Computer Freezes during games ... but not at other times ...

  • Thread starter Kolyana
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Kolyana

Kolyana

2,353
Hi guys ... first post for me, so I may not be super aware of protocol ... I apologize for that. let me know if I miss anything and I'll make sure I add it.

SYSTEM:
Windows XP Professional
SP2
1 gig 2700DDR (< 12 months old)
550W PSU (15 mths old)
GE FOrce 6800GT Video Card (256MB, onboard fan)
5 case fans
Zalman fan on the cpu + Artic Fox
MSI A7N8X ARU MOBO
AMD 2100+ CPU

PROBLEM
Okay, my computer has been fine and rock solid for 6 months now (following a reinstall and new parts) ... everything has been great. I tend to play games in the evening and program all day, so it sees a lot of use ... especially when I download at night ... it can be on all the time for many days at a time.

Last Sunday while playing a game (Civ IV) I heard it 'click' - just once - and within 5 seconds it froze ... insatntly and absolutely. I did a soft reboot, checked the admin logs and found ntohing untoward.

I opened up the same game and again it clicked and then froze within about half an hour ... this game has not caused my system to crash in 2 weeks of solid play, so this was unusual.

Again I rebooted, found no error logs anywhere that gave any clues.

I have performed diskeeper checks and no problems were found, I've also run a memory test and found no issues. All my fans are turning just fine, including the one on the graphics card.

So I just fired up Call of Duty II ... which I played yesterday for a few hours: Yesterday it froze after playing for a while, today it froze within half an hour.

I'm running all of these games on 1280x1024, x4 AA.

Things I've noticed ... I can leave the machine on all night and it doesn't lock up.
I can program on it all day long, have multiple windows open and etc ... again with no issues.
The minute I start a game? Locks up.

And ... perhaps most curiously ... seconds before it freezes *something* within the tower goes *CLICK* ... a short, simple CLICK and a freeze is sure to follow.

I am all out of ideas ... everything within my machine is new *EXCEPT* for the CPU. The memory is pretty good stuff, nothing cheap, and was approved for MSI usage (by MSI themselves).

I'm leaning towards the graphics card or CPU, but with fans running on both I really don't know if something is flaky, on it's way out, flawed, broken or otherwise ... or how to test for it.

I have thrown my machine through SiSoft Sandra, 3dMark and a few other benchmarking/testing utilities, and nothing is reporting a problem.

Any ideas?
 
PSU.

What make is the PSU? Just because it claims to be 550 watts doesn't mean it actually performs to those numbers, especially under stressful conditions like running an intensive game.
 
It's possible that either the CPU or the GPU are overheating and causing the crash, but the clicking sound does lead me to also think that it could be the PSU. You must know the PSU could be a problem otherwise you wouldn't have put "550W PSU (15 mths old)". It's around $80 for a new one and they aren't too hard to fit.
 
Upgrade the CPU, and buy a better heatsink when you buy a new one. Since your suffing from bottleneck aswell, plus tidy up the cables. One more thing what model and make is your case.
 
Check your NVidia driver version as well ... get newest one from www.nvidia.com ... if the pc only freezes in games, then that might be the problem ...

Also check in your BIOS to see whether it will warn you when CPU and system temps start rising above a certain level ... I know games would cause a GPU to become much hotter than normal work in Windows etc. It could be that your GPU is getting too hot when you play games ...

Does your machine have on-board graphics as well ? Maybe run it thru there and see what happens. Only thing is most games will probably not work on a 2MB onboard screen-card, but it's worth a try ...

Maybe re-seat all you cards in the machine as well ...
 
PSU or CPU.

HDD's are known for the *click* *die* things but it doesn't seem likely in your case. The power supply is 15 months old you say and is run under extreme conditions. IT is mostl ikely that. The higher the voltage, the more prone it is to killing itself over under high stress (simply because of the sheer mass of electricity flowing through it. the cables can't handle it once it just barely goes over that point, whereas lower voltage PSU's generally can handle more voltage before they up and die). Ctrl+Alt+Del and go to processes and End anything unessecary that is using up alot of memory. Then download . If it isn't the PSU then it is 80% likely the CPU. 2100+? That's a pretty old CPU. I suggest upgrading the CPU and if you go all out just go for a new motherboard too. When the system freezes feel the inside of your case,the CPU heatsink, and the PSU case for excessive heat. Let it cool down for a while, then turn it back on. Run it for the same amount of time without playing a game and check the temp. again. If it's significantly lower, you have an overheating problem, and it's probably the CPU.
 
Guys, awesome feedback ... thank you!!!

PSU: Echo Star Switching PSU 550W

6800 GGT: Latest drivers installed!

The CPU *IS* my oldest component by far and I've been wanting to change it for the longest time (even just upgrading to the best my current board can handle!!!). There is a damned good fan sitting on it right now: http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/view.asp?idx=145&code=005 (at least, I think it's a pretty good fan!)

MachOne
Ctrl+Alt+Del and go to processes and End anything unessecary that is using up alot of memory. Then download .
Click to expand...

Sorry Mach' ... what?

I'll also check internal heat on the next freeze I get 👍
 
Kolyana
Guys, awesome feedback ... thank you!!!

PSU: Echo Star Switching PSU 550W

6800 GGT: Latest drivers installed!

The CPU *IS* my oldest component by far and I've been wanting to change it for the longest time (even just upgrading to the best my current board can handle!!!). There is a damned good fan sitting on it right now: http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/view.asp?idx=145&code=005 (at least, I think it's a pretty good fan!)



Sorry Mach' ... what?



I'll also check internal heat on the next freeze I get 👍
Click to expand...

Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete. It will bring up Windows Task Manager. Go to the "Processes" tab and end unneessecary processes.
 
