
seem to make any difference in stability within a game. I have
monitored the temperatures of the CPU while playing a game and
watching it crash, the temperatures do not seem to go up
significantly, but a few times they have. Say the normal temperature
is 46c, when I'm playing a game it will go up to about 49-50c, which
is normal for playing a game. The game will crash at those normal
temperatures, but sometimes it will crash and when I boot up I see
that the temperatures have gone up to like 56-58c. If overheating is
infact a problem then it can't be the only problem because games will
crash even if the temperature has not gone up.
I'll also add that every game that uses 3D graphics crashes, it's not
any one particular game. I previously had an AOpen AK79D-400VN
motherboard that failed and I replaced it with the Biostar one. I
don't play games very often, but I remember playing games before with
my current video card and CPU, but on the old motherboard.
I'll also mention that when I am playing the game (before it crashes)
the game runs fine and very smoothly, it just crashes very suddenly
and without warning. Other than crashing everytime I play, the game
looks and plays quite well.
Outside of games I have found that the machine will crash in the same
way even when nothing is running but background applications, but this
type of crash will occur very rarely. As little as once or less than
once in a day.

Thanks for the list of forums to check Chris, I'll be noseying around,
hah.
-doomtop

It could be the video card, system ram, motherboard, and/or the PSU
overheating. The symptoms you describe are the classic signs of overheating.
It could also be adriver problem but given what you have described this
doesn't seem as likely.

Kerry
 
D

doomtop

So I've figured out the problem and solved it temporarily.
I ran tests on the RAM because I had gotten a memory access violation
when one game crashed. The tests failed. Unseating the ram in slot B
and putting it in slot A with the other stick solved all my problems.
Except now since I have both RAM sticks in slot A the dual DDR is no
longer enabled.
Both the motherboard and RAM are practically brand new. Why would
putting the RAM in dual DDR enabled mode cause memory tests to fail
like this ?
 
K

Kerry Brown

doomtop said:
So I've figured out the problem and solved it temporarily.
I ran tests on the RAM because I had gotten a memory access violation
when one game crashed. The tests failed. Unseating the ram in slot B
and putting it in slot A with the other stick solved all my problems.
Except now since I have both RAM sticks in slot A the dual DDR is no
longer enabled.
Both the motherboard and RAM are practically brand new. Why would
putting the RAM in dual DDR enabled mode cause memory tests to fail
like this ?

Many possible reasons, wrong type of ram, mismatched ram, marginal ram (i.e.
fails when stressd), bad motherboard. Are both sticks the same brand and
part number? Look in your motherboard manual and see what type of ram is
recommended.

Kerry
 
P

Plato

Kerry said:
part number? Look in your motherboard manual and see what type of ram is
recommended.

As an aside. Yes, when you build your own system you have a motherboard
manual. But very often if you buy big brand, a motherboard manual is not
included.
 
K

Kerry Brown

Plato said:
As an aside. Yes, when you build your own system you have a
motherboard manual. But very often if you buy big brand, a
motherboard manual is not included.

In the OP's first post he listed the motherboard make and model. This means
it is a clone that should have come with a motherboard or the manual can be
easily downloaded from the manufacturer's site.

So as an aside, yes, if the OP had a Dell, HP/Compaq, Gateway etc. They
would have to look in the computer manual instead of the motherboard manual
:)

Kerry
 

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