Help: computer crashes to black, fan spins loudly

[martinj6883]

I've had this problem for a while and I've been reading these forums of people with similar problems, trying to fix it myself, but it won't go away. When I play games, especially those with high graphics requirements, after about 10 minutes of gameplay, the computer crashes to a black screen and the GPU fan spins really loudly. I then have to hold the power button and restart the computer.
I have a Dell 8100 and I upgraded it with a Geforce 660 and upgraded to 16GB of RAM. I used to be able to play most games on the highest settings with no problem; RAGE, Dishonored, Far Cry 3, ran with no problem on high settings. Then about halfway through Metro: Last Light on high settings, this crashing started happening. I've also fully reinstalled windows on my computer twice, and I'm unsure if that has anything to do with this issue; maybe i reinstalled some driver wrong or something.
The graphics card would be hot after the crash, so I decided to upgrade my case to Rosewill Gaming ATX Mid Tower computer case and my PSU to Rosewill CAPSTONE Series 750W. I thought the extra fans and extra psu power would help; and it did, but not entirely. Before I upgraded my case, when these crashes started becoming a more common thing, Dota 2 would cause a crash if above 90% rendering quality; now I can again run Dota 2 on the highest settings. But still, games on the lowest possible settings, like Metro Last Light and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, will still cause my computer to crash like before, so I think maybe something was damaged from all the crashing. Also, since upgrading my case and PSU, my graphics card is no longer hot because of the crash.
Here is some more information about my computer:
• Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
• Version 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Build 7601
• System Model Dell Studio XPS 8100 x64-based PC
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU 650 @ 3.20GHz, 3201 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
• BIOS Version/Date Dell Inc. A05, 7/8/2010
• SMBIOS Version 2.6
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660
• Driver Version 9.18.13.4475
• Resolution 1680 x 1050 x 59 hertz
I’m really stuck on this one, so any help is very much appreciated! I can add more information if needed.

 

[shAnk1995]

I think you lower your settings to medium. If its still same, i think u need to upgrade your drivers & the game(if its bought originally)

 

[D_Know_WD]

Hi there martinj6883,

You can use some software to measure the temperature when playing. The issue you are facing may be caused by overheating.

Cheers,
D_Know_WD

 

[martinj6883]

Hey everyone, thanks for reading this and submitting your feedback! I figured out what my problem was and I think it is the same problem a lot of other people have with their video cards. I opened up my video card and the heat sink was filled with a wall of dust. Before cleaning out that dust, Far Cry 4 crashed my computer on low settings. After using half a can of air to blow chunks of dust out of there, I can play hours of Far Cry 4 on the highest settings with no problem!