Issue with crashing

S

spiroh

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 17, 2004
Messages
383
Hello all,

I currently have an Intel on a Abit IC7 mb. After playing empire earth 2 for a couple of hours my machine starts to crash. This is a different crash than the one associated to the cpu overheating though. When the machine crashes on my monitor I can see colors on the screen similar to a rainbow. I even set my computer to default processor speed,voltage and have everything set to stock and it crashes the same way. I just purchased a new video card because I needed one anyways but do you think it has to do with my video card overheating? The only other thing I can think of is the northbridge. That MB had a fan on the northbridge but mine broke and I replaced it with a heatsink instead and used arctic silver to glue it on there. I do have a 120mm fan on my case which blows air directly to the northbridge and processor so I would be shocked if that is the cause of my problems. Any help would be appreciated.
 
Generally, no northbridges today need active cooling. it definitely helps, but isn't necessary.

Your symptoms sound like a video card overheating. Possibly a marginal component that gives errors only when very hot (hence the 2 hours). One way to verify this would be to remove the side of your case and aim a desk fan into it. Put the fan on high and play the game. Once you're sure it should have crashed by some point, you can safely say it's a heat issue.

Another (probably better) test you can try would be to underclock your video card. I'd go as low as you possibly can on the clock speeds. Try the core first, play the game for a while, then, if that doesn't work, try the RAM. Again, you need to be pretty sure it should have crashed before calling a test a "pass". I've seen a lot of people not run it long enough, or enough times, to recreate the crash. Hopefully one of these will always work to fix the crash, and once it does you know which part needs better cooling. You might try raising the speeds back up until you see about where it crashes. If it's much lower than the default clock then you either have horrible airflow in your case or a bad card.

Good luck.
 
Sandman said:
Generally, no northbridges today need active cooling. it definitely helps, but isn't necessary.
Click to expand...
As an IC7 / IS7 owner, I respectfully disagree. The NB's run very hot.....

Both my and my wife's systems are OC'd (air, mild OC) and there's no question that:
- The NB HSF ABit put on these MoBo's is absolute junk. Every one I've ever seen was either dead, or on it's way out....
- Improved cooling will most certanly help stability, even with non-OC'd systems. Random "why the hell did that happen" crashes have completely gone away with better NB cooling.

For NB cooling, I'm a big fan of the Thermalright NB HSF. Only problem is that they won't fit on ABit MoBo's with Zalman HSF's on them. I'm running a Swiftech and the wife's machine has an Intel OEM HSF with the copper base and the pressed in Al fins.

Now, to your problem.....crashes after two hours sure sound like heat, so I'd check to see that your CPU's HSF is installed correctly with the right amount of good thermal compound. Are you running any active temp monitors? Also - it could be a voltage dip in your PSU. Something like MoBo monitor can be a huge help in diagnosing issues like this. If switching the vid card didn't change the crash, you can safely rule out video issues. Get some temp / voltage info, and that may tell the tale.

Good luck - B.B.S.
 
Thanks guys, I will monitor the situation and post some more information. I already have replaced the stock abit hsf on the nb to a zalman. I have everything set at default speeds and memory timings.
 
BlindedByScience said:
As an IC7 / IS7 owner, I respectfully disagree. The NB's run very hot.....

Both my and my wife's systems are OC'd (air, mild OC) and there's no question that:
- The NB HSF ABit put on these MoBo's is absolute junk. Every one I've ever seen was either dead, or on it's way out....
- Improved cooling will most certanly help stability, even with non-OC'd systems. Random "why the hell did that happen" crashes have completely gone away with better NB cooling.
Click to expand...

Interesting, it didn't occur to me that they'd use a cheap heatsink on the NB. If that's the case, then yeah, I can see why you'd want to replace it. And you're absolutely correct, cooling upgrades on the MCH can only result in greater stability. But as far as the specs go, they don't require active cooling on the MCH as long as there's a decent heatsink being used and the case has sufficient airflow to keep ambient case temps within reason.
 
sounds like overheating to me too... try running the rig with the side panel off, also you could try underclodking the vid card..
 
Ok, guys I installed mobo monitor and prime95 and my temps read 100 deg on System 158 on cpu, and 112 on aux. Prime was working throughout the night with no crashing. Nothing is overclocked not even the video card. I think at this point it is either the video card or the power supply. I doubt its the northbride because I have a fan blowing air right on top of it. Thoughts?
 
You know, I'm having a similar problem right now. However, with mine, I'll be in the middle of just about anything--Empire Earth II, a DVD, whatever--after a couple of hours, sometimes less, and the monitor goes dead and the system hard locks. Hitting reset doesn't even do anything.

Could this be a similar problem, or am I working on something altogether different?
 
carl67lp said:
You know, I'm having a similar problem right now. However, with mine, I'll be in the middle of just about anything--Empire Earth II, a DVD, whatever--after a couple of hours, sometimes less, and the monitor goes dead and the system hard locks. Hitting reset doesn't even do anything.

Could this be a similar problem, or am I working on something altogether different?
Click to expand...
Sounds abit different. What kind of power supply od u have? CPu temp
?
 
spiroh said:
Sounds abit different. What kind of power supply od u have? CPu temp
?
Click to expand...

My temps are about what yours are, around 45C on full load (Athlon 64 3000+, Venice). I've got an Antec 350W--whatever came with the Soho case I bought a while back.

The odd thing is that, while this is a newly built system, it seems to have just started. I need to backtrack and figure out what's going on, but I honestly can't think of anything that has changed. I might just format the machine and see if there's a software issue.
 
carl67lp said:
My temps are about what yours are, around 45C on full load (Athlon 64 3000+, Venice). I've got an Antec 350W--whatever came with the Soho case I bought a while back.

The odd thing is that, while this is a newly built system, it seems to have just started. I need to backtrack and figure out what's going on, but I honestly can't think of anything that has changed. I might just format the machine and see if there's a software issue.
Click to expand...
It could be your psu. I had that same antec psu and I replaced it with one better. I'm not saying it def is the problem but it could be. My problem could also be related the psu as well. I have a video card on order so when I replace that I'll see hwo it goes. If I'm still having problem the next thing to go will be the PSU.
 
Heres an odd one. Just today I noticed a sound coming from within my computer. Sure enough the fan on the video card is making weird noises. Coincidence? Whow know, but I will know for certain when I get my new vid card in.
 
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