Game(s) crash to desktop = heat OR voltage?

Viperace · Aug 16, 2004, 09:42 AM

Hi all, my first post here. Wonder which part of my pc when wrong so i just post here.

Problem: All games crash to desktop after some time.

Just bought this new system :
ABIT nf7 ver2
AMD 2800+
Gecube 9800pro
Corsair VS 2x256ram 400mhz - running dual channel 333
generic psu 300w

Did a fresh format and install winxp. Install nforce2 driver, install Omega driver 4.7. Having problem crashing, so tried the following troubleshoot:

1)change my vid card to old Gigabyte Radeon9000pro which also cause the same problem. Probably not my vid card problem eh
2)Memtest - no error5 hours
3) Prime95 - i) b4 i up my vcore to 1.675 and vdimm to 2.7 , it does ahv error within 30 min. Now it would run from 3.5 hours, 4.5hours, 5hours+(yesterday, i terminate it manually :P) , depend on temperature in my room "i think"
4)3dmark - b4 up voltage - will crash to desktop at cpu test
- after upping voltage - ran fine

The game will just crash to desktop neat, no error box...
So far i FEEL that it might be
1) PSU not supplying enough voltage
2) Heat problem

This two problem seems correlate wif each other :S , i cant troubleshoot well enough...my casing has a very bad ventilation, thats why i hav to open up the side panel everytime.

SO , thanks for reading my post...

any ideas ??

germanjulian · Aug 16, 2004, 09:53 AM

well why dont you download speedfan (google it)
run it and see your voltages in windows and your temps too. very simple.

You seem to know what your doing so I hope that will show weather your voltages drop when you use prime and how hot ur case gets.
with the case open temps shouldnt be to much of a problem though.

PSU is my guess. also try just using 1 ram stick at a time... and in different slots too.

you shoulnt not have to up your voltages!!! not if you dont OC.

people seem to forget the basic order of importance when buying a PC:

PSU
good enough cooling for the components you get (includes case)
motherboard
ram
HD

Viperace · Aug 16, 2004, 10:23 AM

thanks for the reply. i will try speedfan and see.

Actually i got this Windbound Hardware doctor to monitor temp and voltage.
let me post the voltage i ve seen rite now
volt status
+5 4.97
+12 11.74
-12 -12.03
-5 -5.24
3.3 3.5

About the up voltage thingy, i read some forum, and many said "Corsair ram loves voltage" , while some suggest that crashing to desktop means cpu not getting enough volt. So i jus giv it a try n it seems to work n pass prime95...

germanjulian · Aug 16, 2004, 10:29 AM

those are fine..

they dont show your Vcore though (cpu voltage) and you should run prime and then check your voltages

Viperace · Aug 16, 2004, 10:34 AM

oh vcore is there i jus didnt list it

vcore 1.68 <- this is fluctuating
vcc 2.72
vio 3.31
vsb 4.9

Man, i wish u said something bad about my voltage so that i pinpoint the problem to the PSU...
cpu idle at ~48C load up to 55C

Any thing special i need to look at while running prime ?

germanjulian · Aug 16, 2004, 10:39 AM

crap....

no nothing special... just make sure your pagefile is set rather big when you run prime... otherwise it crashes in 10 seconds..

prime should be stable forever when you run it on a machine.

ok your problem is unfortuanlt rather difficult to pinpoint.

all your voltages seem fine and temps are "OK" too.
the vcore does fluctuate a bit but if it doesnt drop below 1.6 its fine...

mhhh so what exactly does your computer pass?
MemTest works
Prime works?!? run it for at least 8 hours and do the test which tests everything

3dgames do not work and crash straight away?

disable fast writtes in your bios. make sure your memory timmings are OK.. and relax them a little if they are not at stock timings. check in your bios all your settings are normal... go into windows device manager and see if there are any problems

I hope your mobo aint bust or your agp slot...

drakesteakn · Aug 16, 2004, 11:05 AM

a 9800 takes more voltage and a 300 watt psu is not enough. u need at least a 350w psu or more. and if it a generic one u can bet that its not supplying the amount to keep ur computer stable. what else are u using, more than 1 hd, how many fans, ect. all of these add up.

germanjulian · Aug 16, 2004, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drakesteakn

a 9800 takes more voltage and a 300 watt psu is not enough. u need at least a 350w psu or more. and if it a generic one u can bet that its not supplying the amount to keep ur computer stable. what else are u using, more than 1 hd, how many fans, ect. all of these add up.

acctually he might be right... 300W is low... but those voltages seem fine but when a 3dapp starts they might drop beyond believe...

can you borrow another psu?? or can you run 2 psu's? just for testing....
you know just short circuit some pins on the atx plug on the psu to have it on permamently... if you do have one let me know so we can show you which pins you have to short circuit...

drakesteakn · Aug 16, 2004, 11:11 AM

u can buy a pin connector so u can run 2 PSUs safely. it covers the whole motherboard connector so u can't accidently mess something up

Viperace · Aug 16, 2004, 11:18 AM

omg sounds too dangerous to me

I don hav spare PSU to test.

