Gaming Reboot Crashes

[MaxAttax]

I am having troubles running games on my system when I crank the graphic details up. When I try to play games with Texturing and Layering and other high end video options, my system works for a little while then reboots. It's very annoying, and the clincher is that it only started about 5 months after I assembled the system. Before that my system could handle almost anything I demanded of it. Here's my system details:

Epox 8kha+ Motherboard
Athlon XP 1700+ Processor
325 Watt Power Supply
256 megs DDR RAM
AOpen Geforce 2 Ti (64)
SB Audigy

My system temperature never exceeds 50 degrees C

In some of my favorite games like Operation Flashpoint, Medal of Honor, Neverwinter Nights, and IL2 Sturmovik, I can get the games to play by turning details down to near minimum. I used to be able to play such games at full detail levels. I cannot think of any change I made to my system before this problem arose. It seems to have crept up and gotten worse over time beginning about 3 months ago.

Could my power supply have stopped providing the needed juice for my graphics card? Is there a solution anyone can give me? It would be expensive to go guessing that it's either my video card or my power supply. Any help is appreciated.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Welcome to the PC Mech Forums, MaxAttax!!

Well, try borrowing a PSU and try it with your system. I had the same problem and turned out to be a bad mobo. But I suggest you try the basics first.

[MaxAttax]

I will do that. It seems Power Supplies are a common reason for reboot issues and my reboots occur under demanding circumstances. What's a good power supply wattage? 400 or more? If the PS is not the cause, at least I'll have a beefier one and can then address it being either the motherboard or vid card.

[Nuclear Krusader]

A 350 Watt PSU will suit you just fine. A 400W or above is kinda overkill. Be sure to get one from a good brand like Enermax. Steer away from Deer PSUs.

[mike breck]

Other good quality brands include Antec and Sparkle. If however, you decide to go with an AMD approved brand other than the three suggested, then it might be a good idea to make it 400 Watts - just to allow for any shortcomings in the PSU.

Anyway, since the Athlon XP and Geoforce 3/4 appeared on the market, it appears 350-400 Watts is slowly becoming the norm everywhere you look.

Not totally necessary if the PSU is good enough, I agree, but that's the way things are heading.

BTW You mentioned that your CPU temp never exceeds 50c. How do you actually check that? After you finish playing a game for an hour, do you reboot and check in the BIOS immediately? Or are you using software in Windows? The BIOS method is always the most reliable.

And what is your mobo or system temp after gaming? If it's too high, then that could be cause your Geoforce to overheat.

Assuming the OS is Win9x, do you Ctrl+Alt+Del and Endtask everything apart from Explorer and Systray before gaming?

Do you clean out your Temporary Internet Files and C:\Windows\Temp folders every week?

Just some ideas.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Mike, I have a Channel Well 300 W PSU, an Athlon XP 1700+ and a GeForce 3. Do you think I'll have problems with dat?

Can I remove ALL the files in the Windows\Temp without having problems? There's a VBE folder that whenever I try to remove Windows displays a message that it is a registered folder and the registry could be damaged if erased, or something like that.

TIA

[MaxAttax]

My system temp after a reboot crash is around 28 degrees celsius, so it shouldn't be an issue. My processor was at 48 degrees. I have my bios post the temps automatically on reboot. I will save to get a new PSU of a brand you guys have recommended. I will then post to let you know if it cleared the problem. I leave my firewall up while I game, as well as Internet Connection Sharing so my wife's computer can access the net. Games crash with the reboot whether or not her system is running or not. My bet is on the PSU and I thank everyone for their assistance and PSU recommendations.

Originally posted by mike breck Other good quality brands include Antec and Sparkle. If however, you decide to go with an AMD approved brand other than the three suggested, then it might be a good idea to make it 400 Watts - just to allow for any shortcomings in the PSU. Anyway, since the Athlon XP and Geoforce 3/4 appeared on the market, it appears 350-400 Watts is slowly becoming the norm everywhere you look. Not totally necessary if the PSU is good enough, I agree, but that's the way things are heading. BTW You mentioned that your CPU temp never exceeds 50c. How do you actually check that? After you finish playing a game for an hour, do you reboot and check in the BIOS immediately? Or are you using software in Windows? The BIOS method is always the most reliable. And what is your mobo or system temp after gaming? If it's too high, then that could be cause your Geoforce to overheat. Assuming the OS is Win9x, do you Ctrl+Alt+Del and Endtask everything apart from Explorer and Systray before gaming? Do you clean out your Temporary Internet Files and C:\Windows\Temp folders every week? Just some ideas.