Monitor randomly shuts off! Help!

[PeriL_CJM]

Hi, I have been enjoying my new build very much, but whenever I play World of Warcraft for about an hour, my monitor shuts off and I get the "Monitor will shut off in 5 seconds" message.

It doesnt happen when I play CS or just browse the internet. I know its not a PSU issue, I have a 600W Seasonic PSU. And Im wondering if anyone here could help me with this? It gets rather annoying.

[Dark Nova]

have you tried another moniter?
only the moniter shuts off and not the whole pc right?

[PeriL_CJM]

Exactly!
And I just tested another game, and it does it in any game!

Not my PC just the monitor..almost like its going into standby.

[blue60007]

It does this in any game?

Sounds like it could be an overheating problem.

Can you get the computer to come back on, or do you have to reboot the computer?

Might want to pop the case open and check for gobs of dust bunnies. Especially in the heatsink and fans.

[PeriL_CJM]

It's a brand new computer.. there is no dust in it.
I have to press the reset button or else it just sits there, and I have monitored the temperatures of the GPU,CPU and motherboard and everything is fine...

[arix]

i dont think its the monitor check out your graphics card make sure its inserted correclty on the slot and also duble check everything just in case.

[Dark Nova]

ACtually i do think its the moniter, y would it go well easy with another moniter in the same game.

i ha few problems myself with moniters not being able to play a game.
is it an old moniter?

[PeriL_CJM]

Brand new Viewsonic Graphics Series.

I am not the best troubleshooter so I came here to try and see if you anyone would know what on earth is the matter..

Its almost as if it just goes into standby.. my pc temps are fine.
And the PC stays on, just the monitor shuts down..

[blue60007]

I think the monitor is fine. Why would it only cut out in games?

Can you switch the monitor back on and continue like normal? Or do you have to reboot the computer?

[PeriL_CJM]

I need to reboot the computer.. the picture is gone until I reboot.

[Dark Nova]

Wait youve tried with another moniter right?? if you did, did you experience the same problems?

blue: Old moniters are not the fastess and games need more then the regular desktop, the other day i could'nt play Battlefront2 on the moniter because it just did'nt work

[blue60007]

That doesn't mean the computer is fine, and it's the monitor that went off.

I've seen computers overheat, and have the video shut off, and won't come back till I restart. You should open up the case to check for dust build up.

What are the specs of this computer?

blue: Old moniters are not the fastess and games need more then the regular desktop, the other day i could'nt play Battlefront2 on the moniter because it just did'nt work

If the game's video and refresh rate settings were set too high, then yes.

[PeriL_CJM]

AMD 4000+
XFX 7800GT
1GB Corsair XMS

I just recently built this I dont see how there could possibly be any dust but I will check that out tomorrow after school.

Its only in games that it powers off, when I have it on just the desktop its fine.

[blue60007]

OH! I didn't know it's a new build. Shouldn't be any dust problems then. :)

But you have checked CPU temps, to make sure they are within a good range (<60C) especially when playing these games?

I might suggest running Memtest, but usually RAM errors result in other errors (like a BSOD).

What power supply is in this computer?

[PeriL_CJM]

My Motherboard, GPU and CPU temps are all lower than 50C while under load.

I am running a Seasonic 600W PSU.

[Dark Nova]

But you did'nt answer my question: does it stop working with another moniter

[blue60007]

You might run Memtest (http://www.memtest.org) to rule out a RAM problem.

The temps are all good. And that's an excellent power supply.

[PeriL_CJM]

I am about to hop in bed, I will test another monitor tomorrow after school and I will get back to you. Look for my post tomorrow with the results of that monitor. Thanks for the help so far :)

[rave]

just to be sure
- update your geforce drivers
- and most monitors have drivers too...it wouldnt hurt to see if those are installed too
- and play around with the power settings under Display Properties --> Screensaver
there are settings for monitor standby there

[Cricket]

What is your case cooling setup like? How many fans and how are they oriented?

Make sure all power connections are secure.

Make sure all cards are installed fully into their respective slots.

:) Cricket

[tcrom2]

You need to check both the monitor and the BIOS for shutdown. My monitor has a power saving mode, as does the BIOS. Check both of those first.

[PeriL_CJM]

Well I tried my other monitor from my parents computer and when I use their monitor, the same thing happens.

So I think I can rule out that it is a monitor problem right?

[Cricket]

Well I tried my other monitor from my parents computer and when I use their monitor, the same thing happens.

So I think I can rule out that it is a monitor problem right?Yes, the problem lies with the computer, not the monitor.

I've seen something like this in the past and it turned out to be a defective motherboard. What motherboard are you using?

:) Cricket

[PeriL_CJM]

Asus A8N SLI Premium.

I am testing around with my refresh rates, and now I have been playing WoW for 30 minutes without a crash. So maybe its all better, I will post back.

[Cricket]

What kind of refresh rates and screen resolutions were you using? And how old is the monitor?

:) Cricket

[arix]

check out the resolution make sure its not to high and check your GPU.

[PeriL_CJM]

Well, thinking that my problem was fixed I turned on WoW about 5 minutes ago and my problem was back...

This is my monitor: http://viewsonic.com/products/desktopdisplays/crtmonitors/graphicseries/g90fb/index.htm

I have it on 1152 x 864 at 85htz
And I run my games on the same refresh.

I can almost rule out the monitor being the problem, because I swapped out my old monitor that worked great on my old pc, and the problem stille exists.

I am kinda running out of ideas, I am reinstalling windows as we speak, hoping to wipe things clean and hopefully it will work right again.

Thanks for the help and any more ideas are more than welcome!

[mrmagill]

I am kinda running out of ideas, I am reinstalling windows as we speak, hoping to wipe things clean and hopefully it will work right again.

Thanks for the help and any more ideas are more than welcome!

Not to overstate the obvious, but you DID go into your power management settings in Windows (Control Panel, Power Options) and set your "Turn off monitor" to "NEVER" just to rule out the simplest cause, right?

Sometimes it is the most obvious (and simple) things we overlook...

Mark