Anyway i m going to upgrade my PSU and casing this weekend... I really really really hope that it aint my motherbaord....

btw i m running
2hd
1 cdrw
1 fan (yes one , lame casing)
1 audigy
thats all about it

drakesteakn · Aug 16, 2004, 11:22 AM

i had a gateway 1mhz p3 and i wanted to upgrade so i bought a 9800p, sound blaster audigy2 platnium and another hd. i also got 2 120mm fans. this was before i really new what i was doing. i had a 250w psu. it would post but i had problems playing diablo2 and warcraft 3. the games would come up to the main menu and then go straight to desktop. i could do anything but play games. i upgraded to a antec 400watt psu and i was fine.

germanjulian · Aug 16, 2004, 11:55 AM

1 fan...
new case?

and dont get a cheap psu... but a brand name... enermax, antec, vantec or something along those lines.

drakesteakn · Aug 16, 2004, 01:05 PM

a good 400w antec should do u nice. they are pretty cheap to get.

Viperace · Aug 17, 2004, 07:35 AM

all rite, has done prime95 blend test
fail in 1.5 hour

few days ago i was able to let cpu test to run 5+ hours without failing

ram timing is at stock
vcore 1.675
vdim 2.7

Aug 16, 2004, 09:42 AM	#1
Viperace DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 5 Rep Power: 0	Game(s) crash to desktop = heat OR voltage? Hi all, my first post here. Wonder which part of my pc when wrong so i just post here. Problem: All games crash to desktop after some time. Just bought this new system : ABIT nf7 ver2 AMD 2800+ Gecube 9800pro Corsair VS 2x256ram 400mhz - running dual channel 333 generic psu 300w Did a fresh format and install winxp. Install nforce2 driver, install Omega driver 4.7. Having problem crashing, so tried the following troubleshoot: 1)change my vid card to old Gigabyte Radeon9000pro which also cause the same problem. Probably not my vid card problem eh 2)Memtest - no error5 hours 3) Prime95 - i) b4 i up my vcore to 1.675 and vdimm to 2.7 , it does ahv error within 30 min. Now it would run from 3.5 hours, 4.5hours, 5hours+(yesterday, i terminate it manually :P) , depend on temperature in my room "i think" 4)3dmark - b4 up voltage - will crash to desktop at cpu test - after upping voltage - ran fine The game will just crash to desktop neat, no error box... So far i FEEL that it might be 1) PSU not supplying enough voltage 2) Heat problem This two problem seems correlate wif each other :S , i cant troubleshoot well enough...my casing has a very bad ventilation, thats why i hav to open up the side panel everytime. SO , thanks for reading my post... any ideas ??

Aug 16, 2004, 09:53 AM	#2
germanjulian Back in London Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: London Posts: 1,794 Rep Power: 0	well why dont you download speedfan (google it) run it and see your voltages in windows and your temps too. very simple. You seem to know what your doing so I hope that will show weather your voltages drop when you use prime and how hot ur case gets. with the case open temps shouldnt be to much of a problem though. PSU is my guess. also try just using 1 ram stick at a time... and in different slots too. you shoulnt not have to up your voltages!!! not if you dont OC. people seem to forget the basic order of importance when buying a PC: PSU good enough cooling for the components you get (includes case) motherboard ram HD __________________ /\|\ Asus P5W DH Deluxe, Intel C2D E6600, 2GB Corsair XMS2-6400C4 DDR2, E-VGA GeForce 7800 GT, Creative X-Fi Extreme Music, 500GB Seagate 7200.10 SATA, Lian Li PC-V1100 Aluminum Case Black, etc. http://germanjulian.com /\|\

Aug 16, 2004, 10:29 AM	#4
germanjulian Back in London Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: London Posts: 1,794 Rep Power: 0	those are fine.. they dont show your Vcore though (cpu voltage) and you should run prime and then check your voltages __________________ /\|\ Asus P5W DH Deluxe, Intel C2D E6600, 2GB Corsair XMS2-6400C4 DDR2, E-VGA GeForce 7800 GT, Creative X-Fi Extreme Music, 500GB Seagate 7200.10 SATA, Lian Li PC-V1100 Aluminum Case Black, etc. http://germanjulian.com /\|\

