Video Card Black Out

[trashdog]

I'm playing my favorite game Medal of Honor Allied Assault when suddenly the screen goes black and the computer crashes. I have to do a reboot in order for the computer to come back on.

I have a Nvidia GEForce 210 video card
Windows 7 Home Premium
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6400 @ 2.13GHz, 2128 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)
2gig of RAM

The game has always had a problem with freezing from time to time but returns to being playable after about 10 seconds. This black out crashing problem has just started in the last few days.

Any ideas on what I should be trying.

Oh yeah I have updated the video card to the latest drivers.

TD

 

[BugOutMachine]

Is this a purchased game with a DVD installation directly onto your HD or a game through a service such as Steam or OnLive? Have you had issues with other games?

Also, what A/V software are you using? Finally, have you downloaded the latest drivers for your Graphics Card?

 

[trashdog]

Downloaded the latest drivers the game is installed on my hard drive. My son now tells me it does the same blackout thing when he's watching videos on Youtube. So it's not just the game now.

 

[Petey7]

You mentioned pauses you associated to a ram problem. You might actually have something wrong with the ram on your computer. I see you have a Dell. Is it under warranty? I've had a couple things go wrong on my computer and Dell replaced the parts very quickly and I did not have to pay any shipping at all.

 

[trashdog]

It's a Dell about 5 years old now. I was actually leaning towards maybe a heat issue with the video card but this is the 2nd card I've had in it. The other being an ATI Radeon X300. The pausing happened with that video card as well but not the black outs.

 

[TVeblen]

Wow, we see a lot of Dells with 200 series nVidia cards on this forum with this behavior.

Are you getting any notifications on screen when the freezing behavior occurs? ("Display driver xxxx stopped responding and was recovered").

Are you getting a blue screen with a message when the computer crashes?

Navigate to your Event Viewer and look at any critical errors listed under System. Note any that have to do with video or that log about the time the behavior happens. There is an option to copy and paste the errors in a reply post.

 

[trashdog]

No messages, no blue screen, just goes black and crashes. Only way to bring it back up is to reboot it. It's like the video card just shuts off.

 

[Petey7]

Temperature issues can definitely be a problem, and you would not be the first person to have the problem you describe be caused by heat. After doing some searching, Speed Fan looks like it would be a good piece of software for monitoring the temperature of the GPU, CPU, and hard drive. If heat is the problem we might be able to help you find a fan or other cooling device for whatever it is that is getting hot. Anythings getting hot can potentially cause the shut down.

 

[TVeblen]

Like Petey says, get Speedfan to monitor your temps.

An easy test is to simply remove the side(s) from your case and run the computer. If the condition improves, you are definitely dealing with heat.

If you have a small house fan, you can set it up to blow into the open case for an even better test.

 

[trashdog]

I installed speed fan and my temperature on video card is running between 69 - 75C. Not sure what the card should be running.

 

[Petey7]

That sounds really hot to me. Keep in mind 70 C is 160 F. I'd check to see if the fan on it is replaceable. It might not function right and a replacement might work better than the original anyways. Also make sure your case has good ventilation. Poor airflow can also cause it to get hot.

 

[trashdog]

I removed the side of the case and blew compressed air inside to blow out the dust. It also appears that the fan may have not been turning. The temp on Speed Fan is now 48C. I will try to play MOHAA now for a bit and check the temperature when I'm come out of the game.

 

[Petey7]

If the fan is not turning it needs to be replaced if possible. Continuing to play games on a card that is reaching high temps under load will eventually kill the card.

 

[trashdog]

It's running at 56c under a load now. It was running at 74c before with no load. Fan seems to be working fine it was just caked with dust from what we could see. I'll keep monitoring it. I played for maybe 15 min. and kept checking the temp from time to time. I also left the side off the case to keep an eye on the fan.

 

[severedsolo]

56 under load is fine, I have the same card as you and it hits exactly the same temperature under load.

Just an FYI: the 210 can run up to 105C and then will start throttling itself to stop it from melting.

Also just for reference, my card idles between 39 and 46, obviously your mileage may vary depending on ambient temperature, but 48 sounds about right.

 

[Petey7]

Glad to hear that the fan is now functioning. What severed solo says is true. Your current temps are fine. If you had that much dust you might want to clean any other dust out of your computer to make sure everything stays cool and all fans are working.

 

[trashdog]

I woke up this morning and found that the GPU is now running at 60c with no load on it. The fan is turning and the computer isn't running any programs that require a great deal of work from the video card. Is the video card just going bad?

 

[Petey7]

Something caused the spike. I suggest looking around the net for a new fan for it. 60c at idle isn't good, because when your actually doing stuff its going to get a lot hotter. I suppose you could just buy a new video card if you can find a good deal on a better one. Well, you could buy a new one regardless, I just suggest shopping around first. Did anything change between when it was showing ~40c and now? I mean anything.

 

[trashdog]

I'm going to get a new video card it's back up to 70c and the only thing I'm running is firefox and Itunes. The fan is running but it's just not staying cool. Should I get one of the new HD cards or just get something similar to what I have now.

 

[Petey7]

That is a personal decision. Your monitor has a maximum resolution. See if you can find out what it is and buy accordingly.