Random computer crashes when gaming.

[Akrobatik]

I am running an amd 2700 underclocked to a 2100, Radeon 9700 pro, Creative Labs Audigy 2, 40 gb 7200rpm Seagate harddrive, Lite-On 48x24x48, Sony Floppy, Windows 2000 Pro, Asus a7n8x, 512 DDR pc3200 ram.

When playing games, as Counter-Strike the computer will randomly reboot, the playing time on the game varies from 30 seconds to hours, another game, Warcraft 3 usually a minute to ten minutes the computer freezes and I have manually reboot.

Please give me suggestions on what could be the problem.

 

[Jblue]

Why you underclock your AMD? was it too hot?
I think you shoud not save money on your cooling system.

Homeland Entertainment Network.

 

[Pettytheft]

Why is your CPU underclocked?
Your problem could be either:

1. Heat - When your rig is under stress from gaming it's getting too hot and locking up.

2. Power problem - Check your voltages and make sure that they are within spec while gaming.

3. Driver related - If you've done anything like update drivers recently then check to make sure that you installed them properly. Especially with ATI if your dont uninstall the old drivers first you will run into problems.

4. When all else fails flash the Bios on your motherboard.

But it does sound like a heat problem, make sure you have decent airflow in the case, one fan drawing air in from the fron and one blowing out the rear. Double check and make sure your heatsink is mounted properly.

Good Luck

Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

 

[Yahiko81]

Do you have another stick of memory that you could try?

<A HREF="http://forums.btvillarin.com/index.php?act=ST&f=41&t=324&s=58e94ba84a16bedfebbf0f416d5bac48" target="_new">I reckon all women should learn how to do an engine re-build so they can get the right to vote.</A>

 

[bum_jcrules]

What PSU are you using and what are the maximum ampere levels for the 3.3V, 5V, and 12V lines?

That could be your problem. Also... does your power fluctuate in the building that you are running that machine? Surges, brownouts, etc?

<b><font color=red>Fredi</font color=red> <font color=red>Fredi</font color=red> He's our man! If he can't do it no one can!</b>

 

[lonewolf1215]

I would first look at the power supply you are using. For this type of system I wouldn't go with anything less than 400 to 430watt PSU. Second. I have a similar setup. Using an AMD Athlon xp 2700+ processor, Nvidia GeForce4 Ti4200 Graphics Card, Audigy Platinum 2 Sound. 512MB of PC3200 DDR Ram on a A7N8X Deluxe Mobo. With a 60-Gig 7200 Seagate Baracuda Harddrive. I have had no problems with my system shutting down or locking up. I would have to say that it is likely your power supply. What type of Power supply are you using??

 

[bum_jcrules]

Lonewolf,

I don't agree with you that he needs something that large for a PSU. If it is a power problem he might need a better PSU but not all PSU's are the same. Watts do not make the PSU. Enough amperes evenly spread over the right lines does.

Svol and I are going over the <A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=72534#72534" target="_new">power issue in a detailed manner right now in another thread.</A>


Akrobatik,

You might want to check out that thread to get a better handle on your power needs. If that in fact is the issue.

<A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/community/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=28752#28752" target="_new">THGC meeting? Would you go if there was one?</A>

 

[lonewolf1215]

I know that all PSUs are not the same. I'm just saying that one reason his games may be crashing is that he doesn't have enough power to adequately supply his hardware. ie. harddrive, video card, etc.. I'm not saying that you are wrong and thanks for making that correction. I'm just saying that I have had no problems running a similar system. I'm just suggesting that his power source may be a cause for his problems. I'm not really sure what type of PSU he had implemented in his system. Just throwing out ideas.

 

[Skipper007]

I still need to run some tests on it, but I think my surge protector might have been causing my system to crash. When I tried a newer one (the one I had been using was about 15 years old or so) it stopped crashing as much. Supporting evidence: At my uncles or at the service desk at the computer shop, it wouldn't crash as much. Also, my 450 crashed when it was on that surge protector - but works fine now, when I'm running it upstairs on a different surge protector.

As I said, I need to test it, but it might be worth checking your household power and power bar.

 

[zair]

I had almost the same problem, with my XP1600+ with just a GF 2 Ti. I'd play a game for a while, then it would freeze. It turned out that I had a bad stick of RAM! I put a new one in there 4 months ago, and no problems since! Worth a try, anyway