[Solved] Games keep crashing... why?

They do this..

Error 9/18/2009 8:38:25 PM Application Error 1000 (100)
Log Name: Application
Source: Application Error
Date: 9/18/2009 8:38:25 PM
Event ID: 1000
Task Category: (100)
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: Sol
Description:
Faulting application Majesty2.exe, version 1.0.0.0, time stamp 0x4a85523d, faulting module nvd3dum.dll, version 8.15.11.9038, time stamp 0x4a5ce618, exception code 0xc0000005, fault offset 0x003807e4, process id 0xc28, application start time 0x01ca38baebec2e12.
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="Application Error" />
<EventID Qualifiers="0">1000</EventID>
<Level>2</Level>
<Task>100</Task>
<Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2009-09-19T00:38:25.000Z" />
<EventRecordID>1890</EventRecordID>
<Channel>Application</Channel>
<Computer>Sol</Computer>
<Security />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data>Majesty2.exe</Data>
<Data>1.0.0.0</Data>
<Data>4a85523d</Data>
<Data>nvd3dum.dll</Data>
<Data>8.15.11.9038</Data>
<Data>4a5ce618</Data>
<Data>c0000005</Data>
<Data>003807e4</Data>
<Data>c28</Data>
<Data>01ca38baebec2e12</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>

Why does this happen everytime I play a "newer" game? Someone please help me.. my PC is brand new.

8800gt 512gb
E8400
8GB ram
550watt PSU
P5Q motherboard

Is 550 enough? And wouldn't the PC turn off rather than just crash the game if it was power realted? I do also experience x3B blue screens which does restart the PC from time to time.

what is the game, btw ?, I once had this game that no matter what crashed once you completed second level, would run on 98se,me,or xp(which was crappy at that time,imo)

I should also mention that my PC works fine when Im not playing any games. It's only when I have a 3D game playing. The BSODs and CTD happen randomly. Sometimes within 15minutes and sometimes not for a hour or more.

http://www.xoxide.com/logisys-550w-pcix-clear.html

that is the exact one i bought.

Logisys

I lasted 10minutes in Dawn of Disovery before I had a CTD. It produced a .dmp file in the Dawn of Discovery folder but I cant read it. Will try to do copy and past that here once I extract the information from it. Will update.

I just had a BSOD and it was a dxgkrnl.sys error while playing Dawn of Discovery,

Its that power supply, you need to replace that with a quality brand, antec, thermaltake,corsair or something, those cheap psu's will literally kill your system.

I just purchased this:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applica [...] VqHCjCdwwp

Corsair's site suggested this one, along with NVIDIA. Hoping the abundance of 12v rails helps.

Didn't some 8800GT's have issues overheating? Wouldn't be the first time stuff overheating caused BSoDs (in my experience). Check temps/airflow. Run Memtest.

I've been monitoring airflow and temps since these problems started. My GPU was getting a bit overheated (a few celsius over) so I purchased a good heat sink that attaches to it. Those temps dropped and the problems still occurred.

Will be receiving my new Corsair PSU probably Tuesday or Wednesday and will report back. Keeping my fingers crossed that it's not the GPU malfunctioning (GPUs are expensive!).

I ran memtest when this started happening awhile back and will revisit this when I get home from work.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Holy ***, I think it may have worked. I ran memtest with all 4 sticks and received a error on test 5. I then ran each stick independently and they all passed. Then I put 2 sticks in and it passed and then added the third and it passed. I will add the fourth one tonight and see what that does. Is it possible that when all 4 sticks are added the PSU can't handle them?

It may help to up the RAM voltage slightly.

I have a feeling that the $114 PSU linked above is quite superior to your Coolmax. I wish it was $114 when I bought it, it was $170 back then

Alright. So I ran memtest once again with all 4 and it had a few hundred thousand test 5 errors. I then upped my voltage by a .6 and ran the test again and it didn't pass. I then tried some replacement RAM of the same type/brand/etc and it still failed. So from the last week of troublshooting I've pinpointed that three sticks of RAM runs fine but only errors when I insert the fourth. The focus is now strictly a power problem or perhaps that slot on the motherboard is faulty.

Should I pop that new PSU in there and see if that changes anything? Maybe I didn't up the RAM voltage enough?

My BIOS won't let me. It goes up in .2 increments so I can only get 2.0 or 2.2 unless I'm raising the wrong voltage. It was the DRAM setting that was the only thing that stood out in terms of adjusting a voltage concerning RAM. I raised it anyway to 2.2 and ran the test and it failed once again. I'm coming to a point where the only thing left to do is put that new PSU in. I have the new PSU but wanted to try some other troublshooting techniques prior.

yeah I've been playing FarCry2 with just the 3 sticks (6GB of RAM) and it works just fine. It only has a problem when I put that fourth stick in. Oh well, thank you everyone for the help. I'll just stick with 6GB for now and will keep troublshooting.