is there a gfx issue?

[SuicidaL]

right, this is an oddity to me. a couple of weeks ago i was playing cod4 and for no reason the screen locked up and the voice that was in the middle of saying something was just in an endless loop., i couldn't even ctrl+alt+del out of it. so i had no option but to do a hard reboot and all was well.

now haven't played since due to work, but last night was playing world at war and the same thing happened. i can't seem to find the issue, i can't even check when it happens as i can't get rid of the blasted black screen. and i've not been able to get it to replicate itself either - it just seems random.

the only thing that i can think of is that my gfx is starting to play up a bit, any ideas? i've been thinking of an upgrade gfx for a bit now but i wanted to do it in my own time and not have to be forced into a sudden change for the sake of my pennies.

[Emu76]

Is that 8800GTS in your system your gfx card? If it is then it shouldn't have a problem with COD. The problem you described sounds as if it is RAM or CPU related. I noticed you have some pretty cheap RAM, so upgrading that would be cheap, and could help. The CPU isn't bad but if you've been using it for a while it could be starting to conk out, especially since you've overclocked it. If you overvolted then that situation is even more likely.

[SuicidaL]

Is that 8800GTS in your system your gfx card? If it is then it shouldn't have a problem with COD.

yep, and it should be ok,

I noticed you have some pretty cheap RAM, so upgrading that would be cheap, and could help.

it wasn't that cheap when i got it, although it is around 4-5 years old now. and how do you define "cheap ram"? you can get a 2gb ballistix for £20 - is that to say that that is "cheap ram"

The CPU isn't bad but if you've been using it for a while it could be starting to conk out, especially since you've overclocked it. If you overvolted then that situation is even more likely.

currently the system is @ stock speeds since i changed the mobo a month or so back. and the cpu is nor more than 2 years old.

[Emu76]

By cheap RAM I meant GEIL PC2-6400 RAM, which would be cheap today but if it's 4 years old that could be the issue. 2GB of Ballistix RAM may well help.

currently the system is @ stock speeds since i changed the mobo a month or so back. and the cpu is nor more than 2 years old.

That might actually be the problem. Bringing a system back to stock speeds after having a sustained overclock may actually negatively impact the performance. This isn't to say OCing it again will solve the problem, you may need a new CPU.

[Blaineoliver]

There is noting wrong with GEIL ram actually! unless its a fault in the memory, the ram is good stuff. Tried running memtest?

[peterb]

By cheap RAM I meant GEIL PC2-6400 RAM, which would be cheap today but if it's 4 years old that could be the issue. 2GB of Ballistix RAM may well help.

Geil is generally quite well regarded, however components do fail randomly.

That might actually be the problem. Bringing a system back to stock speeds after having a sustained overclock may actually negatively impact the performance. This isn't to say OCing it again will solve the problem, you may need a new CPU.

Why?


Personally I would test the RAM (easy to do with Memtest 86 +) but other considerations would be GPU card overheating (does it happen if you are not gaming? Another area to consider would be the PSU which could be developing a fault, but that is hard to test (properly) apart from by substitution.

[SuicidaL]

Personally I would test the RAM (easy to do with Memtest 86 +) but other considerations would be GPU card overheating (does it happen if you are not gaming? Another area to consider would be the PSU which could be developing a fault, but that is hard to test (properly) apart from by substitution.

will try and test the ram tonight and maybe leave it overnight. overheating issue was one of the first things that sprang to mind - if i remember i will take the card to work and give it a blast out with the compressed air (and it gets run through a drier first so no moisture to worry about) and see if it's just a build up dust causing any heat issues.

as for the psu, true there is no way that i or others (unless they have proper gear to do so) test it, funny thing is that this psu has been rock solid - and one component that many underestimate may cause issues. i've also been thinking about a new psu for a while to (at this rate i'll be upgrading the whole rig). main reason for that would be is it's a bit to loud, fine when it was just me and the missus but now with a little un' about it's audible upstairs so can't really leave it on all night - the bedroom doors are no more than 12 foot from where the pc is downstairs as the stairs are short.