Comp is freezing up

I'm running Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit for system builders OEM for my specs I've got

* Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W

* MSI OC GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16
clocked at 655MHz

* Intel BOXDP45SG LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

* Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache
SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive

*2x G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)
Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory for a total of 8

*Thermaltake Armor Series VA8003BWS Black Full Tower Case without
large side fan

* Apevia Iceberg 680W Blue ATX Power Supply from FRY's electronics

* Zalman ZNPS9700 LED heatsink for the processor because the stock
was horrible

* I have many games on it not sure if they could be causing the problem
so here they are

1. World of Warcraft+all expansions
2. Half-life2
3. Team fortress 2
4. portal
5. CS source
6. Unreal Tournament 3
7. Assassin's Creed
8. F.E.A.R.2 Project Origion
9. Neverwinternights2+ all expansions
10. Mass Effect
11. Oblivion+shivering Isles expansion
12. Dark Messiah of Might and Magic
13. Gothic 3
14. Dungeon Lords
15. Loki
16. Supreme Commander
17. Age of Empires 3
18. Battlefield 2+special forces expansion
19. Battlefield 2142
20. Dark Sector
21. Fable:The Lost Chapter
22. Fallen Earth Trial

I use Mozilla Firefox for my internet browser and my comp had been freezing up at times it may be in the middle of the game or just browsing the internet but when it happens the screen freezes on the picture the mouse and the keyboard turn off the fans and lights keep going and a screeching sound plays over my speakers the board light and internet connection lights are still on but its non responsive though i can hold the power button to shut it down and reboot

I got most of my parts from newegg if u need more specifics on them

and in another sort of related issue while playing World of Warcraft it sometimes just reboots my system mid game thank you plz help

 

Classic heat symptoms - noting that gaming is just about the most demanding task we can ask of our systems. Is this a new build? Did the computer ever work fine without these problems?

Open the side panel and make sure the system is clean of heat trapping dust, and that cabling is routed to minimize blocking of desired front to back air flow. I note that TT case is loaded with large fan options. Note where you can get power for new fans. Once clean, blast a desk fan in the open side while playing your games hard. Keep an eye on your critical temperatures. Your motherboard utilities disk should have a monitoring program (or check for a more recent version on your motherboard or PC maker's website). If none, I recommend CoreTemp for newer Intel and AMD64 CPUs. SpeedFan is a great and popular alternative, or you can try Motherboard Monitor. Unfortunately, I have found that these programs often have problems properly identifying and labeling the sensor they are reading. The temperatures shown are as accurate as the inexpensive, low-tech sensors will allow, but it may say System Fan instead of CPU Fan. Fortunately, the programs do allow you to edit the labels, so I use Everest to verify the temperatures (as it is able to put sensor to label correctly), then edit the label in the monitoring program. In Everest, look under Computer > Sensor, then wait a couple seconds for the readings to appear. Unfortunately, Everest does not minimize to the system tray to show real-time temperatures, otherwise, you could use Everest instead of the others. Your graphics card should have monitoring tools as well.

If the desk fan makes the difference, you have a case that supports a monster 250mm side panel fan. I'm not a fan (no pun intended) of fancy facades and flashing lights in cases, preferring my cases to site discreetly, and quietly to the side (I prefer to look at my two 22" widescreen monitors! :-D), but I note NewEgg has 10 250mm fans in an assortment of flavors.

Is your system free of malware?

And while a 680W PSU would typically be more than enough, I note Apevia (formally Aspire) is not known for quality PSUs. I recommend buying from the "Good" side of PC Mechanic's PSU Reference List.

Even the best maker's have products that fail, however. This could be a failing graphics card, or bad RAM. Your card maker may have diagnostics - and you can go to Start > Run and enter dxdiag and run through all the tests.

You can test RAM using one of the following programs. Both require you to create and boot to a bootable floppy disk or CD to run the diagnostics. Using the floppy method is generally easier (and another reason to include floppy drives in new builds). However, the CD method is just as effective at detecting RAM problems. Allow the diagnostics to run for several passes or even overnight. You should have no reported errors.

Windows Memory Diagnostic - see the easy to follow instructions under Quick Start Information.
or
MemTest86+ (for more advanced users) - an excellent how-to guide is available here.​

I like Intel boards. They are not really oriented toward the gaming or enthusiast market, they do typically make rock solid platforms. But there are many parts on motherboards - you might have one that is failing. Keep an eye on your warranties and don't let them expire.

If you are overclocking, DON'T! At least not until this problem is resolved, and you are certain this is not heat related.

