Computer Freezes while playing games fullscreen

[Kythrian]

My computer has been having a problem crashing since I put it together and recently the problem has gotten on my last nerve. My computer crashes when playing games that require full screen. I have had the problem with newer games like Half Life 2 and World of Warcraft, and with older games like Unreal Tournament and Warcraft 3. My girlfriend informs me that she has never had the problem with the Sims 2, but she has had it crash while playing Darwinia.

So far in my attempts to fix the problem I have tested each stick or ram individually and I have reformatted my hard drives on several occasions, I have uninstalled new drivers, installed old drivers and then reinstalled new drivers. I have replaced the video card with a newer one from ATI and I have removed the audio card for some time. I have removed all other peripherals and run the machine with only a game and windows. I have reset my BIOS settings and I have then tried underclocking my CPU by adjusting the FSB from 167 to 133. All of my fans are running, although my CPU fan doesnt give a reading to SensorsView.

Any help or advice you could provide would be great. Let me know if more info is needed and I will get it for you. I have Everest and SensorsView on my machine.

Computer:
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Professional
OS Service Pack: Service Pack 2
DirectX: 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Motherboard:
CPU Type: AMD Athlon XP, 1733 MHz (13 x 133)
Motherboard Name: MSI K7N2 Delta-L (MS-6570G) (5 PCI, 1 AGP, 1 ACR, 3 DDR DIMM, Audio, LAN)
Motherboard Chipset: nVIDIA nForce2 Ultra 400
System Memory: 1024 MB (PC2700 DDR SDRAM)
BIOS Type: Award (08/02/04)
Power Supply:
Raidmax 420W (KY-502ATX)
+3.3/+5/+12V: 3.31 / 5.13 / 12.00
-5/-12V: -5.15/-12.70
Rated to 13.0A on the +12V line
Display:
Video Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 (Omega 1.6693) (P) (256 MB)
3D Accelerator: nVIDIA GeForce FX 5600
Monitor: ViewSonic VA520-3 [15" LCD] (91B031131783)
Multimedia:
Audio Adapter: Creative SB Live! 5.1 Digital (SB0220) Sound Card
Audio Adapter: nVIDIA MCP2 - Audio Codec Interface
Temperatures:
CPU/SYS/AUX/HD0: 57 / 39 / 48 / 32C

[pharoah]

were those temps,and voltages idle or load? have you scanned for viruses,and spyware?

[koala]

Try a higher powered PSU. Your 420W only has 12 amps on the +12V line, not enough for 3D games.

[Kythrian]

Those temps were idle. I have recently noticed higher temps, probably 63C max when I am gaming.

I have definitely scanned for virus and for spyware. I have formated my HDD, reinstalled OS and drivers and then tried to play games without ever connecting the machine to the internet, and it will still crash on me.

Regarding the power supply, I know it is low by today's standards, but my understanding is that it should be pretty good for the hardware I am running. That power supply estimating website (http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine) tells me I need 265 W. Adding the obligatory 30% still keeps me well under 350 W. A 420 W power supply should be enough to keep everything happy.

[koala]

The total watts is not the only consideration. PSU efficiency decreases over time, leaving you with much less watts than you think you have.

Also, the +12V line powers the graphics card. If this is only giving out 12 amps, you will have trouble running graphically-intensive games, and you will possibly see symptoms of overheating such as artifacts, lagging, crashes, etc. if the games will even run.

If the PSU is more than a year old, the 30% figure needs to be increased to 40-50%, depending on quality.

[pharoah]

in this case i have to agree with koala.i missed the power supply being a raidmax.which is a known bad power supply.

[Salty101]

Im having the exact same problem....was this ever resolved??

[koala]

Hi Salty101, welcome to TSF

This thread is from 2007 and the original poster has not returned. Please start a new thread listing your system specs, including PSU details, and a full description of your problem.

[CS5n531]

Originally Posted by koala

Hi Salty101, welcome to TSF

This thread is from 2007 and the original poster has not returned. Please start a new thread listing your system specs, including PSU details, and a full description of your problem.

Agreed, bumping this old thread wont help you much. Start a new one posting your specs, how clean the inside of your PC is, what you've tried in an attempt to fix your problem, ext.