f.e.a.r crash

Hello all,

I am having a problem running F.E.A.R on my new pc. It runs fine for about 10-15 mins then crashes on me. but the crash isn't a usual crash. when the game does this to me my monitor goes offline. i can still here the in game music for a min and then that will freeze on me as well, i have tried alt-tab hoping to get to the desktop i have even tried ctrl-alt-del. nothing works so i am forced to manually shut the pc down and restart. it happens on both F.E.A.R and F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate.

I am trying to play so i can get reacquainted with the games before F3AR comes out.

i have already tried reinstalling my drivers hoping that was the prob. but the game still does it

my specs are (taken directly from dxdiag)

Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium
Processor: Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU E5300 @ 2.60GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.6GHz
Memory: 6142MB RAM
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT

 

Does it happen on any other games? Are you monitoring your case temperatures? If you are, double-check the GPU temps, if it is over-heating the graphics would be the first to go in a crash.

 

I 2nd what Mimsy said, thats a very usual trait of overheating video card. It's possible it's other things but especially since you lose picture but sound remains, I've actually experienced this exact senario myself on a couple of occassions and both times it was overheating card, I've also seen it on other PC's and seen the same issues/conclusions made on here.

If you don't have a temp gauge on your card software then you can download and Use GPUZ or Speccy, both are available Free on Major Geeks.

Note the temp while on idle, then fire up the game, play for about 5 minutes and minimize to check the temp again, rinse and repeat until crash. Chances are you are going to see temps upwards of 90C, which is not good.

Hope for your sake it's something more simple.

 

Does this also happen on other games besides fear?

Are ye using the drivers from nvidia or your manufacturer?

Ye using these: http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp-257.21-whql-driver.html

 

If those are the drivers ye are using, have ye tried older drivers? I've ran into this issue, where updated drivers work great on a new game, but an older game it required an ancient driver.

 

Well i just tried that and was seeing around 80-85 imma check the gpu fan out see if thats causing the over heating prob ill give yall a an update if i find out more

 

Good call on checking the GPU fan, 80-85 is definitely a bit too high. Make sure you blow out every single part of the heat sink on the card, not just around the fan. You want to make sure you get everything.

 

Well i cleaned it out (lot dustier than i imagined). now its running at around 40ish idling and 55-60ish under load. imma try playing for a bit ill post later to update yall. and thank you for your help it is much appreciated.

 

Those temperatures are much better! :highfive

If the temps get way too high during gaming, just come back here with updates and we'll keep helping you.That's what MGs is all about.

 

Wow, thats a major drop and I'm thinking you caught it nice and early , so with little luck you should be back onto plain sailing.
The trouble with this type of thing is the longer it runs hot, the more damage it does and over time damages your card to the point where it just gets weaker and weaker until it starts just radomly crashing and it's simply impossible to drop the temps, enevitably leading to dead card. But since you halved the temps I'd hazzard a guess you caught it before any real damage was done.
Nice to see a simple resolve, hope it all goes well for you

 

I suggest stress testing your GPU after you have over heated it a few times.

Check out Furmark