PC Lockup Problem

[richid]

Guys, I need your help with something. My PC locks up randomly whenever I am playing a video game. Sometimes it will be 10 seconds into the game, 30 minutes into it, or occasionaly it won't do it at all. I've used Win XP and Win 98 now with the same results on both OS's. I'm running a 1.44 GHz Athlon on an Asus A7A266 MB with an Elsa Gladiac 920 Geforce 3 and Sound Blaster Live! sound card. I've tried switching the cards around in the PCI slots, but with no luck. Anyone know of any conflicts between these components? Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[BuGaLoU]

How big is your power supply? That rig needs a lot of juice to run. I recommend at least 350 Watts.

Computer: $2000 Internet Access: $40 Registering for forums: Free A good signature: Priceless

 

[svol]

What brand of memory are you using?

My case has so many fans that it hovers above the ground .

 

[Smilin]

I only ask because of past experiences...

Do you by chance use winamp while playing?

 

[pr497]

thats great ...
anyways....whats your cpu temp when you're playing games?
it could lock up because the temp of your cpu gets too high.

I don't claim to know anything about everything, I just tell people what I know.
-PSB

 

[richid]

Thanks for the response guys, I'll answer all these questions now...I'm using the 300W power supply that came with my Antec case. I'm also using a 256MB stick of Crucial PC2100 DDR Ram. In Win XP I used Windows Media Player and it would lockup sometimes. But in Win98 I've been using Winamp and it still locks up sometimes. It locks up alot more while playing games though. I've never checked the temp during games, but it usually runs around 140-145F while not playing games. There is a built in thermal sensor that while beep really loud and lock up when it hits 160F, and it's never done that. Once again, thanks.

 

[pr497]

145 is high for an idle computer. thats like 64 C for a cpu thats doing nothing.
you might wanna do something to lower the temp of your cpu like buying extra case fans or even a better cpu fan (actually...you might wanna do both).

I don't claim to know anything about everything, I just tell people what I know.
-PSB