PSU or Graphics Card (?)

[PrimeSuperman]

Hello

Lately my PC has been running really unstable. Whenever I minimize from any game (from full screen to minimize), or if I switch to full screen sometimes, or if I exit a game, or if I run a screen saver..my PC crashes. I am thinking its the video card since when I run Video Card Stability Test, my PC crashes..But ive heard that it might be a PSU problem as well.

Ive tried different versions of drivers and no luck. I dont have another PC to test my card so if anyone can offer some suggestions, it would be much appreciated.

Specs: 6600GT XfX, Athlon64 3500, 450Watt noname PSU, 1.5gb ocz. k8tneo2 mSI mobo.

 

[DSF]

You don't have a friend with a PC who would let you test, or whose card or power supply you could borrow?

 

[Denithor]

Hard to tell what's going on from those symptoms. I'd recommend you run memtest86 overnight to make sure your RAM is fine. Anything you can rule out makes it easier to tell what is causing the problem.

 

[Slugbait]

You're having an issue with resolution change. As you may recall with Win95 (minus PowerToys), you were forced to reboot before resolution change could take effect. This was done By Design because resolution change can introduce system instability with GDI (especially if done multiple times during the same session). But I digress, this is unlikely with NT.

Possibility #1:
The GPU fan is dying. A sudden change in resolution will put a little stress on the proc, and if it suddenly overheats, this can cause a crash.

Assuming the screen saver does not necessitate rez change (i.e. does not utilize DirectX), the fact that the screen saver also crashes the machine indicates a deeper problem. In other words, it's probably not your card, your drivers, or your PSU. Start with Task Manager after a fresh boot and identify what's running...shut down anything that is unnecessary in msconfig. You may find yourself compromised, so be prepared for that as well.