twisty on 27/12/2008 at 10:31
Within the last month I have been getting regular system crashes whilst playing games. I can usually play Fallout 3 for 30 minutes before it crashes; Tomb Raider Underworld for 10 minutes; Bionic Commando Rearmed for 1-2 minutes. I haven't installed any new hardware for 8-9 months and almost all parts were purchased at the beginning of the year.
The only thing that has changed within the last month is that it has started to warm up here, so I am suspecting that the cause of my problems might be heat related. I do have three fans installed in the chassis, but only stock cooling for the processor. According to AI Suite the temperature is at around 80C during normal Windows operations.
Trying to find the root cause of the issue has been hindered by the fact that Windows crashes immediately without any Blue-screen, and without leaving any log files (or memory dumps) that I am aware of. This has left me to try and isolate the issue as best that I can.
I've run memtest for around 45 minutes without issue. Hard Drive tests have yet to pull up any issues either. I haven't run any specific graphic card test, but am not sure which one to run anyway.
I've updated my BIOS to the latest version and graphic card drivers as well. I believe that all of my hardware drivers are up to date.
I am out of ideas at the moment and am keen to hear any suggestions.
See below for my system specs. For some reason, Everest displays that my CPU is only running at 2 GHz, but it is actually a 3 GHz processor and the BIOS displays this as well.
Computer:
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
OS Service Pack Service Pack 3
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Motherboard:
CPU Type DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo 2000 MHz (6 x 333)
Motherboard Name ASUS P5E
System Memory 2048 MB (DDR2 800)
Display:
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 512 (512 MB)
Multimedia:
Audio Adapter Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
Storage:
Disk Drive ST3500320AS (465 GB, IDE)
Disk Drive WDC WD360GD-00FNA0 (36 GB, 10000 RPM, SATA)
Disk Drive WDC WD360GD-00FNA0 (36 GB, 10000 RPM, SATA)
Optical Drive ASUS DRW-1814BL
bikerdude on 27/12/2008 at 11:05
Quote Posted by twisty
For some reason, Everest displays that my CPU is only running at 2 GHz, but it is actually a 3 GHz processor and the BIOS displays this as well.
Windows XP Pro sp3
DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo 2000 MHz (6 x 333)
2048 MB (DDR2 800)
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 512 (512 MB)
Ok the cpu speed is because the cpu as slowed down when not playing games, if you fire up a game and then alt-tab back to windows and run everest you would see it running at full speed.
The crashing will be either of the following, faulty memory or a overheating/faulty gfx card.
* First download an ISO of memtestX86 -
(http://www.memtest86.com/memtest86-3.4a.iso.zip) link and burn it to CD.
* Then boot from said CD and run the test to see if it finds any fault with the memory - if it does then thats where the prob is, if it dosent it then move on to the next test.
* Run a game and then alt-tab and run everest and check the temp of the video card - it its over 80c then you have a problem - check airflow inside your case(around the card etc), if you have airflow then its possible the cooler could not be sitting correctly - rma the card.
* If you dont find a memory fault and the card is running cool, then come back here.
twisty on 28/12/2008 at 03:23
As mentioned in my original post, I already ran memtest for 45 minutes without issue. I realise that more accurate results are gained from much longer testing times but I suspect that the instability issues have been caused by over-heating of either my Motherboard, the CPU, or both.
I tried your suggestion of alt-tabbing back to Everest during gameplay and discovered that the temperature of the GPU was sitting at around 60C.
I've started using AI Suite to control my CPU and Motherboard temperatures and have been able to play both game for extended periods without issue. The AI suite keeps the CPU temperature at around 40C during normal Windows operations (80C when AI is disabled) and below 60C during gameplay. I'm not sure what the temperature was during gameplay before I installed AI but it must have gotten very high. I never bothered installing AI when I first purchased my Motherboard at the beginning of the year as I thought that it was just some bundled crap that Asus threw in the box. It's really very impressive as I haven't noticed any drop in system performance during gameplay.
All seems good again. Thanks.
june gloom on 28/12/2008 at 05:53
Are you using the latest drivers for your video card? You may want to try rolling back to the one right before 180.48. I suggest first unplugging your internet, then uninstall the driver, restart in safe mode, disable any AV, run Driver Cleaner Pro, empty the recycle bin, reboot, then finally install the new (old) driver.
Solved a few problems for me.
Volitions Advocate on 28/12/2008 at 06:19
Get a can of Dustoff and a tube of thermal compound.
Clean everything inside your chassis, get rid of all the dustbunnies and take your heat sink right off the CPU. Your mobo and case may seem clean but you'll never really see that the heat sink itself is full of dustbunnies and they may be crammed in there tight. Clean it all off. carefully wipe clean the top of the cpu and clean off the bottom of the heat sink. Apply a small bead of compound on the cpu and re attach the heat sink.
last year on my P4 all my games would crash after a few minutes. Computer totally unresponsive. Rolling back the drivers helped for a bit but the problem came back. I took my whole computer apart piece by piece and cleaned it just like I just described. It fixed the problem. be VERY careful with your cpu especially since youv'e got an LGA775 chip. the pins are on the mobo instead of the chip itself. if you can leave it in the mobo clean it there, those chips can only be handled and reinstalled a few times because they're so damn delicate.
twisty on 28/12/2008 at 06:30
Quote Posted by dethtoll
Are you using the latest drivers for your video card?
I was using a fairly old driver before the problems started and decided to update everything.
Quote Posted by Volitions Advocate
Get a can of Dustoff and a tube of thermal compound.
Clean everything inside your chassis, get rid of all the dustbunnies and take your heat sink right off the CPU.
Yes, on close inspection my CPU fan is caked in dust. I shone a light into it and noticed that there was a lot of dust that I hadn't noticed.
bikerdude on 28/12/2008 at 10:49
Quote Posted by twisty
Yes, on close inspection my CPU fan is caked in dust. I shone a light into it and noticed that there was a lot of dust that I hadn't noticed.
ah that old chestnut, that will cause over heating everytime....:cheeky:
Volitions Advocate on 28/12/2008 at 15:51
Quote Posted by twisty
my CPU fan is caked in dust
Make sure you check the heatsink itself too. The fan should be pretty easy to clean, but you might have to take the heat sink right off the proc, and then take the fan off the heat sink. if you've got dustbunnies crammed inbetween the heat spreaders then your fan isn't being remotely effective even if its spotless.