Mach, already have and *always* do before I play CIV anyway, because it's as buggy as hell and needs all the resources it can get. To be honest, I used the msconfig tool to disable all non-esential startup items.
 
You may also want to invest in a cheapo case thermometer to find the problem and predict future ones. You can get really cheap ones that wire into your mobo for like, $20.
 
This can't be good ...

failure2fs.png
 
Kolyana
This can't be good ...

failure2fs.png
Click to expand...


Wow the irony...

The *click* is probably your Hard Drive locking up then. Sounds like your kind of screwed unless you can buy an external HD, and a new internal. The external for transferring it all onto the new internal, and the internal for, duh.

I still think before you shell out $100 for a brand new HDD, you still do the temperature check on your computer.
 
Yeah, this S.M.A.R.T monitoring system now has *BOTH* hardrives failing (according to it's own stats), which I find hard to believe. I've backed up everything important onto other computers and some DVDs, so I'll wait now to see if one or the other fails before shelling out for a new one.

I'm also going to monitor temperature closer.
 
Not sure how much belief to put into the S.M.A.R.T monitor ... now it's reporting the slave as safe and the primary as failing, but the dates keep changes from like tomorrow, to next month, to not at all.

My machine is locking up again tonight, but this time I have RivaTuner monitoring what's going on ... can anyone make anything of this???

Core temperature is being reported at 67 Degrees C (during gaming), but hits 68-69 a little before the crash. Is this a normal operating temperature? Riva has not marked this as anything untoward, but it *HAS* marked my Voltage Regulator temperature with a warning sign ... and there's a spike part way through the reading.

I don't know what this is or where it's coming from.

rivatuner7pq.png
 
I'm sorry and i know it's not funny, but seeing that S.M.A.R.T screenshot just made me laugh. Bummer if it is your harddisk, that's worse than the PSU or CPU i believe, so much more to do esp. if you loose all your data, which would blow.
 
No offense taken :P

I've got all my data backed up, so I'm not *too* worried from this point of view, but nor am I super convinced this is the problem ... SIGuradian now reports the Slave as not failing at all and the Primary as failing sometime between December and January (depending on the screen you look at) ... something seems amiss.
 
Kolyana
No offense taken :P

I've got all my data backed up, so I'm not *too* worried from this point of view, but nor am I super convinced this is the problem ... SIGuradian now reports the Slave as not failing at all and the Primary as failing sometime between December and January (depending on the screen you look at) ... something seems amiss.
Click to expand...

I'd suggest downloading a copy of Ultimate Boot Disc, burn the iso to a cd-r/rw and running a hard drive diagnostic off of it on both your drives. If it is your hard drives, that will give you a second opinion.

When one of my hard drives died several months ago, I ran that and found that I had bad sectors. I ended up replacing the drive totally.
 
It sounds like either S.M.A.R.T is being stupid, or your Hard Drives want to have random failures.

I think we can go back to the PSU option. Maybe the PSU is over-powering the system and making it auto-shutdown. With those kinds of temperatures there has to be a problem with something that has to do with the power supply. Rarely do your Voltage Regulator temperatures bust like that. I think you should consider buying a new PSU and checking everything it is connected to. The over-powering can damage other parts and cause them to have random failures as well. I'm thinking that maybe your PSU is overcharging the Hard disks enough to give you random readings in S.M.A.R.T, but not enough to shut it down until you run a game.
 
NewEgg (my most trusted online discount store, always on time shipping and always reliable parts, depending on what you get.)

Right now it won't let me on their site, but when I can get on it I will start searching for 550W PSU's. Do you have any higher/lower voltage in mind?
 
With Wattage or Store options? :P

I'm thinking that with your current setup 550 is sufficient with 5 case fans, a big CPU cooler, 1 GB of RAM and the 6800 going on. the 2100+ isn't really a big powerhog.

I'm thinking 550 should be what you will want to go with. Possibly 500W to cut on price.

I've found a couple of PSU's that look like good options. One is SLi approved, the other will work with SLi, but isn't "SLi Chosen"

Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550W (SLi Chosen)

COOLMAX CX-550W

The Antec is supposedly quiter and more efficient, plus it is "SLi approved" for your 6800 ;). If you wanna shell out the extra cash, go for the Antec. You can't go wrong with either brand, but antec seems to be alot more reliable in my experiences (although i've had very few, mechanically unrelated problems with COOLMAX)
 
Antec it is ... everything you said about it seems to make a whole lot of sense.

In other news, I wrote to NVidia about my problem and they replied on the same day - pretty good service, if you ask me. They said that it could be the graphics card, but to run a CPU stresstest to see if that's the problem (they even provided the tool to do this with).

If it's not the CPU, they've agreed to swap the graphics card (because it's under warranty), so I'm going to do this anyway, just to be sure (and buy the Antec) ... that should really nail it.

If you don't mind me asking, but what's the best CPU my Asus A7N8X can handle? It may be a half decent idea to upgrade that as well until I swap out the entire rig in the latter half of next year.
 
Upgrading your Mobo is definetly a good idea (your current mobo is lucky to live if you install much else to it).

I would suggest an SLi ready board, in case you don't want to spend $500 to get a 7800GTX down the road, slap another 6800 in and you have the processing power of about 1 7800 GT.
 
SLi is NVidia Technology.

SLi compatible motherboards can support 2 SLi capable graphics cards at the same time (Instead of having 1 PCI Express video card, you have 2, doubling the power). If you have an SLi capable motherboard, you can add in another 6800. They link together via the motherboard and the monitor cable goes into only one of the video cards. They link together to split processes between themselves to free up extra space. Very useful for hardcore gamers.
 

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