Could this problem be caused by my graphics card?

[Nitarotro]

Hello all! Lately, I have been having an issue with my computer. I play a number of videogames on my computer and lately have been having some difficulties getting some of my newer games to work. The games in question are The Secret World (I have signed up and am playing the beta) and Assassin's Creed. When I try to play either, one of two things happens after about 15 - 20 minutes of playing. Either the computer will totally freeze and nothing will work, or my monitor will just blank out as if it's lost the input though I can still hear the sounds of the game playing through my speakers. Both problems force me to force shutdown my computer. I am using an Nvidia Geforce 240 which I have not had any problems with until now.

Things I have tried:
- Lower the graphics settings on the games to the bare minimum.
- When the screen blanks out, I've tried disconnecting and reconnecting all of the wires.
- Update my video card drivers.

None of it has helped. Now, I can understand why The Secret World might crash, as it's very new. Running this test: http://www.geforce.com/games-applications/pc-games/the-secret-world/gpu-analyzer Resulted in the analyzer telling me that my GPU wasn't good enough for the game and recommended the Nvidia Geforce 560 Ti as a new GPU. I am confused about Assassin's Creed though as it is an older game and even running on minimum graphics settings results in a crash. So, do you think this is a problem with an outdated GPU? If it is, can you point me in the direction of a somewhat less expensive yet powerful new GPU? The Nvidia Geforce 560 Ti is a tad pricy for me.

Hope you can help!

 

[revolution2718]

It sounds like it could be overheating due to the stress of the game. You might want to download GPUZ (link below), and have it log to file the temperatures of the card to let you know how hot is is getting when it crashes.

If you computer is mad dusty, a fan is busted, or something along those lines that could be the issue.

As for a new card, look into the Radeon HD 6950 2GB, or the less expensive Radeon HD 6850 1GB.

EDIT: the link: http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/

 

[venjhammet]

A GTS450 or a GT550 will suffice and they are not that expensive.

 

[HEXiT]

lulz. my 5870 is below recommended... but it punished the 560 ti in every aspect...
as for the problem with the ops gfx. its likely a heat issue. so check the event viewer
in control pannel/admin tools/event viewer/system.
if it says the driver stopped working then replace them with whql versions as there the most stable. if it says the video card stoped working then its a hardware issue that will either be cause by heat (clean it of any dust with compressed air), a voltage issue,. some cards have voltage drops when switching from 3d to 2d which cause the card to turn off (use msi afterburner to increase the voltage slightly but keep an eye on the vrm temps as this can increase them dramatically). or an existing vrm temp issue. use gpu-z to look these up...

 

[Nitarotro]

Ok, so I figured out that what was causing the crash was that my GPU was idling at 83 degrees! Moreover, when I play my games, it will shoot up to over 100 degrees, which is probably whats crashing my computer. Used some compressed air to clean the fans and GPU, but it hasn't helped a lot. Some solutions I've seen suggested are:

- Clean or even replace the heatsink
- Apply some new thermal paste
- Underclock your GPU

I think those are the ones I've seen the most. Let me know if I missed any. Anyways, I was thinking of underclocking my GPU now just to see if that would help and since it won't cost me anything. Should I go with this? If so, can someone point me in the direction of some underclocking tools?

Thanks!
EDIT:Alright. The GPU itself looks fine. Using Speccy, I found this out:

Current CPU temp: 51 degrees
Current Motherboard Temp: 36 degrees
Current GPU Temp: 80 degrees
Harddrive 1: 43 degrees
Harddrive 2: 34 degrees

All fans are fine but they seem to be doing overtime (75-80% on idle) most likely because of my overheating GPU. It doesn't sound or look like a malfunctioning heatsink or fan, so should I assume that it's my graphics card that is malfunctioning?