need help with comp

[HeroicWolf86]

i need some help i dont really know how to fix this problem but here it is my comp freezes and it usualy only freezes when i play a high end game.... and well i dont konw im thinkin my power supply is pulling more than it can handel but i dont know if thats true..... i have a computer that was bought and i coustomized from there i have plenty of ram and a 900 mhz pros. but the video card might be causeing it but i dont know and and help would be very greatfull

[Archmage1]

i need some help i dont really know how to fix this problem but here it is my comp freezes and it usualy only freezes when i play a high end game.... and well i dont konw im thinkin my power supply is pulling more than it can handel but i dont know if thats true..... i have a computer that was bought and i coustomized from there i have plenty of ram and a 900 mhz pros. but the video card might be causeing it but i dont know and and help would be very greatfull

Let's start with some more information....

What exactly is "plenty" of RAM?
What kind of video card?
What is your operating system?
Motherboard?
Power supply?

What games are causing the problem specifically? List them all please.
What exactly happens when you freeze up?
Are there any games you CAN play?

[HeroicWolf86]

Let's start with some more information....

What exactly is "plenty" of RAM?
What kind of video card?
What is your operating system?
Motherboard?
Power supply?

What games are causing the problem specifically? List them all please.
What exactly happens when you freeze up?
Are there any games you CAN play?


well i have 384 mgs of ram
win xp home
gforce4 mx420
100w power supply ya it sux.... it came with it but hey you cant beat a free comp when the one you do have is worst lol
but i cant figuer out my motherboard name... can you tell me how to find it lol its stock and the only thing that didnt come with the comp was a network card the gforce 4 and i put more ram in it but thats it the game that cause it to freeze are games that acutaly make my video car go to work like game that require more than 4 megs of v-mem but i have not problem with older games like diablo but newer ones like unreal turn 2003 cause it to freeze sometimes and when it freezes it just stops responding it will show the last image and nothign will happen so i have to shut it off by holding the power button down so any more help would be much apreaciated

[Renzatic Gear]

It could possibly be a power suppily problem. Back in the day I had a comp far worse than yours and even it had a 200w PSU, even if it isn't what's causing your games to freeze I'd still upgrade to at least 250w nowadays.

Beyond that it could be a driver problem, or it could be overheating (very doubtful, but might as well mention it). When the games freeze does it lock up your entire computer or can you alt-tab out of the game to get back to the desktop?

[HeroicWolf86]

It could possibly be a power suppily problem. Back in the day I had a comp far worse than yours and even it had a 200w PSU, even if it isn't what's causing your games to freeze I'd still upgrade to at least 250w nowadays.

Beyond that it could be a driver problem, or it could be overheating (very doubtful, but might as well mention it). When the games freeze does it lock up your entire computer or can you alt-tab out of the game to get back to the desktop?

locks up entire comp to where i have to restart and its not a overheat i have a fan on my comp and a heatsink the power is only a small 100w it sucks lol i need a new one but dont have 40 bucks to get a atx power supply did i mention i have a hp lol

[Renzatic Gear]

Hmm...done a driver install recently?

[HeroicWolf86]

Hmm...done a driver install recently?

ya i have had this problem for awile and found ways around it but i have the latest drivers and stuff it only freezes when i play a game that uses the video card stuf like that i do beleave it is my power supply its only a 100w and most comps that are deaced out like mine or close to mine have at least a 200 or 250w so its most likely my power b/c it cant really be anything eles b/c b4 i put in my vid card it didnt freeze at all but i want to know what the problem exaclty is

[Renzatic Gear]

I'm not too sure how graphics cards draw their power, but it is possible that the harder the card is working the more power it tries to draw...that might be why newer games crash while older games still chug along just fine.

I'm also assuming you're using the latest Direct X, right? If I remember correctly at one point a bug was dicovered in a DX distro and MS issued a fix for it..you might be using the bad DX on an off chance, it wouldn't hurt to either update it or reinstall it one.

[HeroicWolf86]

I'm not too sure how graphics cards draw their power, but it is possible that the harder the card is working the more power it tries to draw...that might be why newer games crash while older games still chug along just fine.

I'm also assuming you're using the latest Direct X, right? If I remember correctly at one point a bug was dicovered in a DX distro and MS issued a fix for it..you might be using the bad DX on an off chance, it wouldn't hurt to either update it or reinstall it one.

naw i have the lastest one and its not the direct x b/c i havent had porblems with anything that is direct x its just that ive had older versions of direct x and it still freeze but im workin on a better power supply so if that works then i guess i found the problem

[Aku]

ya i have had this problem for awile and found ways around it but i have the latest drivers and stuff it only freezes when i play a game that uses the video card stuf like that i do beleave it is my power supply its only a 100w and most comps that are deaced out like mine or close to mine have at least a 200 or 250w so its most likely my power b/c it cant really be anything eles b/c b4 i put in my vid card it didnt freeze at all but i want to know what the problem exaclty is

You definitely need to replace your power supply. Stick a 350w in there. That'll take care of it.

[HeroicWolf86]

You definitely need to replace your power supply. Stick a 350w in there. That'll take care of it.

i know that will fix it ive been lookin around for a cheap but reliable power supply and i have found a good one just need the money now lol so it just might be a week or two b4 i get one but i just have to make sure its an atx and it works with an intel motherboard in a HP lol ya but hey get what you can take...