New computer freezes often

ajs

ajs

New Member
I bought a new computer about 1 and a half months ago mainly to play games. But when playing the games, it will either freeze and restart, or give my a bsod. Most of the time it just freezes and restarts, but i have probably gotten about 5 blue screens. I have been using Speedfan to monitor and lower the temperatures. When playing, i use a low resolution (1024x768) with medium settings on games such as guild wars and sims 2 to achieve 60 fps. I have tried playing oblivion, but it was extremely laggy with medium settings.

Here are the specs of my computer:
Windows Vista 64
Q6600 2.4Ghz quad processor
4 GB ram
Nvidia 512mb 8400GS

Now here is my question. I know the graphics card isnt the greatest, but i should still get pretty good performance from the rest of my computer right? I want to play games smoothly and on high settings, so would downgrading to XP or buying a new graphics card help? Id rather not buy a graphics card though. Would XP support my quad core processor?

Thanks
 
Dystopia

Dystopia

Active Member
new graphics card. You won't be playing games on high settings with an 8400GS. Get at least the 8600/9500GT if your on a tight budget. yes, XP will support that quad. "downgrading" to XP will not make enough difference.
 
ScOuT

ScOuT

VIP Member
First of all....if the computer is brand new and you have all the problems you described when not gaming....I would get a refund or RMA it for another. If the problems only happen when you are gaming then the solution is a new graphics card. When you overload a graphics card, it has a safety you could say. If it hits a certain temperature or it just can not process all the information the BIOS of the card will shut it down. Just like what Elimin8or said...the 8400GS is a low end non gaming card. I would only use this card in a computer for a person that does not game and might just surf the web or do basic media with the computer.

Downgrading to XP will do nothing as far as a performance increase.

Try not running a game for about 2 days and report back if you have any issues, if you have no issues....a new graphics card is needed.
 
ajs

ajs

New Member
Yeah, the only times i have problems are when i play games. Recently when playing games, all of a sudden my screen will become all pixelated so i cant see much. If i minimize to the desktop, its still there, but not as bad. I'm pretty sure i need a better graphics card at this point.

Compared to the 8400gs, is there a card that's significantly better for under $100? I was thinking of a 9600, or this or this.

Also, how can i check how much power i have in my computer?
 
Dystopia

Dystopia

Active Member
yes, there are MUCH better cards for even 50, lol. The 9600/4670 is much better than that card. In fact, they are even much better than my 8600GTS which is already MUCH better than your 8400GS. THat just shows you the performance difference. Oh, and BTW, get your stuff from newegg, not tigerdirect.

YOu can check your PSU by opening your case, and then look at the case, and see where it says how many watts it is.
 
N

nivan

New Member
If computer freeze with bsod and restart it can be because of cpu temperature.
Download occt and watch cpu temperature with full load.

Edit:
I'm using vista 64 to play games for more then year and i never got bsod.
I think you have hardware problems.
I think it is cpu first and if your fan is mounted good on cpu and you have no temperature problems then look in bios multiplyer and other settings.
If you don't know how to set things in bios then just load defaults.Your bios will set all to values you will need .
 
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ajs

ajs

New Member
Ok, i tried using occt but it looks really complicated so i stuck with speedfan. When i was playing games, i occasionally checked the temperatures which were never above 55C. I actually set the fans to run faster to have a cooler system. with speedfan.

Another question- I only have 1 PCI Express slot, and 1 PCI slot. Are graphics card such as the one above too big for 1 slot?
Thanks for the help
 
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