Why are my games crashing?

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MrComputerGuy

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Jul 13, 2011
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Well lately all my games have been crashing for no reason. I checked my performance and my ram is under 55% and my cpu under 20% even when I'm running my games. My computer isn't hot since I'm running 5 fans in it.
2 for outtake
1 for intake
2 to mix the air inside

Like in combat arms, I'm able to play for a while until 30 minutes later it crashed or in fire-team cabin fever it always crashes when I finally get to the last level 20/20, CS:S started to crash yesterday after switching to 2-3 different maps, today I can't even stay in a server for more than 1 minutes. What is going no with my computer? It's been happening for almost a week now. Nothing else is crashing. I always have 100+fps in all my games.

My specs:
420 watts
2 80mm fans
2 120mm fans
1 140mm fan
x3 740 (unlocked)
1tb 64mb cache hard drive + 80gb backup hard drive
2gb ram 1333mhz
9600gso
1920x1080 resolution (CS:S 1600x600)
Win Ult. 32-bit
MSI 770-g45 mobo



I don't overclock. I don't have any viruses. What's going on?
 
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The first thing I would do is try to remember if anything had changed on my rig prior to when it started crashing. Did you install any new programs or perform any updates/driver updates? Also does this only happen when you are playing games? I know you say your computer isnt running hot but are you saying that under the assumption that you have 5 fans inside or have you actually checked the temps of your cpu & gpu? Memory is always a usual suspect when system crashes occur so I would swap that out with know good ram and test. Also you say your x3 740 is unlocked - do you mean unlocked for overclocking or is the extra core unlocked? I ask because cores arent always locked just to meet demands on lower spec cpus - some are locked because the extra cores are found to be unstable so you might want to run your cpu core as an x2 for a few hours and see what happens.
 
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Well I touched my case and it was not even warm. I had always had my CPU unlocked ever since I had built my rig(6 months ago). Its unlocked to a x4 P40 which is stable and still running at 3.00ghz. I have not updated anything, but my games and my anti-virus (no connections there, I checked). I have not installed anything and I already checked if anyone else in my family installed something by check the lists in programs and features.

Only game that has been updated was Combat Arms and it crashed a couple of days after it was updated.

My PSU coolermaster elite 460w turned out to be another scam from coolermaster... Don't buy from them EVER! Lots of reviews of their PSU being overrated.

I did mess around with some setting, but only things I knew I would remember to change back, which, I did.

I'm planning to upgrade to a hd 6750 or a hd 4770 or hd 4860. Still don't know which one, but they are still a big step from a 9600gso. I'm also upgrading to a 600w or a 620w PSU.

I think it could be something I did or like you have said, the ram. I posted this question on yahoo and someone said ram could be the problem. I tried gamebooster which ended up only freeing up 48mb of ram and I played a whole round of zombie escape without crashing until the end. I tried walking around in a escape map offline and I didn't crash. I'm starting to think I need a ram upgrade as well.
 
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Could be other things, but heat, memory failure, or psu are the most likely issues.

How many fans you are running is frankly irrelevant. Grab CPUID's Hardware Monitor to monitor temps while running Prime95 and Furmark. Watch temps. If temps are OK, but you get a rounding error in Prime95, you've probably got a memory problem.

If those tests go OK for 30 min or so, use Windows Memory Diagnostic to test memory.

Let us know what happened.
 
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Like Twoboxer says - lots of fans doesnt necessarily mean things arent overheating inside. Dried thermal paste/dust build up/incorrect air flow/faulty components can all cause overheating problems. And just because the side of the case is cool doesnt mean something isn't cooking inside believe me!
 
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Trust me, I put plenty of thermal paste (2 pea sizes and it's artic silver 5), I made sure I have the correct type of air flow, I always clean out my pc every 2-3 weeks, I checked and it says my cpu temperature is 35C-36C and my rig is 32C-33C, and I'll check my memory in a sec and I'm not sure how to check my other parts for faulty issues. Can you tell me how?
 
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Before I was going to check the ram I got this error about the ram 0x00d41544 I have no clue what it means besides the source of the problem most likely to be the ram and nothing else.
 
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You only need one rice to pea sized dot in the middle with artic silver. I would pull off the heat sink and make sure none of the thermal paste ran down the cpu and causing a short when it warms up. Belive me this can happen.
 
