Greetings, I have a NVIDIA 8800 GTS, and I was trying to play two games on Steam, Civ V and then Champions Online. At best, I get 5-10 minutes of play before crash, and by crash, I mean, the computer just shuts off. A friend thought that my computer might be overheating, and suggested checking the fans, which were a bit dusty, so I cleaned them out, but then I downloaded MSI Kombustor, and when I click on "GPU Burn-In" or "Benchmark", it crashed immediately, even if that is the first thing I do after I boot up the computer after it has been off overnight. So, I am thinking it is not an overheating problem, but I have no idea what to do at this point. All other options are greyed-out. I was going to attach a screen shot, but I wasn't able to do that here. I was unable to attach DxDiag either, so the basics: Windows Vista, Athlon 64 Dual Core, 4.5 GB RAM. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks in advance, -Eleos
If your computer just shuts down completely it may be a problem with your power supply. I notice in your profile that you say you have an unknown power supply, you should really take a look and see what the wattage is. How long have you been using the system and is this just a recent development?
It's recent, inasmuch as I noticed within the last month or two that I couldn't play the games, but I thought maybe it was that my computer didn't have enough RAM, so I increased the RAM and that didn't help. I don't really know a lot about hardware. Could you tell me how to check the wattage on my power supply? Thank you for your time, -Eleos
That really seems a bit on the low side for a 8800 GTS, I reckon that may be your problem. Let's see what some other Guru's say but I recommend that you upgrade that before it blows. I used to have a 8800 GTS and it made a couple of no name power supplies explode.
Totaly agree. Id go 500w at least, imo. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...66&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=20 Dont get a cheap psu. spend at least $50. or so on a brand name psu, Antec, silverstone,corsair, Ive got a thermaltake 700w, 5 years no issues.
Thank you, everyone, for the suggestions. I followed the link to those power units, they look large to me, are they external? Are they hard to install? I admit, I installed the RAM, but that was pretty simple, and there are a lot of cables and wires in there... -Eleos
Glad to help . Those power supplies are all internal and should fit inside your case if it is an ATX case. They can be tricky to install if you have never done it before and it can all seem a bit overwhelming, but everybody has to start some where heh. Maybe if would be best if you took the PC to a local computer shop and asked them to do it for you or maybe a friend if you have any able to do it.
Open your case and look at the conections from your power supply. Those are the only connectors you will need to reconnect when you replace your power supply. A 500 watt PS will have more connectors than your current 250 watt PS so there will be many connectors that you will not use. The hardest part about installing a power supply is the cable management. You will need to keep the unused cables from interfering with your case air flow. And manage the connector you use so they do not greatly interfer with your case airflow.
