Graphics

Hey

Guys don't know if im in the right section for this but, anways here i go. a Couple of weeks ago my pc display graphics started crashing when watching a video or playing a game resulting in the need for a reeboot. As i kept on using it as it was i found that it was crashing more often untill now i can only play a game for around 5 mins before it crashes. Everything ellse works fine surfing net, music, and other programs so this is what i have tride to fix this. Cpu reseat,underclocked,cpu checked heat levels.
Memory slot and ram modules checked no faults.
Gpu heat, driver, heatsink reseat, cleaning out the fans. Psu power voltage checked.
Cmos reset,bios reset to default.
All cables secure and the only thing i havent tride is updating the bios. please help me.
I have been having a real hard time trying to fix this problem. :mad

 

Have you tried switching your video card for another? It sounds like you're only having problems when the vc is being made to work. If a different vc will let you play games and watch movies without the crashes, then you've isolated the problem and are probably just in the market for a new vc. Sounds like a pretty basic solution but it looks like you've already tried everything else I can think of. Good luck!

 

Have to agree. Sounds like it can no longer handle stress from hard work.

 

Yes i have put in another vc and the same thing happens any other ideas? Its driving me mad.

 

It sounds like the PSU is unable to sustain enough current flow when it's under load.

Can you give us the specs on your computer and the PSU supply please?

 

Motherboard P5n-T Deluxe

Os Windows xp 64

Ram 8Gig DDR2 800mhz 1.5 cl

Gpu 8800 gtx

Cpu Q9550 2.83 Ghz Quad core

Hdd Maxtor 500gb sata

psu akasa 1200 watt active pfc

voltage|+3.3V|+12V1|12V2|12V3|12V4|12V5|12V6|-12V|+5VSB

max load|40A|40A|20A|20A|28A|28A|28A|20A|0.8A|6A|

Combined wattage 250w| 1128w max

I just tride a system restore and i played for around an hour before the problem came back.

 

Switch over to the onboard graphics and run for a while to see if it happens.

 

I dont have onboard graphics.

 

What make and model of machine are we discussing here?

 

ASUS P5N-T Deluxe AiLifestyle Series - Motherboard - ATX - nForce 780i SLI - LGA775 Socket - UDMA133, Serial ATA-300 (RAID), eSATA - Gigabit Ethernet - FireWire - High Definition Audio (8-channel)

 

That PSU should be able to run anything ...

Could you attach the System .evt logfile for us from Management> System Tools> Event Viewer please. You'll need to save it and attach it as a .zip file.

 

Okay when u reseated the GPU HS I hope u applied a decent TIM.

Try GPU-Z 0.34 and switch to the monitoring stage and then run OpenGL Fur Rendering Benchmark for a 1min session this will push ur Vid Card to the max and u can watch the temps. Normally crashes and or pixilation are associated with poor temps.

 

I have tride the benchmark and my gpu only got to 79c. here is the log file

 

Hmm, nothing obvious in that log.

Can you give us some history of the PC please? When it was built/bought, whether it has been reinstalled and why, number of times System Restore has been used ... anything that may help shed some light.

 

Not sure whether you mentioned Drivers yet or not but I would consider a clean out of old drivers and reinstall those "suitable" for the 8800GT. Sometimes the latest ones are not suitable for older cards.

I would use this to clean up old drivers Driver Sweeper beta 2.0.0 and then you can find most of the nVidia drivers here All Drivers and nVidia XP 32 Bit Drivers. Also Guru3D have excellent forums on Video cards.

 

Yes I have wiped my drivers several times before and the same thing happened, just happened at different times. I am going to try a fresh install of my os and try 32 bit instead also i have noticed my hdd making scratching sounds now and again so will use a different one see if that makes any difference. Regarding the history the Mobo, Psu, Ram, Cpu and Cooler are around 9 months old but the rest came frome my first build probably 2 years old if that helps at all.

 

Ok so what OS did you have in place?

Those temps you reported for the Video Card are quite nice and it seems that it may not be the issue, but naturally temps will scale with prolonged useage especially when it comes to gaming. If you want to keep testing it till the issues starts and then quickly refer to GPU-z temps it may give better insight.

Did you refresh the Thermal Interface Material (TIM) when you removed your Vid Card HS?? I refresh mine 1-2 times a year and watch my temp loads.

Another issue that we maybe overlooking is that the Vid Card could be causing your CPU to become "hot" and starts causing the instability issues use EVEREST Free Edition 2.20 (Computer>>>>Sensor) with GPU-z open and then run Fur Bench again for 2-3mins and see what is going on. Set the window size in Fur (untick Fullscreen) to 640x480 so you can watch the temps scaling on the GPU and CPU.

 

Yes i have changed the thermal paste on both cards i used with arctic silver