Computer Problem

[Shawnzzy]

Hey everyone I have been having a problem with my new computer.
The problem is whenever I run new games it seems that within 5 minutes of starting the screen goes black I hear sound but it's like the monitor doesn't pick anything up and I have to reboot. I have tried STALKER shadows, Hellgate London, Spore and the demo to World in Conflict. For some reason Spore runs no problem and World in Conflict did it till I turned on a frame rate Limiter in the power saver options. Which leads me to believe my power supply in inadequate to power my rig.
Here are my specs.

Power Supply ( 680 Watt -- Power Supply SLI Ready )

Processor ( [=== Quad Core ===] Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q9550 (4x 2.83GHz/12MB L2 Cache/1333FSB) )

Motherboard ( CrossFire Asus Maximus II Formula Intel P45 CrossFire Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394, Dual PCI-E MB )

Memory ( 4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module Corsair-Value or Major Brand )

Video Card ( 2x ATI Radeon HD 4850 1GB PCI-Express x16 - running CrossFire mode )

And I'm running windows xp SP3

I have updated the drivers to my video card and I swapped the ram sticks so now I'm at a loss. Can anyone help?

Thanks,
Shawnzzy

[EvilAerosolCan]

Sounds like a video card issue. I would make sure that it's not overheating. Dust, a broken fan, anything like that will cause it to get hot.

[Shawnzzy]

Well I was trying to find a way to fix it and oddly enough I found a solution. I used this app to edit the .exe of my games and make a frame rate limit so I can't go over 30 or what ever number I see fit. I tried it at 30, 40, 50, and 60 for stalker and I could run it maxed out with no crash and no slow down.... Do you think there is a chance my computer just started going so fast it over heated and by limiting it stays cool?
thanks for the reply
Shawnzzy

[EvilAerosolCan]

It will get hotter when running games because it has more to process than when you are just surfing the intarwebz. I would still check the video card to make sure there is nothing wrong with it. If it's got a dust ball holding the fan still, then the FPS limiter is just treating a symptom.

[Retodon8]

I agree with EAC.
Since the sound is still going, and I assume you could almost keep playing (if you press the Jump button, you can still hear your guy grunting, stuff like that), the issue must be video card-related.

See if you can measure the temperature; modern systems often allow you to monitor CPU, video card, and the inside of the case.
This isn't always so, and I understand the readings aren't always reliable, but it's something to try.
Usually you can check the temperature of everything when it's still idling in your BIOS.
Leave your system off for a long time so it cools down, start it up, press Del, or F8, or F5, or whatever the key is for your system, and look for the temperature.
Don't save anything when exiting the BIOS; you don't want to change any settings.
I'm not familiar with Windows-based programs that you'd need to log while putting some stress on the system, but I think SIW should do the job.

Also simply having the case open so you can make sure all the fans are actually spinning, like EAC suggested they may not be, would be a good idea.
A friend of mine told me his father once used a tie wrap to tidy up his case, binding all the cables together.
You can guess the rest; his system shut down automatically after a while.

You say it's a new computer, so you should be able to fall back to the store that sold it to you if you need to.

[rabb1t]

Have you confirmed that it's not a Crossfire issue by physically removing one card, turning off Crossfire, and seeing if games work with a single GPU? A single 4850 shouldn't have much issue running at even 1920x1200.

Originally Posted by Retodon8

You say it's a new computer, so you should be able to fall back to the store that sold it to you if you need to.

If it's a store bought system build the new owner should be spending zero time trouble shooting. This should be taken back to the store and they should be trouble shooting and fixing it for teh free. It's why you paid them extra.

[Shawnzzy]

Well I ran everest and my temps seemed to stay within the 60 to 70 degrees C range even when gaming so I don't think it was over heating. Hmmm I haven't tried taking one card out to just run with a single GPU but I might here in a day or so when I have more time. I have clear side case so I can see the fans and from the looks of it they are spinning I might have to take a closer look opened up though.

As for store bought it's not completely store bought, it was built for me from a site by the name of www.ibuypower.com I had a few friends who bought pcs from them and they didn't seem to have any trouble with them. Oh well I guess the next step is to open her up so I will check back when I do that.

Thanks
Shawnzzy

[rabb1t]

I'm fairly certain ibuypower is the same as any system builder and part of what you paid for is coverage for them to fix / investigate stuff like this.

I'd definitely contact them and say 'wtf didn't you test the system with games before sending it to me?!'

[doxxan]

A 680W is a little on the weakside for crossfire and all that, but it doesn't sound like a power issue. I have to agree with previous posters, that it's vid. card related.

[kolja86]

it is video card related... and it is not the problem with 2 video cards installed... it's overheating... the hard-core gamer machines tend to be very sensitive when it comes to heat and they warm-up very fast... if you know what I mean...