lizardfuel55 on 21/7/2011 at 04:33
Hello. I have a custom desktop built in the summer of 2009: (Intel i7 920 2.66 GHz, Nvidia GeForce GTX 280, 12 GB RAM, Asus P6T SE Intel X58 Chipset CrossFireX Mainboard, Windows Vista 64-bit, 2 TB HDD running on a 800 Watt power supply).
It's very powerful but my only issue with it is that when I'm playing computer games (not any of the preinstalled games like Solitaire), I sometimes hear the audio crackling and popping. This usually is a warning that the computer is going to freeze soon but the frame rate never drops. If I ignore this warning sign, as predicted, within minutes the game along with the computer just freezes and the audio playing at the time loops over and over and over, but I never get a BSOD.
Command Prompt and all other computer functions don't register which ends up in me having to switch off the tower and switch it back on again. Sometimes, if I switch it off and on too fast, I hear the computer beep 3 times and it never boots up. This then results me in having to switch off the tower, wait a few seconds, then switch it on (if it boots with 1 beep, that's good and usually the problem doesn't persist).
My computer never freezes when running softwares like Maya, ZBrush, Mudbox, Adobe Creative Suite. It's only games, and so far it's frozen on Arkham Asylum, The Sims 3, Metro 2033, Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, Assassin's Creed 2 and Assassin's Creed 2 Brotherhood.
I've updated all my drivers -- Nvidia and Realtek and installed all Vista updates. My tower fan is always running to its max and I have never overclocked my graphics card. (
http://imageshack.us/f/34/tempsn.jpg/) Here is my CPU temps when idle and (
http://imageshack.us/f/148/tempscomparison.jpg/) on the right is the temperature after playing Metro 2033 for 10 minutes.
I want to know what is the root of the problem: Is it the RAM, power supply, graphics card, or the Motherboard? Or is it something else entirely?
This problem has existed well over a year but being away at college and relying heavily on my desktop for projects, I never looked into the matter.
Somebody please help!
Al_B on 21/7/2011 at 06:44
Quote Posted by lizardfuel55
Sometimes, if I switch it off and on too fast, I hear the computer beep 3 times and it never boots up.
Is it beeping three times in total (one long, two short) or does it beep four times (one long, three short)? According to the P6T manual one long + two short point towards memory, one long + three short point towards the graphics card. Do you get the same problem if you reset the computer rather than turning it off fully?
From what you've posted it sounds like an issue with the graphics card - are you able to substitute it with another one to see if the problem persists?
lizardfuel55 on 21/7/2011 at 21:29
Quote Posted by Al_B
Is it beeping three times in total (one long, two short) or does it beep four times (one long, three short)? According to the P6T manual one long + two short point towards memory, one long + three short point towards the graphics card. Do you get the same problem if you reset the computer rather than turning it off fully?
From what you've posted it sounds like an issue with the graphics card - are you able to substitute it with another one to see if the problem persists?
Thanks for your response, Al. From what I recall, the tower makes 4 beeps in total (1 long, 3 short). When the problem first started to happen, I would reset the computer and hear the 4 beeps. This eventually led me into the habit of resorting to use the killswitch on the back of the tower (it would still make 4 beeps if I switched it off and on too fast but if I wait a bit it boots normally).
Is it safer to use the reset button over the kill switch? I guess the beeps point towards the graphics card (maybe the entire device is faulty or the graphics card fan is malfunctioning). I have no other graphics card to test unfortunately :(
Brian The Dog on 22/7/2011 at 09:18
Yep, sounds like the graphics card. You could check that the 6-pin power connector hasn't come loose. You could also check that the card isn't overheating.
