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[Halindir]

Originally Posted by Eagle of Fire

The way your computer freeze and reboot all by itself lead me to think that this is a overheating problem. I know of no other problem which can reboot the computer on its own after freezing.

But the pc freezes even when cold. My old pc had on average much higher temperatures, than this one, without anything like this happening.
But I guess, different hardware, different herpaderps.

Originally Posted by Eagle of Fire

Since it doesn't seem to be your problem though, I'd look driver side for problems. Since it only happen when you play games there ought to be something which put an undue strain on a part of your system when you play games... So I'd start with the graphic card. You have a GeForce so I'd start by looking for and installing Omega Drivers for GeForce and see if it solve your problem. Most of their "up to date" drivers really suck, this could help a lot.

I'll try out the Omega Drivers.

Speaking of drivers. I am a bit nervous about updating my BIOS, I don't know if its up to date. I don't even know how its done. And i've heard some grim tales of updating BIOS on Windows7.

[Halindir]

Originally Posted by Halindir

I'll try out the Omega Drivers.

After having installed the Omega Drivers, the game (Oblivion) actually lagged for a bit before freezing. Not sure if that good or bad, or helps in any way to indicate the problem.


Also thanks guys, I really appreciate your help

[Japo]

First of all, if the computer is new and within warranty, you should return it immediately and demand a 100% trouble-free replacement, no questions asked. I encourage you to do this, and ignore the rest of my post... Hardware problems are a pain in the ass, even just identifying them. And don't you think that you can solve the problem by taking it to a computer repair shop, they will only try what any of us could, sometimes they don't know a lot actually, and if the crashes are random and can't be reproduced, you're liable to get the computer back and being billed and told that it's now good, only to find later that the problem remains.

Hey I have a GT520 too, although mine only has 1 GB.

So does this happen only with games? Are you experiencing any other problem--small as it may seem in comparison to total system crashes?

250 watts sounds like very little to me. I have 375 W, and only my GT520 recommends at least 300 W (and that's if the rest of the parts aren't specially demanding). But I'm no expert, you could list your hardware at the forum over at http://www.tomshardware.com/ for example, and get a recommendation of minimal power rating. Also depending on the manufacturer of the power supply, I heard, some of them list in the specs a power rating that they can give constantly, whereas others like to list peak values that they can't sustain. Anyway you should be able to see the power requirements of your parts on the website of each manufacturer. For example my nVidia was made by Gigabyte:

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/pro...px?pid=3826#sp

Even if your power supply is poor, it needn't be the problem here, specially if these crashes aren't being caused by high load (?). My experience (see below) biases me towards RAM, RAM, RAM. And the only way to be sure may be to run with different sticks for long enough periods. RAM is such a basic part of a computer, that a problem or conflict with it is capable of causing problems in other parts, that use RAM, and the symptoms will point to those parts which are good, instead of the real culprit. Just like when I was dead sure there was a problem with my old ATI...

As Horseman says, even if the computer starts with each RAM stick--as it starts with all of them together--there may be a fault. Memory test programs that run inside Windows are limited because they can't access all the memory.

http://download.cnet.com/Ultimate-Bo...0_4-51584.html

Even if scans find no defects, for example I recently had problems because even though all my RAM was good, two halves of them (not even in dual channel) had slightly different undocumented characteristics, so they caused problems only when used at the same time. But if your computer is new and you haven't added or replaced RAM, this shouldn't happen, unless you got the computer at a shop where some guy assembled it from separately bought components.

[Halindir]

Originally Posted by Japo

First of all, if the computer is new and within warranty, you should return it immediately and demand a 100% trouble-free replacement, no questions asked. I encourage you to do this, and ignore the rest of my post... Hardware problems are a pain in the ass, even just identifying them. And don't you think that you can solve the problem by taking it to a computer repair shop, they will only try what any of us could, sometimes they don't know a lot actually, and if the crashes are random and can't be reproduced, you're liable to get the computer back and being billed and told that it's now good, only to find later that the problem remains.

Hey I have a GT520 too, although mine only has 1 GB.

So does this happen only with games? Are you experiencing any other problem--small as it may seem in comparison to total system crashes?