One more thing I don't think you are going to want to hear. You said you did not like the OEM fan and went with the Zalman. That tells me you bought the retail version of the CPU. Understand that using 3rd party coolers on retail (not OEM) versions of Intel and AMD CPUs voids the warranty!!! Certainly, this is not a concern for many enthusiasts, but it is a concern for many others, and everyone should be aware of it.

Intel CPU Warranty Information (my bold added)

Intel warrants the Product (defined as the boxed Intel® processor and the accompanying thermal solution)... ... if the Product is properly used and installed, for a period of three (3) years. This Limited Warranty does NOT cover:

• damage to the Product due to external causes, including accident, problems with electrical power, abnormal electrical, mechanical or environmental conditions, usage not in accordance with product instructions, misuse, neglect, alteration, repair, improper installation, or improper testing; OR
• any Product which has been modified or operated outside of Intel's publicly available specifications​

AMD CPU Warranty Information (their bold)

AMD is more straightforward on their page where it says the following concerning their retail, Processor In A Box (PIB), versions of their CPUs:

This Limited Warranty shall be null and void if the AMD microprocessor which is the subject of this Limited Warranty is used with any heatsink/fan other than the one provided herewith. ​

The good news is since both AMD and Intel warranty their boxed CPUs for three years, and since replacing them at their cost is not something they want to do, both make excellent cooling solutions both in terms of cooling abilities, but also in noise levels.

 

I was going to suggest heat also. The GTX260 video cards ship with the fan at 40%. This means at idle, the card runs in the high 40's or low 50's, and when gaming, it will get REALLY HOT, even in a well ventilated case. I recently got a GTX260 and used RivaTuner to set the fan at 70%. It's still very quiet, and it keeps the temps at about 38-40c idle, and maxes at about 58-60c when gaming. Try running GPUz in the background when gaming. Download it from this link. When you launch it, click the 'Sensors' tab and check the two little boxes (see the screenshot below) and have it save the log file to your desktop. Minimize it and launch a game and play for a while. Then check the log and it will show you what the card is doing with the temps and fan speeds (and lots of other stuff too!).

(Some people find RivaTuner a bit confusing; there's a bazillion guides on using it all over the internet, but eVGA's Precision works with all brands of NVidia 200 series video cards and can be used to adjust fan speed also)

 

If it's overheating would it reboot it or just shut it down someone said theres was hard drive failure could that be a problem?

 

Overheating can cause all sorts of problems from lock ups, to random reboots and shut downs, to poor performance in games and other graphically intensive stuff. And, yes, it could be a failing hard drive too. You can download a free diagnostic from your hard drive maker's web site. The problem could also be bad RAM, a failing motherboard, faulty/weak power supply, etc. It just seems to me that heat is likely because the GTX260 video cards come with the cooling fan locked at 40% and they run much too hot with the fan spinning that slow. I have read of several folks who had random issues until they increased the fan speed on their video cards. So, once again, I'd recommend checking out your video card temps as suggested above, and maybe use HWmonitor to check all your system temps and voltages while you're at it. You can run it in the background while stressing the system with FurMark or with the CPU stress test in Everest Ultimate (I think it's active in the trial version; I'm not sure though).

 

You need to eliminate heat as the culprit now, or risk permanent damage to your computer. Heat is the bane of all electronics - whether it be a sudden HOT event causing instant damage, or extended exposure to near extreme conditions increasing component aging (just noting it has been 2 weeks since you opened this thread). The "lock ups, to random reboots and shut downs, to poor performance in games and other graphically intensive stuff" dlb mentioned are signs of impending doom if not resolved.

So you need to get a deskfan blasting in there, as well as one of the many monitoring programs. You risk a corrupt boot drive ANY time a computer crashes.

 

Ran hardware monitor and furmark as hard as it could go peaked at 59 my card i did run precision and got my fan to 100 i dont really mind the noise processor heat got up to 57 on the main core but thats about it hard drive was perfect and voltage didn't seem to change at all i'm pretty sure its a software problem now and only the restarts have been happening no other malfunctions

 

Then you might want to check your RAM.

 

Absolutely. It's also a good idea to visit your hard drive maker's web site, download their free diagnostic tool, and run the advanced extended test on your drive. I worked on a PC that had random lock-ups for no apparent reason. The last thing I checked was the hard drive 'cuz my thinking was "it boots up fine, and runs great for maybe 10 minutes, maybe 2 hours, then just locks- I can be online, or gaming, or running a screen saver, or playing solitaire". Sure enough, the hard drive was failing.

 

I did check my drive and my memory they both check out i started a new thread in software because thats actually wear i think the problem lies check it out