My computer shuts down when playing games

I play Call of Duty 2 multi player and like a hundred other video games. My problem is when playing most games, after a few minutes my computer just shuts down, it doesn't reboot. I have to turn off the power button on the power supply and wait like 30 seconds then when I hit the button again, it starts right up.

this is what I have now:

amd athlon 64 3200+ 2.0 ghz
ati radeon all in wonder 9800 pro
1 gb corsair xms ddr pc 3200 ram
2 hitachi 250gb sata hard drives running in raid 0
Sound blaster audigy 2 platinum sound card
Asus a8v deluxe motherboard
plextor 716a dvd-rw

I'm wondering could it be the power supply itself, or a overheating issue, I only have like 5 fans running at all times.

In February I'm upgrading the motherboard, processor, video card, but untill then I would love some opinions...

Have you made sure all your fans are working properly? Also, does this only happen when you are playing your games? How big is your PSU? It could also be a damaged video driver. Check your event viewer for error messages.

Another thing to try is to remove the cover. If anything is overheating, this will let you know.

How often do you dust the thing? The fans may be blocked up. Pay special attention to the heat-sync fan over the CPU and your video card's processor.

My son and I completely took it apart around 6 months ago and cleaned Everything, and it seemed to help. My psu is 450w. I will have to upgrade this too when I do the other upgrades.

It never does this just surfing or anything else, just when I play games, weird huh.

Where is the event viewer??

This happens due to the Video Card CPU overheat - the fan went bad. Have you overclocked your video card through BIOS or some VGA optimization tool?

Also make sure your video drivers are the latest, along with DirectX.

Yea, overheating is most likely the issue.

When you opened up the case and cleaned did you happen to notice if you have any extra slots open? If you can rearrange your cards, especially the ATI radeon graphics card to allow more air circulation around the cards themselves it might help. Make sure the power supply vent has a good 8 inch clearance from the desk/wall...whatever.

When we opened the case we did move the card to a different slot, so it would have more room. Thanks everyone for the info, I do think it's a overheating issue.

My mother board went bad last year and it would say overclocking failed[this was a Bad thing], but we sent it in and got another one, my brother sets this stuff up for me, but he doesn't know why this is happening.

We thought my video card was going bad. It's more for multi-media than games, but that will change in February. I'm gonna try it with the case open and another fan.

Thanks again

the 9800 is an older card. as the others suggested check the fans while the machine is running. if they're running too slow or not at all that can be bad. if the machine is off, you should be able to give the fans a spin with your finger and get a few revolutions out of them. if it stops pretty much immediately then your bearings are shot and it won't cool as well.

reply to post by MastaG



Thanks for the information. I was having the same problem on my laptop, but it stopped.

Now that you mentioned it I do now notice that my fan runs more often. It must of been dirty and jammed.

also brush the dust off that collects on the fan blades
that will help with air flow as well

Ok I have one fan that is not working[one that blows right on video card] and another that seems to have some sort of short in it.

Thanks for everyones help and input.

[edit on 9-11-2007 by LDragonFire]

Firstly I find it unlikely it's an overheating issue. I have a far more power intensive computer with only three fans. Yep, that includes power supply, heatsink, and videocard fans. Usually videocards or processors overheating will not cause the computer to turn and STAY off for many minutes at a time. It may be because your power supply is aging and has temperature issues.

What power supply do you have?

Although I find it unlikely, try going into BIOS and find me your CPU temperature. If it's too high your motherboard may automatically reset the computer to prevent damage to itself.

Third, the 9800pro has a horrible fan installed on it. Make sure it's OK.

Ok I have one fan that is not working[one that blows right on video card]

Never read the entire thread. Sorry.

that's definately the prob, if I were you I would just get a whole new videocard. Radeon X1950pro or 7800 are good choices.

[edit on 10/11/07 by JimmyCarterIsSmarter]

Originally posted by LDragonFire
When we opened the case we did move the card to a different slot, so it would have more room. Thanks everyone for the info, I do think it's a overheating issue.

I have the same problem as yours and I found out it was an IRQ conflict which can turn off your computer automatically after 10-15 minutes of usage. I solve the problem by putting my soundcard to another PCI slot. I thought it was an overheating issue. I have just replaced my dead video card to a working one, so that was the cause of the IRQ conflict. The soundcard didn't like the new guy. lol.

My soundcard is the same as yours - Audigy 2. I think all soundblaster card has this issue of IRQ conflict, it won't change it's IRQ automatically as it strictly occupies IRQ7 and 5. Any device which tries to occupy it, will be shut down. So it's best to put it in a slot where it won't complain.

You mentioned that you have moved the card to a different slot so that could be the main problem and caused the IRQ conflict. Put it back where it was originally placed, and hopefully this will solve your problem.

[edit on 18-11-2007 by amitheone]