250 watts sounds like very little to me. I have 375 W, and only my GT520 recommends at least 300 W (and that's if the rest of the parts aren't specially demanding). But I'm no expert, you could list your hardware at the forum over at http://www.tomshardware.com/ for example, and get a recommendation of minimal power rating. Also depending on the manufacturer of the power supply, I heard, some of them list in the specs a power rating that they can give constantly, whereas others like to list peak values that they can't sustain. Anyway you should be able to see the power requirements of your parts on the website of each manufacturer. For example my nVidia was made by Gigabyte:

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/pro...px?pid=3826#sp

Even if your power supply is poor, it needn't be the problem here, specially if these crashes aren't being caused by high load (?). My experience (see below) biases me towards RAM, RAM, RAM. And the only way to be sure may be to run with different sticks for long enough periods. RAM is such a basic part of a computer, that a problem or conflict with it is capable of causing problems in other parts, that use RAM, and the symptoms will point to those parts which are good, instead of the real culprit. Just like when I was dead sure there was a problem with my old ATI...

As Horseman says, even if the computer starts with each RAM stick--as it starts with all of them together--there may be a fault. Memory test programs that run inside Windows are limited because they can't access all the memory.

http://download.cnet.com/Ultimate-Bo...0_4-51584.html

Even if scans find no defects, for example I recently had problems because even though all my RAM was good, two halves of them (not even in dual channel) had slightly different undocumented characteristics, so they caused problems only when used at the same time. But if your computer is new and you haven't added or replaced RAM, this shouldn't happen, unless you got the computer at a shop where some guy assembled it from separately bought components.

The computer isn't new new, my dad assembled it for me. The only thing I had to do, were to buy a graphics card - which has a 3 weeks warranty.

My dad will be sending me, in about 4-5 days, 2 1GB RAM - In case one or more of the ones in my pc are damaged - and a not-so-good graphics card - to test if the freezing occurs on that one too.

And yes, it only occurs in games. Everything runs smoothly aside from that.

[Halindir]

Turns out my PSU is a SCP350-V2..so its 350Watt I guess..So it might not be it after all.
A friend of mine told me that should be enough to power my graphics card and the rest of the system.

[Japo]

Now that makes more sense. Anyway the wattage and other specs should be written on a plate on the supply itself. What about amperage?

If you're going to have spare RAM and gfx card to test, that's what you should do, there's really no other way. But remember that if the faults are unpredictable, you'll have to run with alternative hardware configurations long enough to make the problem re-appear, or to be reasonably sure that it has gone away.

[Halindir]

Originally Posted by Japo

Now that makes more sense. Anyway the wattage and other specs should be written on a plate on the supply itself. What about amperage?

If you're going to have spare RAM and gfx card to test, that's what you should do, there's really no other way. But remember that if the faults are unpredictable, you'll have to run with alternative hardware configurations long enough to make the problem re-appear, or to be reasonably sure that it has gone away.

Im not sure..But heres what was written on the side of the PSU:

| AC-I/P | 115-230 | 8/4A | 60-50Hz |
| DC OP | +5V | +12V | -12V | 5VSB |
----------| 28A | 19A | 0,8A | 2A |


The freezes are somewhat predictable, in that they only happen during games.

[Halindir]

Originally Posted by The Fifth Horseman

Your GPU's specs not just state a 300 W PSU is an absolute minimum but also recommend a 450 Watt one.
And yes, the under-specced amperage on your PSU's +12V line means that it cannot supply your GPU with enough energy under heavy load.

Chances are that if you add the RAM modules to the existing setup, the freezes will increase in frequency, and if you replace the graphics card instead - they will stop.

Originally Posted by Japo

My money is either on the card, or RAM. It will have to be tested separately. Obviously if replacing the card solves the problem, there's no need to test further. This would be good news (in a sense since the problem is easier, but on the other hand one defective gfx card is a more expensive loss), but it is not certain.

The idea is not to add the new RAM, but to use it to replace the old one. If replacing the gfx card doesn't solve the problems, and it comes to testing RAM, Halindir you should run with different RAM configurations, making sure that all the sticks have the same exact specs and come from the same manufacturer and exact model. Even only 2 GB should be enough to make testing comfortable. If the problem persists, try with a different configuration (e.g. with the new sticks you'll be receiving, instead of a pair of your current ones).

So I should definitely get a new PSU.
And I should test with the other graphics card first.

Im not sure what you mean by different configurations, specs and such..The four sticks in my pc looks identical, and I guess they're the same model.

[Japo]

As everything else, RAM sticks have the manufacturer's name and the part number printed on them. That way you can be reasonably sure if your current sticks are really identical.

I've edited my previous post to explain it better.

[Eagle of Fire]

The computer isn't new new, my dad assembled it for me. The only thing I had to do, were to buy a graphics card - which has a 3 weeks warranty.

Ah... Well, you see... This is the kind of information you should say right off the bat. I assumed you purchased a brand new computer, built in from a list of models at whatever place you purchased it... With such a built I assume you get everything new and tested, including wattage and the like. It kind of completely blow up what I said earlier.

Try what the others said instead and uninstall Omega Drivers and reinstall your up to date drivers.