my comp freezes up when i play games

T

TheNomad

New Member
randomly when i'm playing a full screen game such as warcraft III and rome: total war, my comp freezes up and makes a stuttering noise (and i exceed the minimmum requirements)

i think this is a video card or hard drive problem, but i don't know how to fix it
if its a video card, i have an excuse to get a new one (x300=meh)

i can still open the cd drives but i can't move my cursor

specs:
Intel P4 520 2800 mhz Prescott Socket 775

OEM Asus PTGD1-LA
Motherboard ID 63-0309-000000-00101111-101104-I915$A0005052_BIOS DATE: 10/11/04 12:07:06 VER: 08.00.10

2x 256mb RAM generic Hyundai HYMD232 646B8J-D43

ATI Radeon X300SE (by asus i think)

I can't find what power supply i have

Windows XP SP2

i have DirectX 9.0c and catalyst 5.7

Asus CD-S480/AH (generic i assume)

SAMSUNG SP1614C (S01XJ10X630245) ATA 149GB 8mb buffer

not overclocked

any help would be appreciated
 
Do you get a BSOD or does it jsut "freeze"

If BSOD, wirte down the error code it gives you. it might be more than one. I had problems for the longest time with my video card and network card drivers always causing a BSOD. ar5211.sys and some others. Well, turned out it was an IRQ conflict between the 2 both being on 19. So i swapped PCI slots for network card, and poof...not a problem since then.

I would guess at overheating as well, if you know its not a driver problem of IRQ Sharing/conflict. It's hard to know tempp of your gfx card without just touching it and seeing how hot it is. if it indeed is overheating, try reseating the cooling on it or getting something that cools better. but for an X300 i wouldn't spend too much. maybe makeshift an 80mm on that little card to cool it off?
 
no i don't get a bsod, and it was working before with my current driver

and actually, my computer does feel kind of hot while i play games and the fan goes on an overdrive
 
If it's supported i would install a program like SpeedFan to monitor your system temps. It's free off the web.

If that doesn't give you any headway i'd open up the case and feel for what is really hot. Make sure you're grounded of course and jsut put your hand close to CPU, RAM, Vid Card, etc. and see if anything is really hot. You don't have to touch anything to see really.

Simply opening the case and playing the game might result in lower system temps. In that case, invest in some more case fans or orient your current ones to get optimal airflow and heat dissiaption in your case. having the case open usually isn't preferred and can cause dust problems after a while.
 
i dled speed fan, but it only tells me my cpu speed which currently is 46C
im going to chart my cpu speed while im playing a game now

and for opening up my case...i would have to get my dad to do that because he would get wicked pissed if i did that by myself...

EDIT: I got cpu temperatures of +55C while playing games, no cause for concern right?
 
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I can't find what power supply i have
Click to expand...
Read if off the PSU :)


and for opening up my case...i would have to get my dad to do that because he would get wicked pissed if i did that by myself...
Click to expand...
Uh....

I got cpu temperatures of +55C while playing games, no cause for concern right?
Click to expand...
Thats nothing to be concerned about

Im guessing perhaps the voltages are messed up?
 
Hi nomad, you can try testing you memory with any of the memtest available free on the web, Another not common reason for this kind of failure is a keyboard or mouse faulty and is easy enough to borrow this from frieds so it wont cost anything to try, this is just as a thought, although I think that your problem is heat related, you should get your dad to open the case and blow some air inside specialy around the cpu cooler cuz sometimes dust can affect the air flow in the fan and the capacity of aluminium or brass to dissipate the heat by creating a coat on it, if that doesn't work I would diconnect all the optical drives, card readers and unnecessary usb atachments you have this is to see if the psu is not generating enough power.
Good luck and keep us posted other people could benefit from the solution you find.
Cheers.
 
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