Any opinion on the addition of a dedicated video/graphics card since that seems to be the area where the computer is struggling. I don't play any games on the computer just use it for streaming video, playing media files, and writing android apps.
I was just attempting to run the system rating in the control panel and the computer shutdown unexpectedly. I checked the event logs and found the critical event shown in the picture below. Something seems to be seriously wrong.
It's probably a Silverlight/Netflix thing that causes the serious taxing of the graphics card. A dedicated graphics card will most certainly help your graphics issues and can be had for very cheap.
Best PCIe Card: $100 And Under : Best Graphics Cards For The Money: April 2012
As for the critical event 42, that is produced whenever the computer shuts down unexpectedly. Did you build this computer yourself? Is it overclocked?
Yes I built it myself and no it is not overclocked. This type of shutdown seems to be related to anytime the graphics tries to push itself to the limits.
Alright I now plan on ordering the following upgrades to my system which will hopefully fix the problem. With the addition of the video card I figured I would need to upgrade the PSU also.
Probably overkill for what I use it for but I'm fine with that...
Newegg.com - HIS H675F1GD Radeon HD 6750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
Any objections or suggestions?
The graphics card is definitely overkill for just online streaming but it gives you some good headroom in case you do want to do some gaming in the future. The power supply should be more than enough for your system. No objections here.
Problem solved everything works fine with the new PSU and graphics card
Great. Seems like it was just another issue with Silverlight maxing out an integrated GPU that should have handled it fine.
I am experiencing the same exact issue. Only difference is that I have a Samsung series 9 laptop (month old) and Windows 8. I had a slightly older Samsung that started encountering this problem a month into usage, and returned it, in part because of this problem. Any advice on how I can solve this? Thanks!!
My problem never came back but the problem also could have been related to overheating. After installing the new graphics card it relieved most of the stress off of my integrated GPU; however, I did notice that my fans always seemed to be going full blast. So I decided to check out the average operating temp of the CPU. It's been a while so I don't remember the exact number but it was extremely high. So there's a possibility that my machine was cutting off because it was overheating which triggered a shutdown to avoid damage to the CPU.
I went ahead and ordered an aftermarket heat sink, fan, and new thermal paste. After making the change the temperature dramatically dropped and I've had absolutely no problems. So I'd check your laptop and make sure it isn't operating too hot due to any dust/dirt and make sure the fan isn't always going full blast. Might be worth the time to open it up if possible and clean it with some compressed air.
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