HI
 
i have a:
 
ASUS M2N-VM DH
AMD 4200 X2  
2gb DDR2 RAM
1950x pro ATI Card
2 HDDs one 80gb one 180
 
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Basically when i play a game which is intensive on the CPU like Football Manager after a few minutes the CPU hits 100% and just stays there and the entire PC becomes really un-responsive.   Even after the Game is closed it takes like 20 minutes to return to anything near normal. (while the CPU is at 100% the ram is only at around 700mb
 
i tried running the game without virus protectors on etc and no difference.
 
this same issue doesnt occur with other games like Half Life etc.
 
Also when i turn on the AI overclock the PC goes into Blue screen of death once i do anything intensive.
 
The case i use is kind of small and im thinking is this a heat related issue?   The CPU runs around 60 decrees to 70, could this cause the CPU to slow its self down to prevent damage??
 
any help would be much appriciated

What PSU are you using? What drivers? What version of Windows? If you are running in the 60-70C some thing is wrong, either you are getting incorrect readings or there is dust,etc.

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E2180 @3.2Ghz + P35DS3L +8400GS (700/475 OC)  

Things to check.

hit ctrl + alt + del, under the Performance tab do you see 2 cpus(2 graphs)?
if no make sure both cores are enabled in the bios. Post back, there are ways to try to fix...one step at a time

Now head over to the Process tab and see what is taking all that power(you can sort by cpu usage). Your game should be most, Google anything you are unsure of(if you know it should not be there you can use the end task button to close it, be aware closing something windows relies on can BSOD[blue screen] the machine), you may have a nasty program on the machine.

Software.

Make sure the AMD dual core optimizer is installed on the computer.

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processor [...] 18,00.html

If you are running FRAPs make sure its the newest one, there was a bug ones that would cause high cpu usage.

Try without the ATI CCC running.

60-70 is hot(for an X2) but should not kill the cpu. I have pushed my A64 3200+(130nm newcastle) to 60c(dust, 52 normally. now 44 with undervolting)

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http://tinyurl.com/26uxxb - Core2 Temp Guide? http://tinyurl.com/cj3pw - VGA power use?  
http://tinyurl.com/5v55wk - Core2 Memory performance? http://tinyurl.com/6pmbke - SLI/Xfire?

yh, also i have seen much lesser systems cope alot better, i cheked the Graphics card and it seems to be at 8- degrees on idel, a few months back iv had burning wire smells etc comming out lol.
 
iv stopped all the programs starting up etc, everthing seems ok on the processes side,
 
yh there is 2 charts and iv installed the optimizer.   The OS is Windows Vista, i mite install XP onto my other Hard Drive and see if there is a diff.   Im using some Thearaltake PSU, i think its around 420 volts.
 
i used speed fan to chek the temps and it reads the folowing:
 
System 44 degrees
CPUT 65
AUX 46
Temp1 65
Core 68
 
also on start up iv seen the BIas show the CPU temp at arund 55-60 :S
 
 

Do both cpu's show up and what is taking all the cpu cycles?

80c is hot but should not kill a X1950xt card

On a unrelated topic....
Open the case and clean the heatsink for the cpu, it should drop the temps. also if you have an option for cpu fan speed control in the bios, shut it off...

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http://tinyurl.com/26uxxb - Core2 Temp Guide? http://tinyurl.com/cj3pw - VGA power use?  
http://tinyurl.com/5v55wk - Core2 Memory performance? http://tinyurl.com/6pmbke - SLI/Xfire?

ill do that all now,
 
both graphs show activity,   also i just started up the pc after a night off and yh its still 60 degrees lol.    
 
ummm for example when playing Football Manager 2007 when it does hit 100%, on the process screen it doesnt show Football Manager 2008 as using up all the CPU yet the CPU hits 100% and stays there and everything grinds to a halt.
 
 
ill have a look through the PC now, see if any wires are stopping fans ect

ok done a major clear out, turned off Q fan and AMD cool & Quiet,  CPU Temp Is Around 40 at the moment, there was a tonn of dus in the heatsink.  
 
Now when i look at Speed fan it shows all fans working at 100% all the time, is this ok??
 
also rahter worryingly there was a burnt patch on side of motherboard, i took away the wires there, it was a fire ware port for the frount ot the PC so i never sued anyway.
 
ill put it under some pressure see how it goes now.

what does it show using all the cpu cycles? the task manager should show each app and how much cpu time they use.

In my case you can see what taking all the power one game and and folding at home takes the rest.

For temps...clean it and make sure you are running the power management(Control Panel => Power Options=>change power-saving settings then make sure cool'n'quiet is on).

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http://tinyurl.com/26uxxb - Core2 Temp Guide? http://tinyurl.com/cj3pw - VGA power use?  
http://tinyurl.com/5v55wk - Core2 Memory performance? http://tinyurl.com/6pmbke - SLI/Xfire?

ok iv changed the power settings to power saving, ill go into bios and put cool'n' quiet on.
 
is there a way to get the onboard VGA to tke control of the general windows apearance and only use the graphics card to take control of games??   As it seems that the card is constatly running at a high level according to the fan speed and temp.
 
this is my task manager processes
 

 
also when cleaning the CPU i saw the thearmal paste was all over the place, uneven, so i rubbed it off, the bit on the heatsink was mostly even so its just using that at the moment.

If you touched the thermal paste you have to install new stuff. it is not made to be reused.

Now on to your screen.

First off MSN should not take that much power, did you add any extra crap to it(msn plus, emotes, smilies ect). If you did take them ALL off and reinstall msn by itself.

Your game appears to auto idle when minimized since your cpu is not maxed. You also appear to be missing allot of items from the task manager(the cpu use does not even add up.), i am not sure if vista changed this, but you should look into it.

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http://tinyurl.com/26uxxb - Core2 Temp Guide? http://tinyurl.com/cj3pw - VGA power use?  
http://tinyurl.com/5v55wk - Core2 Memory performance? http://tinyurl.com/6pmbke - SLI/Xfire?

put a tick on the 'Show processes from all users' box on the task manager processes page... that might show the rest...

Ok, i ticked the box, and this is what comes up:
 
[img=http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/826/23454by7.th.jpg]
 
the one right at the bottom not in view is "System idel processes", i dnt know what that Audio thin is but its using alot of cpu lol.  And no music is even on :S.
 
Yh ill do that with msn, i got loads i never use lol.  

Try downloading process explorer

you have to take a screen when its stuck at 100% to make it better click where it says cpu, that should line everything up in order of cpu use like in my screens

System idel processes is whats free so at 99% it means the system is not loaded at 40% it means the system is 60% loaded and so on...

good to know on vista you have to select that box...if i clear the box it does nothing on my xp system(was on by default).

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http://tinyurl.com/26uxxb - Core2 Temp Guide? http://tinyurl.com/cj3pw - VGA power use?  
http://tinyurl.com/5v55wk - Core2 Memory performance? http://tinyurl.com/6pmbke - SLI/Xfire?

i ended up deleting vista, amd installing XP again and everything seems good lol
 
thanks for all the replys guys, much appriciated