Huge Problem with games

[Foegel]

Every time I play a game with modern graphics (like C&C: Generals, BF:Vietnam, Doom 3, The Sims 2, etc.) I can play for somewhere between five minutes to fiftheen minutes solidly with no problem what so ever. But then suddenly the game freezes (I can move the mouse still with some games but he freezes to after five seconds), the audio keeps going on or begins to repeat the last three seconds. I have to restart my computer entirely by cutting of the power.

My Specs:

P4 2,6 Ghz
512 RAM
Medion Radeon 9600 TX
The latest catalyst drivers
(If you want to know any more specs, just ask)


Can someone please help me with this problem? I would really appreciate it.

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(Sorry for my bad english)

 

[Cybernoid]

The only thing I can think of is overheating. The display adapter overheats.

 

[Foegel]

And how can I fix that?

 

[DiSTuRbEd]

Cooling, maybe??

 

[Cybernoid]

If your card has a temperature sensor, look at it. I don't know a dedicated program for it, but Everest can read temperature sensors.

 

[Foegel]

Ok, I installed the program, and now??

 

[Cybernoid]

Go to Computer --> Sensor on the navigation tree.

****, just noticed that it doesn't show GPU temperatures. It'll still show other temperatures, though. If CPU/MB temps are too high, then the card probably is overheating too. Actually, it could be the CPU that is overheating, too.

Hmm, the ATI control panel shows temperatures on the "overdrive" panel, if you have that.

 

[Kristafon]

1. For a quick solution run a virus and spyware scan, this may help a great deal
http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

2.Overheating sound like the most likely cause, so-
Check the back of your computer isnt bloked in some way
Open it up (you may need expert help if your not sure) check to see if there is large amounts of dust, in my last comp the fan on the video card had completely stopped turning! Also the fan on the proccessor or one of the other fans depending on your computer may be bloked. I wont say actualy what to do about this, taking anything apart can be very risky and im not sure myself. The best I can say is go to a friend who knows about hardware or go to a professional, any computer shop has someone who can help you.

3.Check if all your components are OK, one alone may be causing the problem, espcially if its the motherboard. So look inside and see if there is any damage and get someone if your not sure to look at it and make sure evrything is up to date and working OK.

4.Reinstall Windows, it may be in some way messed up. Reinstalling it cant do much harm, make sure you arent deleting any of your files though.

I think thats it.