[SOLVED] Computer Freezes Whenever I Play Games

[Dennis1340]

Hello, I have a problem with my computer freezing whenever I play games on it. It freezes within 15 minutes of playing games. The games that the computer freezes on are Gears of War, GTA IV, and Far Cry 2. I also play Assassins Creed and Call of Duty: World at War but these games I can play longer. They will freeze in about 1 hour. When the computer freezes, I have to reboot the system because nothing else works. If you play a game right after rebooting, it will freeze within 5 minutes. If you do it a third time, it will freeze before it even gets to the main menu. If you leave the computer alone for about 30 minutes, you can play for about another 15 minutes again. Time is the only "cure" for not freezing quickly. I have tried to disable the virus scan, and have also tried different memory. I am thinking the problem is the power supply that I have. I recently upgraded from a crappy 380W PSU to a 500W PSU. It seems to work better but overall it ends up with the same problem. Here is my System:

Gigabyte S-Series Motherboard (GA-EP45-DS3L/S3L)
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor (3.16 Ghz)
GeForce 9500 GT graphics card
Kingston (Hyper X model) 2x2 GB DDR2 http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/conf...KHX6400D2K2/4G
Hiro 56Kb Data Fax Modem (I don't really know what this is for)
Western Digital SATA Hard Drive 640 GB
120mm Antec Case Fan (I dont know if this info is needed)
Antec EarthWatts 500W PSU http://www.europa.com/~enu/

I don't think this has anything to do with the system temperature because my average CPU temperature is about 40 Celsius and and my system temperature is about 42 Celsius.

Please help me figure out what is wrong with my computer. I want to know for sure what is wrong with my computer.

I also tried out the PSU calculator but since I don't know very much in computers, I don't know if I calculated it right. I got something like 520W.

Please help. Thanks.

[Zealex]

I'm not the smartest guy on computers, but are you sure what you are doing with the power supply? I think your rig is not getting enough voltage and playing games makes your computer work harder and freeze since it does not get all the energy it needs. Btw how long did you have a 380PSU? your parts could be damaged....

[Dennis1340]

I had my 380 PSU since the beginning of 2009 up until May 22 2009 when I replaced it with the 500W PSU. I have 2x +12V rails which both have 22.0A on them. My whole power supply is: +5V +3.3V +12V 1 +12V 2 -12V +5VSB
Max 24A 24A 22.0A 22.0A 0.8A 2.5A
Min 0.5A 0.3A 1.0A 1.0A 0.0A 0.0A

[RockmasteR]

first of all your PSU is not high quality, never trust a PSU that has 2 +12V,
download SIW from my sig and open it
on the left, under Hardware, select "sensor" and keep it open, monitor your CPU, Video Card (GPU) temps, now open up any game, like Far Cry 2 and play the game, minimize the game before the PC freezes (10 minutes or little bit more) and recheck the temps and report back

be sure to get a better PSU, like the Corsair 550 W or 650 W that has a 50+ A under the 12V

[spokanescott09]

Could also be something to do with the video card.

[Dennis1340]

My temperatures right after playing Far Cry 2 were

System: 34 Celsius
CPU: 40 Celsius
Core 1: 42 Celsius
Core 2: 41 Celsius
Graphics Card: 49 Celsius
HDD: 32 Celsius

I dont know if this is right so I uploaded a picture that shows what temps I had.

[Dennis1340]

Also, why is it a bad idea to have 2 +12V rails on a power supply?

[Mcninjaguy]

2 rails on a PSu don't add up. They simply just don't share the power so not only do you have to deal with THE PSU's inefficiency, you also have to deal with the combined rails.

For a 9800 GT the minimum the minimum I would run it is a Corsair 650w

Corsair 650w
$95
after rebate $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005

I would give your computer a month max before the your current PSU fails and burns a couple of your PC parts with it, like the Graphics card, motherboard, HDD's

You should buy a new PSU straight away. Your temps are fine otherwise.

[Dennis1340]

Oh ok I will try it out and see if it works.

[Dennis1340]

Problem solved! The PSU was actually not the problem. After trying the Corsair 650W, I gave my computer to a computer repair shop and after a week, they called and told me it was ready. The problem was that, when I was putting my computer together in the beginning of this year, when I installed the CPU fan, I somehow broke one of the latches on the fan causing it to not stick to the CPU. My CPU started overheating and it would lock up. (Which is weird cause my CPU temps seemed fine) That is why when I played games, the CPU had to work harder and the heat could not escape. I hope this helps somebody.

Thank you for all of your help.

[Mcninjaguy]

you still should get the PSU, Antec makes PSU' that are half the quality of what Corsair has. It most likley has a 60% efficiency making it closer to a 300w PSU

All Corsair PSU's have a 80% + efficiency rating nice single 12v rails.

[Dennis1340]

Yeah, the CPU fan did not completely stick to the CPU. 3 out of the 4 sides were sticking to the CPU and the 4th was broken so it caused all the heat to come into the CPU through that opening and causing it to overheat.

[france434]

wow what a story :) xD

[Mcninjaguy]

You should probably just a new heatsink/fan because I assume you're using the stock one which is never that good.

ZALMAN CNPS9500 AT 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink
$49.19
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118003

[Dennis1340]

Yeah, I already got one. It works perfectly fine now.

[RockmasteR]

glad to hear it's solved
please mark this thread as solved under thread tools