ghosts on display & then computer fries

[Dan_Gomez]

Strange problem:
after some heavy work (lets say, 15m of Unreal Tournament 2003), or long operating time, I start to see horizonal "ghosts" on my display. they get stronger and stronger - and if I dont shut it down immediatly - the computer fries.
this happend couple of times before, also with another mobo (Gigabyte).
It doesnt happen when I install a GForce2 MX instead of my GForce4 TI.

all fans are working, and I dont think anything got too hot inside.

anyone experienced something like that?

system setup:
AMD AthlonXP 2600+ (brand new)
ABit NF7 mobo (brand new)
400W PSU (brand new)
Inno3D GeForce4 TI4200
LG DVD-ROM drive
LG CDRW drive (brand new)
Maxtor 40GB 7200rpm HDD (brand new)
WinXP

 

[phial]

er, can you tell us what you mean by "fries"?

usually when someone says that they mean the part overheated and "burned up" literally, and has become unoperational from teh damage

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no siggy applicable

 

[TKS]

It still has to be Heat. Plain and simple. Heat Heat Heat Heat. How many case fans do you have? I have 6 in mine...one 120mm on the backside of the mobo, one axial fan on the backpanel blowing out, one slot fan blowing out underneath the video card, one 120mm fan blowing out on top of the case, and two sucking air in on the side lower panel next to my case window.

Put in more case fans to up the airflow and see what happens. It has to be heat that builds up from the extended play. Another thing you should think about as a rule of thumb is static build up. You should NOT have your computer sitting on carpet or hardwood floors. The amount of static electricity that builds up could fry an integrated circuit at the drop of a hat. The static build up can also cause nifty video problems. Dusty components also add to this static build up because a charge will stick to the dust particles. So, if your case is sitting on the ground like that, you might want to get it off the floor onto a desk unit or something of that nature. You could also upgrade your PSU to one that is a bit more heavy duty (they usually contain an excellent ground and have better overvoltage/surge protection). Also, I use rubber liners and washers for my fans which helps to cut back on the static AND more importantly, the noise.

I like Thermaltake fans such as <A HREF="http://www.thermaltake.com/products/dcfan/xblower.htm" target="_new">these</A>. I put the slot fan next to my video card as well. It seems to draw some of the heat off of it. You might try that. Having too many fans doesn't hurt a darn thing though...especially if you decide to OC in the future (if you haven't already). If I had that card I would be OCing the crap out of it. Hope this helps.

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TKS