Random crash during all games

[ViolentNewt]

Hey, posting this here because I haven't seen this happen any time other than in-game so far. Anyways, when playing games, my pc has been randomly crashing. No overheat as far as I can tell as I've been monitoring temps to make sure.

Basically jagged red lines come across the screen. Sound will continue as usual for a short bit, then start to loop. Usually carries on for a while, then blue screens for a split second then restarts.

Picture of how it looks is attached.

Any ideas or advice would be appreciated.

[ViolentNewt]

Can't seem to find the edit post button so...

Power - COOLERMASTER 750W
Motherboard – Asus P5E Socket775.
CPU – Q6600 OC'ed to 3.0ghz
RAM – Corsair XMS2 DDR2 CM2X1024-6400C4, 2GB @ 4-4-4-12 800mhz
Video Card(s) – Galaxy 8800 GT
Hard Drive(s) – Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Operating System - WinXP Pro SP2

[koala]

Hi, welcome to TSF

Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling your graphics driver, or updating it? Which version are you using?

What are your PSU voltages and system temperatures in BIOS and during gameplay?

Is anything other than the CPU overclocked? Did you overclock in BIOS or using software? Do you get this problem running everything at default clock speeds?

To see the blue screen without the computer restarting, go to Control Panel > System > Advanced tab > Startup & Recovery Settings button > System Failure and remove the checkmark from 'Automatically restart'. The full BSOD message and Stop error code will help pinpoint the cause of the problem.

[ViolentNewt]

Originally Posted by koala

Hi, welcome to TSF

Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling your graphics driver, or updating it? Which version are you using?

What are your PSU voltages and system temperatures in BIOS and during gameplay?

Is anything other than the CPU overclocked? Did you overclock in BIOS or using software? Do you get this problem running everything at default clock speeds?

To see the blue screen without the computer restarting, go to Control Panel > System > Advanced tab > Startup & Recovery Settings button > System Failure and remove the checkmark from 'Automatically restart'. The full BSOD message and Stop error code will help pinpoint the cause of the problem.

I haven't tried uninstalling and reinstalling, though I did update. I am currently running version 175.19, which has been giving me the same issue as the previous version was(don't remember which that was).

PSU Voltages are...
3.3V=3.264
5V=4.920
12V=11.984(reads 11.30 on software monitor?)

CPU/MB BIOS temp idles around 40C, ranging up to 60C or so during high-stress gameplay(higher during stress test, of course).

GPU idles between 60-70, ranging up to 95~ depending on game and fan setting.
EX: Crysis on 100% fan speed and max settings usually sits at about 88-90.
Though had one incident where I played 4 hours of high stress Crysis w/o crash, then logged on Final Fantasy XI afterwards(much lower in comparison, have never seen it higher than 75C) and crashed in that a few minutes later.

Only the CPU is overclocked, which was done in BIOS. To be honest I haven't tested in default settings as I've been rather discourage by how completely random these crashes have been.

Thanks for the note on the blue screen. Hopefully I can get one to come up. It doesn't always blue screen on these crashes, but maybe I'll get lucky and have something to show.

Thanks again.

[koala]

If you're getting 11.984V in BIOS for the +12V line and it's dropping to 11.30V using the software monitor during gameplay, then the PSU is struggling under stress. It should be within the +-5% range of 11.4-12.6V to power your computer efficiently.

Of course, not all system monitors are totally accurate, so there is some margin for error. Which program are you using?

Try resetting the CPU clock speed to default to see if this helps with the +12V output.

Your temperatures aren't too bad and don't seem to affect gaming if you can play Crysis for 4 hours, so we'll concentrate on the PSU and drivers for now. Check the +12V again during gameplay (not after, because the values revert to normal when you leave the 3D fullscreen).

Uninstall your graphics driver by going to Device Manager > Display Adapters > right-click Geforce 8800GT > Uninstall. Reboot into VGA/Safe Mode, disable antivirus, install the latest Omega driver and reboot to complete. This is a tweaked version of Forceware 169.21 aimed at gamers. If this doesn't fix it, go back to your current 175.19

[ViolentNewt]

Was using PC Wizard 2008 for voltages, and just now checked Everest which says 5V=5.48 and 12V=12.71.

Reverted to default settings and voltages are unchanged in both programs.

Possibly a seperate issue, but VCORE is reporting in bios and software as significantly lower than what I had it manually set for. Continued to lower itself regardless of my setting when I set CPU to default speed.

[ViolentNewt]

Crash again w/ Omega drivers, doesn't seem to be the issue. Didn't blue screen though, so hopefully it will next time so I have something useful to show.

[ViolentNewt]

Still can't find edit post button...but anyways. Using speedfan to monitor 12V during gameplay, and it's dropping to around 11.25(oof) though I can't find a specific number with speedfan.

[koala]

The edit button is only available for 30 minutes after you post.

As it's fluctuating so much and you can't get an accurate reading, can you borrow a PSU to test?

[ViolentNewt]

Dropped below 11.2 during heavy action in Bioshock. Can pull psu out of old PC to test, though I'm not sure it'll be enough. Will check it out later this evening.

[ViolentNewt]

Well after the fact, but I put a new PSU in...and the readings are the same. And crashed in the same manner. Any other suggestions?