Newbie needs a new graphics card!

755 Views 12 Replies 3 Participants Last post by emosun, Mar 30, 2011

MrNiceGuy22

Discussion Starter · Mar 29, 2011

Hello

I have had blue screens for a very very long time. I have for the past 2 years tried to troubleshoot the problem but now I have finally decided to get some new hardware and fix it that way.

I don't have the opportunity to borrow hardware from someone - besides, sometimes there is a week between the crashes.

I am only crashing when playing video games and I have been told that that's probably my video card which is causing the crashes.

My specs are:
- Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
- QuadCore Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550, 2833 MHz (8.5 x 333)
- Asus P5QL Pro (3 PCI, 2 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN)
- 4096 MB (DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM)
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 (896 MB)
- 1TB + 500 GB HD

Does anyone know a graphics card about the same quality as my current one that will fit my PC?

Thanks in advance!

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emosun

· #2 · Mar 29, 2011

If your getting blue screens then we actually have to figure out what is wrong with your pc. We're not just going to recommend random hardware w/o knowing if it'll fix it or not.

First either post the make and model power supply you have. Also check your system temps both idle and under load and post them.

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MrNiceGuy22

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 29, 2011 (Edited)

Thing is, I have already done those steps many times. I have run memtest, prime95 etc. I have uploaded lots of dump files which have been analyzed. I have been told to update this and that - none of it worked. I have formatted about 3 times and I still crash. Therefore I am almost certain that it's hardware related.

I read somewhere that it's not actually possible to determine which hardware component is causing the crashes? In that case I thought the best thing to do was just to get some new hardware and get rid of the crashes.

However if you do have some spare time to help me out, I will give it another go

I configured the computer myself from a local pc shop in late 2008 so I don't think it has an actual brand.

The PSU is 750w

Edit: The temperature right now is
GPU: 53 C
System: 39 C
CPU: 38 C

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emosun

· #4 · Mar 30, 2011

Ok find the make and model power supply , theres a lot of expensive and junky 750watt units.

As for your temps the cpu is fine but 53c is kinda hot if your system is just idle. Whats the gpu temp underload?

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MrNiceGuy22

Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 30, 2011

Ok I opened up my PC and found that it's a EPS-750w Energon gaming power supply.
I uploaded a picture of it as well:
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

I'm gonna try to open up a video game now and check the temperature

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MrNiceGuy22

Discussion Starter · #6 · Mar 30, 2011

Before i even got a chance to alt+tab out of the game to check the temperature it blue screened with the error

tcpip.sys

But i will try again!

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MrNiceGuy22

Discussion Starter · #7 · Mar 30, 2011

Ok, after 10 mins of gameplay the GPU is at around 75 C

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emosun

· #8 · Mar 30, 2011

Well the temp of the gpu seems ok but that power supply is a boat anchor. It probably needs throwing away for a better quality one.

You mentioned doing evrysoftware fix even reinstalling the os so since your hardware doesn't appear to be overheating I would say it's either the power supply, or you may have a bad ram stick or hdd. Wouldn't hurt to try one ram stick at a time in the machine.

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Tyree

· #9 · Mar 30, 2011

I would suggest replacing the PSU with a good quality 650W minimum.

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MrNiceGuy22

Discussion Starter · #10 · Mar 30, 2011

Thanks a lot for your replies!

I have heard though that a PSU cannot directly cause blue screens - is that true?

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emosun

· #11 · Mar 30, 2011

Not true. A bad power supply will not provide enough power to your hardware , thus causing the hardware to stop responding to driver commands , thus causing a blue screen that blames the driver files itself and not the power supply.

Try your rams sticks individually and if it's a still a no go , i'd stay try a better power supply. Regaurdless it should be changed anyway.

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MrNiceGuy22

Discussion Starter · #12 · Mar 30, 2011

Cheers emosun, I have already tested the ram sticks individually - no errors. I'm gonna go for a new psu since I have heard some pretty bad things about the one i currently have.

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emosun

· #13 · Mar 30, 2011

MrNiceGuy22 said:
Cheers emosun, I have already tested the ram sticks individually - no errors.

S the machine runs fine with only one stick of ram?

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