Various temp and crash problems

[ToxiK]

Hi, I downloaded this nice program in hope it could check my GPU temp, because I've had some crash problems in games like CoD: UO and NFS Most Wanted.

My crash problem is When I've played CoD: UO or NFS MW in about 1-2 hours, the screen just turns black and there is a strange noise from my headphones, there are no "regular" noise, it's some "beeps" mixed with some other thingies :wtf: .
When this has happened, it's impossible to get any "contact" with the computer, so the only thing to do is to hold the power button for 5 secs... :cry: .
I have tried lowering my graphics settings and (re-)installing the latest Catalyst drivers, but the problem persist...

A rather strange thing is that the computer has never crahsed when playing TES IV: Oblivion for several hours, and Oblivion has VERY advanced graphics.

I'm totally new to this kind of problem, so I started to search with my little friend google :D .
I found that my GPU could be overheating, and so I found this program.

I've learned on this forum that my 9800XT should support temp monitoring, so I opened the program to check, my temps are, 102 | 74, (With only anti-virus and firewall running) which I think seems very high, can it be overheating that causes the crash? :confused:

I'm a total newbie to GPU problems overall, and I've only just the computer case once, so installing any new parts won't be very nice if it isn't VERY bad heat problems...

I appreciate any tips to solving this problem, thanks in advance! (Please tell me if you need any additional information)

/Simon

[AngryGerbil]

I'm saying a prayer for your video card right now, i think it might need it.

102 degrees celsius = 215 degrees fernheit. thats...scary hot dude. that temperature is measured at the GPU - the little chip that controls your card, and that is getting hotter than my soldering iron gets sometimes 8(

Crack open your case. check the fan on the heatsink - push it with your finger and make sure it moves. if dust rains down on the card below it (or if you can't see the fan because of dust/dirt/grime), you've found part of the problem.

Remove the card (carefully) and check INSIDE the heatsink. between the fins inside should be clear. if its full of dust - VACUUM IT OUT until its completely clear. Also, while you're in there, go ahead and vacuum out the heatsink on your CPU, the fans inside the power supply (don't open it up, just get as much dust out as you can), and the airflow fans in your case - as well as the motherboard, and peripheral cards. just vacuum everything.

If the fan has failed, i wouldn't recommend playing any games until you've found a replacement fan/heatsink. You can check this after you've gotten the dust out and everything is back together. leave the case open, and turn it on - keep an eye on that fan. if it hesitates starting up, its time to think about replacing it, and soon.

Also, if you smoke around your computer, you're probably see the effects of all the nasty crud they put into cigarettes. it will adhere to everything, and part of that everything are your fans. they get sticky. they start not wanting to work. the computer still provides them power tho - until they burn themselves out. then you've got a critical part of your comp that has NO active cooling. and thats bad. so DONT SMOKE AROUND YOUR COMP! (if you don't. good. never mind.)

Anyways, good luck. don't play games for hours on end until you get your heat problem fixed.

-AngryGerbil

[ToxiK]

Many thanks for the answer, I just have some questions (not just to you, AngryGerbil!).

1. I've read that you shouldn't use electrical devices like a vacuum to clean your computer components, and that it can damage the stuff, is this correct?

2. What is a/the heatsink? I'm swedish and don't know all "computer words" in english. :)

And about the smoking, I'm 14 years old and I know that smoking is very bad :D

And BTW, thanks for the prayer :p


/Simon

[AngryGerbil]

1) I vacuum out my case about every other month, and I have for...well, forever. I've noticed nothing out of the ordinary ;)

2) Heatsink - Big copper thing that sits on the GPU (or CPU) and absorbs heat from it. has lots of fins so that you can then easily cool the heatsink down with a fan.

Good about the smoking. you're way wiser than I am LOL

you might also think about air circulation inside the case. I'm sure the environmental temp on your video card (the second temperature) is heavily influenced by the VERY high GPU temp, but poor air circulation inside your case might also be to blame. How are your fans set up?

[ToxiK]

Hi again!
I opened my case yesterday and you were right, Gerbil, it was full of crap :eek:
I vacuumed it and removed the video card and cleaned it, now my temp is at 75 | 50 - Idle.
It's a big improvement, but not perfect, do I need to install a new GPU cooler? :confused:

MANY THANKS for the help AngryGerbil!!

/Simon

[AngryGerbil]

Check the fan on the heatsink -

Open your case up, leave it on its side (so that you can see the fan on the GPU), and turn your computer on. it should be spinning fairly fast - like any other fan inside your computer. At this point tho, i really don't think its turning at all. if it's not turning at all, you're probably going to need to get either a new heatsink (if you've got a good video card), or a new video card (if the card you have was cheaper than a moderately decent GPU heatsink). or at the very least, deal with glitches.

I've got my fan speed set to 4% right now - it's not moving a bit. my GPU temp was at 37, it's up to 60 right now - and climbling, slowly.

Check it. :)