Video Freezing

[Grimbones]

This has really only started happening recently, and i'm not really sure of the cause. I can be playing any game really and my computer will start hiccuping. I will be playing along, the video will freeze, and the sound will keep going, then the screen will run fluidly for like a few minutes then it will lock up again, and etc and etc.

It's not incredibly annoying, but enough so that i had to drag my ass to a forum to try to get some answers

I guess i should say i only really started noticing this when i started playing oblivion... I had played oblivion months ago pretty flawlessly, and it would freeze every like every 10 minutes or so for a few seconds, but i just didn't think anything of it, but now even less graphically impressive games are freezing. Like civilizations 4, which is not very pretty at all!

Anyway...

I have a 6800 GT
Amd 64 3000+
1 Gb ddr 400


Any advice would be much appreciated, could it be a driver issue? I have had the same one for awhile so i wouldn't think so, but who knows... Thanks in advance!

 

[Maxspeed996]

Have you checked the heatsink on your video card? After months, it may be clogging up with dust causing it to overheat. I'd start there with a can of air , and a small detail brush to clean the fins of the fan off.

 

[Mem]

His your 6800GT overclocked or factory overclocked?...reason I ask is my factory overclocked nvidia card would also freeze in Oblivion and few other games,pretty much same symptoms as yours,I reduced the memory and core speed slightly in Nvidia control panel and problem went away completely.

 

[Grimbones]

Yeah i'll try both those suggestions, it's a BFG, so should be factory overclocked, i'll try reducing the speeds a bit, thanks for the help guys.