Tech Support Forum - View Single Post - Compaq 8710p dies playing high performance games

TheWaste · 12-12-2008, 05:49 AM

Hello again computer gods

I hate to bother you all like this, and really appreciate how quickly you guys tend to respond to questions. Pleasantries aside, I have a problem with my laptop, and really hope someone can help me.

I am the proud owner of a HP Compaq 8710p. I say proud owner, because I love this laptop. One thing I didn't expect when I bought the laptop is how well it can handle 3D game graphics. Surprising, because I didn't expect a laptop to ever have good graphics when playing recent games.

My problem is however, even though the laptop can run most of my favourite games in high resolution, I find that my laptop dies in mysterious ways when I play a couple of certain games.

When I play 'Team Fortress 2', if I have been using the computer for a few hours prior, or sometimes even when I haven't, the game will crash after joining a server. The error message:

"engine error : failed to lock vertex buffer in CmeshDX8::LockVertexBuffer"

If I try re-launch the game after this error, it will happen again until I restart my computer.

At first I thought this was an isolated incident (Valve/Steam games are well known for their buggyness) until I recently purchased Assassin's Creed. When I play the game, after roughly two minutes the game will crash (with no error message). If I reload the game, it will crash again sooner. If I reload the game again after that, I normally find myself staring at a blue screen of death.

Given the symptoms, I assumed the problem was CPU heat related. I have heard of many people having heat problems on their laptops, and a can of compressed air sprayed into the fan port will make short work of the problem. Attempting to try the solution (using a proper air compressor on a modest pressure... I understand the risks of using compressed air against a computer fan. I even stuck a toothpick through the vent to stop the fan spinning while it was being blown)

Aside from this basic method of maintainance, I would open up the laptop to give it a complete blowing out, but I'm quite sure that HP would not honour my warranty after I open it up.

I installed a program called 'Speedfan', which is able to detect fan speeds and temperatures. I noticed that when playing games, my temperature gradually increases from a nominal 60 degrees, all the way up to 90 degrees before the game crashes. After doing some research, I discovered that this is quite a high temperature, but my computer should still stay running until about 120 degrees.

I thought that pumping up the fan speed would help the problem, but sadly Speedfan's developers have not yet developed the fan speed support for my mobo.

After the obvious installation of most recent drivers, DirectX, latest updates of games, I am at a loss as to what I should try next. I don't want to take my laptop back to the store, because they would likely take 3-4 weeks to get the laptop back to me, and I need it for work... so servicing is my very very last option... especially considering the nitwits would probably think they fixed the problem, send it back to me, and the problem would still exist (as I have with many of my mobile phones over the years)

tl;dr:
Laptop crashes during gameplay on multiple games. I'm pretty sure the problem is heat related. I've tried updating drivers, gaming software, etc. I can't take the laptop back for service because I need it for work. I've tried a basic fan cleaning using an air compressor (responsibly) but to give it a 'proper' cleaning, I would need to open the laptop up and that would void the warranty. While I'm pretty sure it's heat related, I am not %100 certain. I need ideas on what I should try next.

Thanks again guys!

12-12-2008, 05:49 AM	#1 (permalink)
TheWaste Registered User Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 51 OS: Windows XP Professional 2002	Compaq 8710p dies playing high performance games Hello again computer gods I hate to bother you all like this, and really appreciate how quickly you guys tend to respond to questions. Pleasantries aside, I have a problem with my laptop, and really hope someone can help me. I am the proud owner of a HP Compaq 8710p. I say proud owner, because I love this laptop. One thing I didn't expect when I bought the laptop is how well it can handle 3D game graphics. Surprising, because I didn't expect a laptop to ever have good graphics when playing recent games. My problem is however, even though the laptop can run most of my favourite games in high resolution, I find that my laptop dies in mysterious ways when I play a couple of certain games. When I play 'Team Fortress 2', if I have been using the computer for a few hours prior, or sometimes even when I haven't, the game will crash after joining a server. The error message: "engine error : failed to lock vertex buffer in CmeshDX8::LockVertexBuffer" If I try re-launch the game after this error, it will happen again until I restart my computer. At first I thought this was an isolated incident (Valve/Steam games are well known for their buggyness) until I recently purchased Assassin's Creed. When I play the game, after roughly two minutes the game will crash (with no error message). If I reload the game, it will crash again sooner. If I reload the game again after that, I normally find myself staring at a blue screen of death. Given the symptoms, I assumed the problem was CPU heat related. I have heard of many people having heat problems on their laptops, and a can of compressed air sprayed into the fan port will make short work of the problem. Attempting to try the solution (using a proper air compressor on a modest pressure... I understand the risks of using compressed air against a computer fan. I even stuck a toothpick through the vent to stop the fan spinning while it was being blown) Aside from this basic method of maintainance, I would open up the laptop to give it a complete blowing out, but I'm quite sure that HP would not honour my warranty after I open it up. I installed a program called 'Speedfan', which is able to detect fan speeds and temperatures. I noticed that when playing games, my temperature gradually increases from a nominal 60 degrees, all the way up to 90 degrees before the game crashes. After doing some research, I discovered that this is quite a high temperature, but my computer should still stay running until about 120 degrees. I thought that pumping up the fan speed would help the problem, but sadly Speedfan's developers have not yet developed the fan speed support for my mobo. After the obvious installation of most recent drivers, DirectX, latest updates of games, I am at a loss as to what I should try next. I don't want to take my laptop back to the store, because they would likely take 3-4 weeks to get the laptop back to me, and I need it for work... so servicing is my very very last option... especially considering the nitwits would probably think they fixed the problem, send it back to me, and the problem would still exist (as I have with many of my mobile phones over the years) tl;dr: Laptop crashes during gameplay on multiple games. I'm pretty sure the problem is heat related. I've tried updating drivers, gaming software, etc. I can't take the laptop back for service because I need it for work. I've tried a basic fan cleaning using an air compressor (responsibly) but to give it a 'proper' cleaning, I would need to open the laptop up and that would void the warranty. While I'm pretty sure it's heat related, I am not %100 certain. I need ideas on what I should try next. Thanks again guys!