Tom's Hardware > Forum > Homebuilt Systems > General Homebuilt > computer crashing when playing games
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rcd3d   10-31-2007 at 11:31:26 PM

Over the last few months, my computer is frequently having problems while playing games. The computer is roughly a year old, which I built myself, and has been working fine up until early summer. The most common occurrences are crashing with a “this program has unexpectedly shutdown” error or on occasion a blue screen (BSOD’s). The blue screens are giving no particular error. I have tried playing several different games so far including Oblivion (retail version), Bioshock (demo), Call of Duty 4 (demo), Hellgate London (demo), Dark Messiah (retail version), Timeshift (demo), Medal of Honor: Airborne (demo), Stalker (retail version), World of Warcraft (retail), FEAR (retail version), Crysis (SP demo) and Battlefield 2 (retail version). I have some other games to try out as well which I will test soon. Anyway, all of these games have produced random crashes or BSODs almost every time I play them, usually after several minutes of play. The following is my system:

CPU = Intel core duo E6700 (2.66 Ghz)
Motherboard = EVGA 122-CK-NF88 (680i SlI capable)
Memory = OCZ Vista Upgrade DDR2-800 - 2GB (x2)
Video Card = EVGA 8800 GTX
Sound card = sound blaster fatality pro
Harddrives = 2 Western Digital SATA drives 500 gig.
PSU = OCZ 700W
OS = Windows XP Pro SP2

None of my hardware is over-clocked. I am NOT using SLI.

The following are the steps I have taken so far to resolve this but nothing has worked so far:

1) Using the most recent video drivers from NVIDIA
2) Using the most recent sound blaster drivers
3) Reinstalled a fresh copy of windows XP
4) Made sure Windows has every latest update
5) Swapped out sound card for a slightly older sound blaster card
6) Swapped out my EVGA 8800 GTX video card for a BFG 8600 GT

I have tried to monitor my GPU temp with Ntune and Rivatuner and both are reporting normal temps but maybe a little high (60-75 idle, 80-98 while playing game). I have also run 3DMARK to test the video card and no crashes occurred. I am nearly at my wits end as I spent a lot of cash on this computer so I can play the latest games, and now I can barely play anything for very long. Argh! Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated. I think my next course of action is to try new memory.

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itotallybelieveyou   10-31-2007 at 11:44:02 PM
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little high? pretty sure card starts throttling at 100c 98 is pretty close

------------------------------ It's a theater of love stories.
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bcboy   10-31-2007 at 11:55:43 PM
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EDIT: never mind, I thought he said CPU not GPU...just deleted a huge rant about how he could kiss his Conroe goodbye...


Message edited by bcboy on 10-31-2007 at 11:57:05 PM
------------------------------ “Digital rights management technology will still fail to prevent widespread infringement. In a related development, pigs will still fail to fly. I predict that every year, and it turns out to be true every year” — Ed Felten.
 Reply to bcboy
rcd3d   11-01-2007 at 12:20:49 AM
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UPDATE:

just tested the 8600 GT (the new card) with Call of Duty 4 demo. Played through it twice - no crash or BSOD. GPU was around 55 deg (tested with Rivatuna). Also played Metal of Honor: Airborne demo before that and it blue screened after about 10 minutes of play.

regarding those temps with the 8800 GTX, I am going from my memory. It may not have been that high when I tested it. I will do it again soon after I test the new card some more. I am pretty sure the problem is not in the video card though as I still get crashes, just not as much as with the 8600 GT. However I have only been testing it for a couple of days.

Further Update: Played Crysis Demo again. Game locked up with stuttering sound after about 10 minutes of play. Temps were around 60 deg.


Message edited by rcd3d on 11-01-2007 at 12:37:47 AM
Reply to rcd3d
akhilles   11-01-2007 at 12:45:42 AM
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A # of things I'd do:

 

1) jog down the BSOD code & any file name causing it. Google this.

 

2) go to start, control, admin, event viewers, system tab, look for the last error that occurred about the same time the OS crashed. Google this.

 

3) uninstall nvidia ide sw driver & use microsoft's

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by akhilles on 11-01-2007 at 12:46:27 AM
Reply to akhilles
chookman   11-01-2007 at 01:05:37 AM
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akhilles wrote :

A # of things I'd do:

1) jog down the BSOD code & any file name causing it. Google this.

2) go to start, control, admin, event viewers, system tab, look for the last error that occurred about the same time the OS crashed. Google this.

3) uninstall nvidia ide sw driver & use microsoft's



I like...


Id be doing a massive Memtest on the machine memtest86+ use bootable cd

Reply to chookman
akhilles   11-01-2007 at 02:34:30 PM
- 0 +

^^^ Totally forgot that. Very important for random crashes.

Reply to akhilles
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