Aug 16, 2004, 10:39 AM	#6
germanjulian Back in London Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: London Posts: 1,794 Rep Power: 0	crap.... no nothing special... just make sure your pagefile is set rather big when you run prime... otherwise it crashes in 10 seconds.. prime should be stable forever when you run it on a machine. ok your problem is unfortuanlt rather difficult to pinpoint. all your voltages seem fine and temps are "OK" too. the vcore does fluctuate a bit but if it doesnt drop below 1.6 its fine... mhhh so what exactly does your computer pass? MemTest works Prime works?!? run it for at least 8 hours and do the test which tests everything 3dgames do not work and crash straight away? disable fast writtes in your bios. make sure your memory timmings are OK.. and relax them a little if they are not at stock timings. check in your bios all your settings are normal... go into windows device manager and see if there are any problems I hope your mobo aint bust or your agp slot... __________________ /\|\ Asus P5W DH Deluxe, Intel C2D E6600, 2GB Corsair XMS2-6400C4 DDR2, E-VGA GeForce 7800 GT, Creative X-Fi Extreme Music, 500GB Seagate 7200.10 SATA, Lian Li PC-V1100 Aluminum Case Black, etc. http://germanjulian.com /\|\

Aug 16, 2004, 11:05 AM	#7
drakesteakn boo!!!! Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Ft. Meyers, FL Posts: 2,041 Rep Power: 43	a 9800 takes more voltage and a 300 watt psu is not enough. u need at least a 350w psu or more. and if it a generic one u can bet that its not supplying the amount to keep ur computer stable. what else are u using, more than 1 hd, how many fans, ect. all of these add up. __________________

Aug 16, 2004, 10:23 AM	#3
Viperace DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 5 Rep Power: 0	thanks for the reply. i will try speedfan and see. Actually i got this Windbound Hardware doctor to monitor temp and voltage. let me post the voltage i ve seen rite now volt status +5 4.97 +12 11.74 -12 -12.03 -5 -5.24 3.3 3.5 About the up voltage thingy, i read some forum, and many said "Corsair ram loves voltage" , while some suggest that crashing to desktop means cpu not getting enough volt. So i jus giv it a try n it seems to work n pass prime95...

Aug 16, 2004, 10:34 AM	#5
Viperace DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 5 Rep Power: 0	oh vcore is there i jus didnt list it vcore 1.68 <- this is fluctuating vcc 2.72 vio 3.31 vsb 4.9 Man, i wish u said something bad about my voltage so that i pinpoint the problem to the PSU... cpu idle at ~48C load up to 55C Any thing special i need to look at while running prime ?

Aug 16, 2004, 11:11 AM	#9
drakesteakn boo!!!! Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Ft. Meyers, FL Posts: 2,041 Rep Power: 43	u can buy a pin connector so u can run 2 PSUs safely. it covers the whole motherboard connector so u can't accidently mess something up __________________

Aug 16, 2004, 11:18 AM	#10
Viperace DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 5 Rep Power: 0	omg sounds too dangerous to me I don hav spare PSU to test. Anyway i m going to upgrade my PSU and casing this weekend... I really really really hope that it aint my motherbaord.... btw i m running 2hd 1 cdrw 1 fan (yes one , lame casing) 1 audigy thats all about it

Aug 16, 2004, 11:22 AM	#11
drakesteakn boo!!!! Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Ft. Meyers, FL Posts: 2,041 Rep Power: 43	i had a gateway 1mhz p3 and i wanted to upgrade so i bought a 9800p, sound blaster audigy2 platnium and another hd. i also got 2 120mm fans. this was before i really new what i was doing. i had a 250w psu. it would post but i had problems playing diablo2 and warcraft 3. the games would come up to the main menu and then go straight to desktop. i could do anything but play games. i upgraded to a antec 400watt psu and i was fine. __________________

Aug 16, 2004, 11:55 AM	#12
germanjulian Back in London Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: London Posts: 1,794 Rep Power: 0	1 fan... new case? and dont get a cheap psu... but a brand name... enermax, antec, vantec or something along those lines. __________________ /\|\ Asus P5W DH Deluxe, Intel C2D E6600, 2GB Corsair XMS2-6400C4 DDR2, E-VGA GeForce 7800 GT, Creative X-Fi Extreme Music, 500GB Seagate 7200.10 SATA, Lian Li PC-V1100 Aluminum Case Black, etc. http://germanjulian.com /\|\

Aug 16, 2004, 01:05 PM	#13
drakesteakn boo!!!! Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Ft. Meyers, FL Posts: 2,041 Rep Power: 43	a good 400w antec should do u nice. they are pretty cheap to get. __________________

Aug 17, 2004, 07:35 AM	#14
Viperace DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 5 Rep Power: 0	all rite, has done prime95 blend test fail in 1.5 hour few days ago i was able to let cpu test to run 5+ hours without failing ram timing is at stock vcore 1.675 vdim 2.7