Problems with my current PC

[tojo78]

My current setup:

GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz
Creative Sound Blaster SB0570 Audigy SE 7.1
4 Patriot 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
EVGA 01G-P3-N959-TR GeForce 9500 GT 1GB
XP Pro 32-bit

System is about 2 years old.. for as long as I can remember I have had issues with the video on this machine. I originally had a 7600 GT and was getting this flickering in games.. very random. Gmaes were playable but the flickering was annoying! Thought I had a bad video card but this all happened after the RMA date so I was stuck. I lived with the flicking until I decided to upgrade this year. I installed a 9500 GT and Vista Ultimate 32 bit. Vista did not like that video card. Would try to play games and get some wild stuff right after the game loaded. Just wild random colors then usually a crash. Was using the most recent drivers from Nvidia. Installed my old 7600 GT.. got the same result. Reinstalled XP Pro with the 9500GT and to my astonishment, still had the same flickering in games. It has always happened in multiple games, not just 1. I would like to fix this machine and use Vista Ultimate over spending money on a new machine. I don't do any real hardcore gaming.. just MMORPGs like Eve and Darkfall. Also, the general perfomance of my computer gets worse the longer I use it. I have had times recently when my computer just completely shut off cold. Totally ransom. This has happened 2 times in the past week. Do I have a bad mobo? Power unit? Any suggestions would be great

Thanks!

 

[shortstuff_mt]

You didn't list the PSU. I would start off there. The random shut downs could definitely be a dying PSU.

Have you run memtest86+ to test for RAM errors?

 

[caniba]

I put my money on the psu more than the video also.

 

[tojo78]

I think I have a overheat problem. I got CPUID and was checking my CPU temps at peak and idle. I was playing Eve and the CPU temp jumped to 96C. CPU is typically idling at ~50-56C. System temp never got above 32C. Video card ranged from 36-48C and idled at 37 C. I included some info below if it helps in any way. Could the CPU heat issue be causing my problems? Are the rest of my temps ok? Thanks!

BTW my PSU is the 500W unit that came with my Raidmax Smilodon. Its almost 2 years old. Think there is still and issue with the PSU inlight of the heating issue?

Hardware monitor
-----------------------------------------------------

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 hardware monitor

Temperature sensor 0 66°C (150°F) [0x13] (Core #0)
Temperature sensor 1 67°C (152°F) [0x12] (Core #1)

Dump hardware monitor



Hardware monitor
-----------------------------------------------------

GeForce 9500 GT hardware monitor

Temperature sensor 0 37°C (98°F) [0x25] (GPU Core)

Dump hardware monitor



Hardware monitor
-----------------------------------------------------

ST3320620AS hardware monitor

Temperature sensor 0 33°C (91°F) [0x21] (HDD)

Dump hardware monitor


Processors Map
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of processors 1
Number of threads 2

Processor 0
-- Core 0
-- Thread 0
-- Core 1
-- Thread 0


Processors Information
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Processor 1 (ID = 0)
Number of cores 2 (max 2)
Number of threads 2 (max 2)
Name Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
Codename Conroe
Specification Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6600 @ 2.40GHz
Package Socket 775 LGA (platform ID = 0h)
CPUID 6.F.6
Extended CPUID 6.F
Core Stepping B2
Technology 65 nm
Core Speed 1600.0 MHz (6.0 x 266.7 MHz)
Rated Bus speed 1066.7 MHz
Stock frequency 2400 MHz
Instructions sets MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, EM64T
L1 Data cache 2 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L1 Instruction cache 2 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache 4096 KBytes, 16-way set associative, 64-byte line size
FID/VID Control yes
FID range 6.0x - 9.0x
max VID 1.325 V
Features XD, VT

 

[caniba]

Yes that cpu temp is high, you should get a aftermarket cooler for that like a artic cooling freezer 7 pro or any skythe model. but this will cause your pc to reboot if the temp gets to high not give video problems.

Get a new psu ASAP. yours is most likely failing, it is one of the worst in production today. the problem is that being a cheap pos it does not have the fail safes built into it so when it goes it will take all of your other hardware with it. you have been warned.

Quality brands to buy are Corsair, Antec, PC Power and Cooling, OCZ got one in the 450 to 550 range.

 

[tojo78]

I agree that I need a new PSU. What I don't understand is that my CPU is not overclocked, everything is at stock speed. I have 4 case fans so I would think I have decent ventilation. My case sits out in the open, not inside a enclosure of any kind. Could the current fan and heat sink be ok but just installed wrong? I was thinking of saving the ~$37 on the aftermarket cooler and getting some of the Artic Cooling MX-2 compound and reinstalling the stock fan and heatsink. I think I am going to go ahead and build a new system and shelf this one. I think it can be salvaged, but I want to upgrade anyways. There will be another thread with the system I am thinking about.

 

[caniba]

Could the current fan and heat sink be ok but just installed wrong? I was thinking of saving the ~$37 on the aftermarket cooler and getting some of the Artic Cooling MX-2 compound and reinstalling the stock fan and heatsink.

Yes, and if you are not OCing that is a good idea.

 

[jsc]

Are you sure that the HSF is installed properly. Contrary to Intel instructions, the CPU and HSF should be installed outside the case simply to be able to determine if the HSF is installed properly.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

I don't know if the OP is still watching this thread, but it's obvious that the HSF isn't installed correctly. With a non-overclocked E6600 your load temps should be where your current idle temps are. Make sure to closely read the instructions on how to install your HSF. The pins need to be turned the opposite direction as the arrows.