My Computer Freezes up during games

Computer freezes Up during games or graphically intense applications

My system:

Asus Striker 2 Extreme LGA 775 DDR 3 ATX Intel Motherboard
Cooler master case SC 1000 full tower ssw1
2 MSI NX 8800GT 512m Ge force video cards
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 Kentsfield 2.66 ghz CPU
Corsair Dominator 4 GB memory 240 pin DDR 3 Ram
2 Western Digital Raptor Harddrive 10000 RPM SATA 1.5 Gbs.
1 DVD R DVD burner with light scribe
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 pro 92 mm CPU cooler
Apevia Ice berg ATX 680 watt power supply atx 12 v/ eps 12v


I built this computer my self (first time). I have been getting total freeze ups often during games (Dawn of War, Medieval Total War 2, City of Heroes) where the computer sound will be on a half second loop. Only a hard re-boot will break the freeze. It also occasionally freezes up while watching video images on ITunes or a DVD. The CPU temp was running high (70c) at first while using the fan that came with it so I added the fan above and now temps don’t go above 45c. The computer still froze after the fan change and subsequent temp drop. I ran a registry error app(Error Nuker) to fix all registry errors. A couple were found and repaired but I still have the freeze ups. Virus and Malware scans have been done regularly and don’t show anything.

I also suspected that the PSU wattage of 680 might be a little light for my system so I took out one of my two video cards. Still freezing up. Sometimes the game will play for an hour w/o freeze up sometimes 10 minutes. I am still leaning towards the PSU and have tentative plans to upgrade to a 1000 watt model to hopefully avoid any more instability. But I would like input before I spend the cash. Thanks.

I'll do the mem test but I have the latest drivers.

You realize this thread is a month old right? He probably already fixed his problem and moved on...

Check for all the latest drivers of your hardware and run Memtest86+ to make sure your ram is stable.

I have asus striker 2 extreme also, 790i SLI ultra
e8400 OC/d at 3.6ghz @1.4v
2x2gig ddr3 1800 mhz fsb ram in 1:1 @manufacturer timings/voltage
2x geforce 285
creative pci-express sound blaster x-fi extreme audio
750w psu
1.52nb, 1.6sb
game patched 1.3 and latest nforce/video drivers

I cannot figure it out, my computer passes stress test like prime95 for more than 2 hours but when i play medieval 2 the computer randomly freezes frequently, requiring a hard reset no bsod, nothing, just black screen with machine gone noise.

I dont know what voltage is lacking if any. I don't believe it if the nb needs more than 1.52. i just cant stand anymore that i cant play this awesome game, any thoughts

consulted http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdo [...] =3283&p=17
and http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/t286126.html

please help!