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I recently checked my computer from the inside and there is no thermal leakage and they were a little bit smaller than peas. I made sure I only covered the center so it would spread as I put on the heat sink/cpu fan.
 
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If you have any extra ram sticks laying around that are working swap it with the current one and see if that helps or not Q_Q

I tried
Click to expand...

Only problem... This is my first and only computer D: I tried buying another one, but they canceled making them so they are no longer manufacturing them so I can't add another 2gb of ram.
 
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I restored my system and that fixed the problem, but I'm afraid that might temperatally fix the problem. I'd still like to know what the error means and how to fix it just in case I run into the problem yet again.
 
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If your PSU is a cheap Coolermaster, it could be contributing to your instability. A quality modern PSU has full range active PFC (no little voltage switch) and some level of 80+ certification for efficiency. Seasonic, Antec, Corsair, XFX, and Enermax/LEPA are among the better brands. For any of the video cards you listed, or something like a HD6770, a 380W Antec Earthwatts would be sufficient.
 
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If you have read my recent post (threads) I plan on getting a 620w corsair $89.99 and this is a decently good 420w. It was said to be a 460w, but I'm not complaining since I got it on newegg for $25 with free shipping. My friend already told me all the ones to buy and which ones to avoid. He really knows his PSUs. He was the one who told me to get the 620w PSU. He was not sure about coolermaster, so I'm going to let him know he should avoid it.
 
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Just a word of caution - you seem to rely on anecdotal evidence like "I touch my case and its cool" and "My friend said, and he really knows PSUs". We rely on tools like CPUID Hardware Monitor that we know work and specific reviews of PSUs by qualified reviewers. And, FYI, not all Coolermaster PSUs are "to be avoided". Making decisions that way is OK if that's all you have, but there are better approaches.

FYI, Corsair PSUs are one of the very few brand names that can be recommended without knowing which model you are buying. While some are better than others, ALL are high quality - they haven't marketed a stinker yet lol.

If Hardware Monitor says your cpu and gps are cool after 30 minutes under stress, there's no need to look any further at heat, or worry about too little or too much thermal paste.

It's possible that your problem was resolved by your "system restore". One of the reasons I didn't suggest that could be an issue was because you said "All of my games are crashing lately". But if you run into the problem again, eliminate heat, check memory, and then if necessary the psu.
 
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Okay, I'll check the heat after putting some stress on it for 30 minutes. Well ever since I posted what would be the best gpu upgrade people told me that coolermaster overrates things. They gave me several links to hardwaresecrets.com there was this old series of psu they had that was overrated by 60 watts and even a couple series later they still overrated my psu by 40 watts. If I didn't knew that then my psu would of blown up on me if I had bought something that takes more than 420 watts.

Here is what my friend told me.
"stay away from the following brands, these brands make things as cheap as possible, and i have heard nothing but bad things about. and i would consider to be the worst.

(logosys, sunbeam, diablotek, raidmax, sparkle, xclio, broadway com corp, linkworld)

most of the other brands i avoided because i had never even seen the brand before.

the only brands i would consider, because almost everything by them is quality.
(seasonic, corsair, HP, EVGA, XFX,) and in that order.."

Are these accurate or would you like to give your own opinion to some of the brands he has listed? Everyone has different experiences with each of these brands so I'm not saying what he says is always completely true.

I'm getting 4gb ram to check if the ram was the problem if anything comes up I'll post another thread.
 
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Working backwards, of the BRANDS you listed, Seasonic and Corsair are always quality. For XFX (and almost any other brand) I would google the specific model and look for a qualified review . . . not one that covers the cables and the colors, but one that rips the unit apart and stress tests it. I wouldn't bother with the others, though, since there isn't any need to consider them and Hanging out here teaches you how many (strange( problems brought here are psu related.

Try Windows Memory Diagnostic (if running Win7 - dunno about Vista) . . . just type that in the Start Button Search Window.
 
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No problems came up during the test.
 
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So we've now virtually eliminated heat and memory as the cause of the crashes. That would leave psu and gpu next on the list.

If you can swap a known working part into your machine, or swap your psu/gpu into a known working PC you can narrow the problem down a bit.
 
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Well the problem is already fixed. I just wanted to know what the error meant so in the future I can fix it if I come across it again.
 
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idk, but I fixed the problem by using system restore. The only thing was a error I keep getting every once in a while. This error said some words (forgot), but the only thing I remember was that it said 0x00d41544 and something about ram memory.
 
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