New system - Locks up in games?

[bubz0r]

Hi ppl,

First post here, hope I've put it in the right section!

I've recently upgraded my system to the following:

AMD XP 2000+
ECS K7S5A mobo
Geforce 4 Ti4200 64mb
384mb PC133 ram

My problem is when I play games (mainly BF1942) it locks up after about 10 mins of gameplay. The lockup just freezes the picture and watever sound was playing just repeats over and over - I cant ctrl alt del, I have to reset the system.

Sometimes it will run fine if I remove the side of the case. I've put extra fans in but that did'nt help. The cpu is currently running at about 52 degrees. (bios monitor)

So, is the video card getting to hot/faulty or is the cpu getting to hot?

I've tried different graphic card drivers, and different games - same problem. Also, I put a geforce 2 mx in the computer and it did the exact same thing which had me thinking it must be the cpu, but it might be the placement of the graphics card and it gets to hot - poor case design? If I put a P4 system in the same place it runs absolutely fine. Should I get a new cpu fan/heatsink??? Any ideas????

Thanks for any help,
Brendan

 

[BFG10K]

Do you have the latest BIOS and chipset drivers for your system?
Are you using safe settings in the BIOS?
Any overclocks?
Is your power supply strong enough to handle all of your components?

 

[EKAtBzboyz]

52 C in bios??
what about in windows itself?

run prime95 for quite a while and see if it locks up/errors, if it does than maybe cpu is overheating

if it doesnt lockup in prime95 download 3dmark 2001 and run that a few times, if it locks up in that then id say video card is overheating

maybe get a house fan blowing in teh case when you take off side of case and see if it helps, if it does then id say vid card overheating

 

[bubz0r]

I dont have the latest bios and chipset drivers but I will get them.
Safe settings? It is just loaded as optimal settings if that is what you meen?
No overclocking.
The power supply I think is a 350w (could be 400 but cant remember as I'm at work now)

 

[bubz0r]

Not sure about the temp in windows itself.

I've run 3dmark 2001se a few times and it has locked up - removed the side of the case and I have put a house fan blowing into the case on a few occasions and it has run fine.

It is a X-Micro vid card - the heatsink/fan setup on it seems pretty hardcore, I would have thought it would keep cool.

I tried putting a standard puter fan facing onto the vid card with the side of the case open and it still locked up - could be the placement of the fan or general room temp.

 

[wizdum]

sounds like the cpu is overheating. do you have thermal paste on it? too much thermal paste?

 

[bubz0r]

i dont think there is any thermal paste on it - did'nt see the guy put any on at the puter shop.

 

[BFG10K]

Safe settings? It is just loaded as optimal settings if that is what you meen?

No, optimal is usually the performance one - you need the failsafe (or similar) one.

 

[JeremiahTheGreat]

Everybody note - its a K7S5A

have you tried running @ 100Mhz FSB? ANd does it work fine? If so, here's a link that should solve your problem HERE. For me to solve my instabilities, i had to replace the chipset heatsink with a new one. This is what you get for getting a cheapo motherboard.. and boy is was it worth it

 

[bubz0r]

I was going to relpace the chipset heatsink/fan as the standard fan is bloody loud, very annoying! I'll apply some thermal paste while I'm at it. Will upgrade the bios / chipset drivers aswell.

 

[Mem]

Don`t forget the latest SiS AGP drivers from here .

 

[Pink0]

Everybody note - its a K7S5A

have you tried running @ 100Mhz FSB? ANd does it work fine? If so, here's a link that should solve your problem HERE. For me to solve my instabilities, i had to replace the chipset heatsink with a new one. This is what you get for getting a cheapo motherboard.. and boy is was it worth it

Some very sound advice here. I had this board with an XP 1700. It locked up at 133. The chipset heatsink was only held on with some thermal tape and the heatsink on the chipset was cool to the touch. After using some thermal adhesive the heatsink became hot (meaning it was doing its job-finally) and the stability problems went away. Try this and see what happens.

 

[bubz0r]

okay I've replaced the thermal tape with some thermal paste but that made no difference

I'm going to download a cpu intensive benchmark to see if it is my video card...

 

[Lint21]

What type of power supply do you have? I have been having the same problem, and seem to have tracked it down to a weak 5 volt rail on my Enermax Whisper PSU.

 

[bubz0r]

hmmm just yesterday my power supply stopped working. After pushing the power cord in slowly to the psu it sparked and started working again but obviously the psu is dodge. I will get a replacement and see how things go - dont think its the cause to my problem as when I remove the side of the case and put a fan facing into it, it runs fine. Maybe the psu is getting to hot?