Computer keeps crashing, I'm confused.

[Playap0wnr]

I've noticed a strange thing going on since I built my first computer in August of last year. It runs fine while doing everyday tasks such as browsing the internet (YouTube, email, etc.), and playing basic games (such as Minecraft). The problem comes when I play more graphics intensive games or run more resource consuming programs, such as Windows Media Player (for some reason). My computer will then crash the game I'm playing or program I'm using and cause any other windows I have open such as Google Chrome to become fragmented and unusable, causing me to have to shut down/restart to fix the problem. These crashes happen about 5-10 minutes after starting these programs, and it's very annoying.

Any thoughts or help would be greatly appreciated.

Specs:
AMD Phenom II 555 OC to 3.6 GHZ
4 GB G. Skill Ripjaws 1333
Biostar A770E3 Socket AM3 Motherboard
Radeon HD 4670

Thanks in advance,

Luke

[PommieB]

Might be a power problem, what PSU are you using, does it blue screen, you could check the OS's error logs, see if you can pin down the problem.

[OS-Wiz]

Originally Posted by PommieB

Might be a power problem, what PSU are you using, does it blue screen, you could check the OS's error logs, see if you can pin down the problem.

Agreed, need PSU brand and model.
A couple other possibilities include: heat, especially vidcard. Do you have a way to measure GPU temps under load. What case, brand, model, and fan placement. Can you measure CPU temp under load?
Vidcard could be trying to fail, but I suspect heat is the real issue. Is fan spinning up to max rpm's?

[PommieB]

Heat would be my guess too, meant to mention that earlier, too busy to get near the computer except for a few minutes here and there. You need to post as much info as possible including temps.

[Playap0wnr]

Sorry for not replying earlier.

@PommieB - I'm using a Seasonic X650 that's only about 3 or 4 months old (the first power supply I had broke after a couple months). It doesn't blue screen when it crashes, it just ends the program and has the "(Program Name Here) has stopped working" box. After I close that box, I can't use programs such as Chrome because it either doesn't open or most of the window that's open is blacked out at that point.

@OS-Wiz - I remember doing GPU burn-in tests when I first built the comp, and the temps from the CPU were really good, around the 35-45c range. I have a Cooler Master Hyper 212+ with a push fan. The GPU temps were okay, about 50-60c from what I remember.I have a 120mm fan in the front of my case, one in the side, and a Scythe Ultra Kaze in the rear as a rear fan which also pulls most of the air from the Hyper 212.

[DarkTower87]

Sounds like your display driver is crashing. You may have a bad video card or video driver issues. Try some different video drivers and post back. Also if you have onboard video try taking out your 4670 and using onboard. Then see if it happens...

[Playap0wnr]

I don't have onboard video and I've updated the drivers a couple times since I've had the card, so I'm pretty sure its not a driver issue. I think it might be a bad card honestly.

[PommieB]

Sounds like some of the OS Files are corrupted, I'd re-install the OS, I'd try other things first, maybe re-install any programs giving problems, but if it persists I'd re-install or remove your OS drive and re-install windows to a fresh drive and see if the problem persists.

[StrykerX]

You might also try booting from Linux or TinyXP or something (either from a flash drive or a DVD) and seeing if it gives you the same crashes. That way you can see if it's the OS without the hassle of reinstalling.

My first option would be to try completely removing your graphics drivers (uninstall, boot in safe mode, and use a program like Driver Sweeper to clean up any leftover files) then reinstall an older version of the driver that dates back to when the computer was working properly. That will eliminate a corrupted / buggy driver as the culprit. Assuming that doesn't fix things then try a different video card if you have access to a spare... this sounds like a GPU or driver problem to me. Oh, and if you haven't done it then get some canned air and blow out the GPU fan and heat sink... you can really run hot if you get too much dust built up in there.

If that still doesn't help, you might try reading your voltages while under load with a multimeter (don't try it unless you know what you're doing though, since shorting the wrong pins can be bad) since at least on my motherboard software voltage monitoring gets it wrong a lot.

[Playap0wnr]

I was planning on upgrading really soon anyway, seeing as I have a summer job and my birthday coming up. I'm 90% sure it was a graphical problem, either bad drivers, a bad card, or a mix of the two. Good thing my motherboard decided to die on me this week, but that's another post.

Thanks for the help everyone!

[leekirlew]

id try backing off the CPU oc to default and try running the programs again, i used to get issues like this when i pushed both a S754 A64 and a S939 A64, had ****ty luck with steppings