MAJOR PROBLEM!!

I think my PC is broken. Every video game that i play with medium/high settings freezes the PC for about 1 minute. EVEN QUAKE 3!!! What can this be?
btw. can this be caused because of a gpu overclock? now the gpu is set to normal values.

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hmm....this pc really sucks. i've got a blue screen because of an uninstall >.>

There must be a screw loose somewhere. I can tell, as this has happened to me as well.

Computer problems are just awful.

It's hard to say exactly what the problem is just knowing that it crashes and freezes at times, there could be any number of things really. It could be anything from something like a driver conflict up to a dying video card, or even something that seems completely unrelated at first glance. A friend of mine had a similar issue, which eventually got to the point of not even being able to boot the computer, and it turned out to be a small fan meant to cool the motherboard itself had been defective and was just killing everything due to overheating.

Had exactly the same problem, there is an solution though that worked perfectly for me :-)

Just switch to GNU/Linux, you'll thank me !

Run some RAM, HDD tests and run some CPU and GPU benchmarks. Ensure the PC isn't overheating. Use HWmonitor or Speedfan to monitor your temps.

Diagnose the problem by isolating which piece of hardware/software is causing the issue. Test some hardware in a friend's PC or something like that. Use a repair disk. Revert back to a time when your PC was okay. You might have to backup your files and then do a clean install.

Guides like these help.

If the problem persists, take your PC to a PC shop or get someone round your house to fix the problem. Might cost a bit, but they should be able to sort out the issue for you.

Is this a similar issue?

First rip it open and see if something is obstructing one of the fans. If one of your fan's movement is blocked then your components are going to overheat.

maybe 3dmark and windows rating help?

maybe 3dmark and windows rating help?

For what purpose? Can you please provide some specs of your system?

Overheating normally does not cause freezing of this form. Either is locks completely or things slowdown a bit as it throttles for a few seconds. You might also see corruptions on screen as it happens.

A driver issue would seem more likely. If you are running Windows try something like Drivercleaner and then reinstall your drivers.

maybe 3dmark and windows rating help?

For what purpose? Can you please provide some specs of your system?

Overheating normally does not cause freezing of this form. Either is locks completely or things slowdown a bit as it throttles for a few seconds. You might also see corruptions on screen as it happens.

A driver issue would seem more likely. If you are running Windows try something like Drivercleaner and then reinstall your drivers.

I didn't use DriverCleaner, but re-installed drivers. Problem still here. I'll try with DriverCleaner.
Specs:
-CPU - C2D E6750 @2.66 ghz
-GPU - NVIDIA 8600gt 512mb ddr2, oc'ed 2 days ago, but now on default clock
-MoBo - Gigabyte GA-945GCM-S2L
-SPU - HD Audio
-PSU - ...450w

The last time I had something like this happen was when a wire popped loose and got caught on the fan that was cooling my Pentium 4. If that's not the issue though, then there's a good chance you damaged your GPU, though I wouldn't think that it would cause that as I have damaged GPUs and usually they just have artifacting problems.

hmm...i think the gpu is starting to break down. my desktop also starts to randomly..."blink"

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oh no...that's bad. i downloaded speedfan. idle temp 56 C. it shows a fire icon near it

Dude, get that thing out of there. The fan is probably broken or your airflow is very poor. What case do you have?

If your 8600gt is broken, it won't be the end of the world. You can upgrade to a 7770 or a 550Ti for <£100.

1.i dont know what case it is. it has holes on the back near the power plug and...thats all.
2. 550ti is that cheap? nice
3. the fan is broken. set fan speed from 30% to 80% and no changes. still 56C idle

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...underclocking the gpu does nothing. no temp changes

7770 is faster though. 550Ti is more of a 7750's competitor.

i'm looking into buying a hd6670 or hd6770

No new hardware needed :-) GNU will always be there :-)

yea. too bad that my parents dont want linux. they dont know how to use it. they dont even know how to install a game , 'next > next > next > install > finish'

Is 56C that bad? For idle maybe, but it's not damaging.

How do you "think" the fan doesn't work? Have a look inside, see if it's spinning.

1. run Linux from a livecd, run a 3d game there, see if the issue is there too (something like openarena should work good enough on free drivers to see if the freezing is there)

if(1) → hardware problem
else → reinstall windoze ;-P

also - I wouldn't call this a major problem - I had a mobo catch fire once (not some smoke, but real flames) - now that's a major problem ;-)

1. run Linux from a livecd, run a 3d game there, see if the issue is there too (something like openarena should work good enough on free drivers to see if the freezing is there)

it's good that i have ubuntu 11.04

also - I wouldn't call this a major problem - I had a mobo catch fire once (not some smoke, but real flames) - now that's a major problem ;-)

WOW! real bad

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if i'm desperated i'd even buy a hd5450 !!!

so...now that the gpu is broken, i might find something else to do. i'm gonna create music for xonotic. techno/electro, right?

Have you checked if this also occurs on Linux? You should also try borrowing a GPU from a friend and testing it in your machine. A real hardware failure probably wouldn't be visible as something like temporary freezing.

i found out that the problem i, indeed, the gpu. it's fan doesn't spin and i don't know how to fix it

Why are you giving up so easily on your graphics card? This is fixable.

56C idle is not THAT bad for a graphics card. Be aware that Speedfan doesn't know what the temperature range is for any component and it just puts anything as a fire icon above a certain temperature setting by default. You can change this. I wouldn't be worried about 56C from a GPU, they vary with that they can take. Some won't get far beyond 80C without locking, others will go much higher - I've had 118C from an FX5900 after the shim came loose and it still works today.

This is of course all running on the premise that the thing IS overheating. Run Speedfan in the background while you play a game, wait for the stuttering to start then exit and look at the temperatures Speedfan is reporting. You can also get it to log temperatures too. A better tool to use would be FurMark as it runs an intensive benchmark and renders a temperature graph overlay on screen.

If it IS overheating:
Open your computer up. Is the fan spinning? If not, clean the thing out and see if it starts then. If not, replace the cooler. An 8600GT has a fairly small TDP so there are any number of coolers available. I would strongly recommend the Arctic Cooling S1 Plus (or it's predecessor the S1 or little brother S2) as it is passive.

As for a new card, Geforce 600 cards are continuing to come out. Currently all of the high end ones are out and the 660 isn't too long away which is a far better card than a 560 having a much lower TDP for much better performance.

i found out that the problem i, indeed, the gpu. it's fan doesn't spin and i don't know how to fix it

1. buy a replacement cooling for the gpu (remember to check for compatibility with your card) - you can get different gpu coolers for popular graphics cards, most are compatible with a range of models, ask at your local computer shop
2. remove the gpu from the computer
3. grab a screwdriver
4. ???
5. PROFIT! ;-)

Replacing cooling on your hardware is something normal. Fans break down all the time, luckily most of them are replaceable right away (the most shitty one is in the PSU - you need to solder it's wires cause they don't use a connector :-P ).

Using a vacuum cleaner to remove all the dust inside the computer case once in a while helps to extend the life of the coolers, but they all break down eventually. (this is mandatory every 3 months if you got any furry animals in the house, especially cats)