[sonicblue]

Ever since installing my new video card and World of Warcraft my computer regular locks up or completely restarts while playing the game. The video card is an ATI Radeon 9550 256MB and my computer is a Pentium III, 866Mhz with 768 DDR RAM and I'm running Windows XP Professional SP2. I went to the ATI website and downloaded and installed the most up to date drivers but it hasn't changed anything. My computer has yet to lock up while not playing WoW, it only happens in game.

And it doesn't seem to be an issue with there being to much going on onscreen. I've got the game set to run at 1024x768 and most of the settings are set to the lowest they can go. And even with these settings fighting a simple creature one-on-one can result in a lock up or reset. Can anyone help me out with a solution? I'm going to invest in a completely new PC for or after Christmas but until then I'd really like to play WoW without locking up every 30-60 minutes.

 

[DoubleTrouble]

Try installing a case fan things might just need cooling down a little.

 

[thigley986]

Make sure that the game and DirectX are up-to-date. Throwing on any missing Windows fixes can't hurt (although that is not likely the root of your problem).

It is possible that this is a heat issue also. You can get a general sense for temperatures through many methods... my favorite is to feel how hot the air blowing out of the back is. If you want to load up other utilities and monitors to get a more precise reading, that couldn't hurt either. If things are running hot, an extra fan couldn't hurt.

 

[whodat]

welcome to tsf
theres a possibility your power supply cant handle the new video card
calculate your power consumption here
add 30% to the top
tell us your make and model of your psu
post back

 

[sonicblue]

welcome to tsf
theres a possibility your power supply cant handle the new video card
calculate your power consumption here
add 30% to the top
tell us your make and model of your psu
post back

The PSU is below, I tried to provide any of the information on the box that looked relevant.

Compaq
Total Output Power: 250W
Model: DPS-200PB-103E REV: 04
Input: 115V/230V, 9A/5A
Part Number: 152769-001
60Hz/50Hz
Total output power can't exceed 145W

I did the calculations and it came out to exactly 250W. It had a section about USB and Firewire drives but the page said to only check if device draws power from the system. I'm not sure if that means whether or not I'm using a USB or Firewire port at that exact time or what, but I left them unchecked because I currently only have a mouse and keyboard plugged in which is already accounted for.

You said add 30% to the top so I assume that means to the 250W I got from the calculations, so that would be 325W.

 

[whodat]

ok then

i hate to tell you to invest in a new psu, is there one available to borrow?
it sure appears that you are underpowered

post back

 

[sonicblue]

Couldn't borrow one, and even if I could I doubt my friend's are any better than mine. How much would a new PSU cost me that would get the job done? And could I always just return it if it doesn't remedy my problem?

 

[whodat]

well i would imagine $100 would get the job done in a repair shop.

new egg has some reasonable priced mid-grade units available

the job itself isnt really a tough one to handle.

good luck