Lasereth

I've been playing the Battlefield series of games since the first one came out years ago. When I bought my 6800 GT, Battlefield Vietnam began to crash frequently. When I say crash, I mean the entire system goes crazy. The monitor loses signal, but the computer is still on and acts like its resetting, even with no monitor signal. I can only regain a monitor signal by shutting my computer off completely and turning it back on.

I bought Battlefield 2, and the exact same problem began to occur. This happens at every video setting, every sound setting, at any refresh rate.

Recently, I've been playing the Battlefield 2142 demo, and you got it -- the crashes have return. Monitor loses signal, major audio distortion, and the computer resets without a signal. I've replaced every single component in my PC since it began except for my videocard and power supply so I'm pretty sure one of those two are causing it. Any suggestions?

Abit UL-8 motherboard socket 939
Athlon 64 3700+ socket 939 CPU
eVGA Geforce 6800 GT videocard at stock settings
Western Digital 120 GB Caviar 7200 RPM HDD
Windows XP Professional
Soundblaster Audigy 2 sound card
Enermax 350w Noisetaker PSU

Here's a SS of SensorsView:



I've also tried ending all processes but the crash still occurs. I have the newest drivers for every piece of hardware I own. Any thoughts or suggestions on the matter is greatly appreciated.

PS: The Battlefield games are the only games I've played that experience this problem.

EDIT: Reposted from the gaming forum so the videocard know-it-alls can see it.

Indoril Nerevar

Hi,

I removed your thread from the Games section, as it sounds more like a hardware problem. Please don't double post in future.

As for your problem: firstly, read the NVIDIA Drivers thread in my signature. It contains important info about the latest drivers.

Secondly, you should be running your system on a bigger power supply - a 500W+. Read "Important Power Supply Info" in my signature. If you can get your hands on a power supply in that range, or at the very least a 450W, put it in and see how it goes.

Thirdly, swap in another video card, and see if the problem persists.

Post back with results.

Lasereth

I've tried different nvidia drivers including the stable 81s and it still crashes. I want to get my hands on a nice AGP card to test with, but everyone I know has really crappy AGP cards or PCI-E cards which my mobo doesn't support. :( I know that you guys are PSU experts, but my system is pretty much barebones...2 80mm fans and a PCI soundcard are the only thing out of the ordinary. The PSU calculator says I need 130w, so 200w should do it, right? I know that crappy PSUs are the devil (I learned it the hard way) so I bought a high quality Enermax. If there's any chance that 350w isn't enough for my PC, then I'm willing to replace it, however. I'm going to the store tomorrow and buying an Antec 500w. Do you think that's a good enough test PSU?

Indoril Nerevar

Yes, that is an excellent choice.

When I posted earlier, your SensorsView screenshot wasn't showing for some reason. However, it is showing now, and one thing worries me: the +12V on your power supply is showing as 8.45V. Download Everest (link in my signature), and check what it reports the voltages as (under Computer -> Sensor). The +12V should be between 11.4V and 12.6V.

I never trust PSU calculators, as they aren't very accurate and are often misleading. If you read the PSU thread I mentioned, you will see what kind of PSU you should have - I wouldn't run it on anything less than a 450W.

Post back with the Everest info, and the results of the swap.

Lasereth

Indoril Nerevar

Given that both Everest and SensorsView report the voltages as being in the "unacceptable" range, I would be thinking you have a faulty power supply. I'd go ahead and get the Antec 500W you were planning on getting. Let us know how it goes.

Lasereth

Ok I bought the Antec Truepower Trio® PSU with 650w. Efficiency rating of 85% and tested under load at 50 celsius. 3 12v rails supplying 19 amps of current each. It was extremely expensive (and it's extremely heavy ha ha ha) so this should be an excellent test PSU. I'll respond after heavy testing.

Lasereth

No crashes yet, but I did just notice that my CPU is running at 75-80c under load. This is a bit hot! I have the factory AMD CPU fan on it with the default thermal pad that came with it. Is this normal? Could it be causing the resets?

Lasereth

Hmm. I resetted my PC and BIOS says my CPU is running at 26c, not 75c. I wonder if a misreported CPU temp could be shutting down my PC as a failsafe?

Indoril Nerevar

Which program is reporting the 75C? What do Everest and SensorsView say? Your SensorsView screenshot above says the CPU is at 32C, and if the BIOS says 26C, then I'd say it's somewhere between the two - and not up at 75C.

Are you still getting crashes, or have they stopped?

Lasereth

Just experienced my first crash. CPU was at 35c so I know it's not the CPU overheating. By the way, both SensorView and Everest report my 12v voltage sitting at 8v, just like the old Enermax PSU. Should I put in my old PSU and take back the uber expensive one since the crashes are still occuring?

Indoril Nerevar

I would keep it for now, until the problem has been identified and solved. The Enermax is a bit small for your system, and you can't be sure that it isn't part of the problem.

The next step is to swap in another video card. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, so long as it will handle the games. Also, download and install the latest version of DirectX. Post back with results.

Lasereth

I have the latest version of DirectX installed (got it about 5 days ago). I'm buying a test videocard tomorrow so I should have some results then. BTW thanks for all the help. :)

Indoril Nerevar

No worries. Let us know how you go.

Lasereth

5 days later and haven't had a single power down crash yet. What I do have now is crash to desktops (CTDs). Seems like changing the videocard eliminated one problem and caused another. The BF series is extremely infamous for CTDs so I'm not really sure what I'll do about that. At least I know that the first crash problem is definitely caused by my videocard.

Indoril Nerevar

What video card did you put in? Did you make sure you loaded appropriate drivers for it?

Run through these steps, and see if anything helps.

Lasereth

It's a GeForce 7600 GS AGP. The only drivers that install are the 91.47s, which could definitely be causing the CTDs.

Indoril Nerevar

Indeed that could be causing the problems. I don't suppose you could get another card to swap in - one which doesn't require 90-series drivers?

Fr4665

the 84.21 drivers wont install ?

Indoril Nerevar

Fr4665, read the NVIDIA Drivers thread in my signature. 90-series drivers are required for certain models, including the 7600GS AGP. If you have any more questions, PM me.