Topic: What do you do to keep your computer cool when gaming?

[Tus-XC]

how hot is the cpu running anyway?  idle will do nicely for this.  When it crashed, was it under load?  have you check the hd for errors (didn't read all the way through so i don't know)? 

One problem i have had in the past w/ my rig was overheating, had to replace the stock heatsink cause in game it would be at a constant 75-80*c .  I've also seen computers run great, but crash for no reason cause the HD was going bad.  Since it appears that your ram is ok, and your psu it good i think that narrows it pretty much down to the HD, heat, and/or vid card (if it crashed while in game then that could be a possibility).    if you could next time you get it up and running post the cpu temp, possibly the mb temp.  if you have anythign that tracks the temps post the underload temp as well.

[Dracho]

Topic: What do you do to keep your computer cool when gaming?

Generally, I play crappy old games that do not tax my system.   

[Darth Sidious]

I keep my gaming computer cool.... by keeping the windows open in winter; and the AC on full tilt all summer.

Then again i live in MN; and am crazy and LIKE -40 temps

[E_Look]

how hot is the cpu running anyway?  idle will do nicely for this.  When it crashed, was it under load?  have you check the hd for errors (didn't read all the way through so i don't know)? 

One problem i have had in the past w/ my rig was overheating, had to replace the stock heatsink cause in game it would be at a constant 75-80*c .  I've also seen computers run great, but crash for no reason cause the HD was going bad.  Since it appears that your ram is ok, and your psu it good i think that narrows it pretty much down to the HD, heat, and/or vid card (if it crashed while in game then that could be a possibility).    if you could next time you get it up and running post the cpu temp, possibly the mb temp.  if you have anythign that tracks the temps post the underload temp as well.

Ah!  More good questions.

It is an Athlon XP 2500+ chip with a Barton core, so it runs about 40-50 C, but my memory is foggy on this.  I never checked the difference between under load and idle conditions.  I'll have to do this, but not tonight; I'm beat tonight.

The HD is essentially new and recently defragged.  Maybe I should run scandisk on it.

It could be the vid card; I got it, a Sapphire Radeon 9600 XT from Monarch Computer for $98 USD when I saw it on Newegg, Zipzoomfly, etc. for about $120 or so.  But I haven't heard any bad scuttlebutt on this card, though.  I just d/l'd and installed the latest drivers for it.

It crashes not only when gaming, but also when surfing the 'Net, accessing drop down menus, using MS Word, etc... in other words, randomly.

[Midnight Tech]

E_Look, got another idea...download an ISO for Knoppix and burn it to a CD, then boot with it. Try running with it and see if you get any lockups.
Sometimes it is a bit tricky to get it to start properly in X-Window...it might require a couple boots...but most of the time you'll get full access to all hardware so you can troubleshoot things out.
If you don't get any lockups running Knoppix, then it's probably gonna be something that Windows doesn't like.

[Tus-XC]

if its between 40-50 idling, then my best guess (based on my own processor) its closer to 50.  depending on what kinda heat sink and fan system you have you can expect anywhere from a 10* difference to a 20* difference while under load.   With my stock fan it was 20 degree difference, went from 55* to 75* causing my computer to shut down.  I replaced the heatsink/fan with a one from cooler master (looks like an impeller ontop of a copper heatsink) and it idles between 35-40, and under load never goes over 50*. 

[E_Look]

Knoppix??  I haven't touched UNIX systems in a veeerrrrry looooonnnnng time!  But in those days of command line interfaces, it didn't seem that bad though... 

[Nemesis]

Knoppix??  I haven't touched UNIX systems in a veeerrrrry looooonnnnng time!  But in those days of command line interfaces, it didn't seem that bad though... 

Knoppix defaults to the KDE gui and is very windows like.  It also includes a number of Windows recovery tools.  I recently had an issue with a friends computer solved just by booting Linux.  It caused the motherboard to reassign irqs.  Then when windows was rebooted it reassigned them again fixing the conflict that Windows could not see until the irqs were reassigned first.

Have you tried System File Checker?  It is a utility that is built into Win98 and Win2000 (I assume it is also present in WinXP. It checks for corrupt system files and lets you restore them from the install CD.   On Win98/2000 you use the run option on the start menu and run SFC.exe.

If that fails I think that you have reached the stage where you need to pull half the memory and try running without it.   Once you know if the problem still exists or not you can try the other one.  If you have the problem with both individual memory units then it is likely not a memory issue.  If you have it with one unit and not the other then you know which unit is faulty.  If with neither then it is a conflict between two incompatible units and you should look at getting identical ones.  All this of course assumes that your motherboard does not require filling two banks at a time (some do). 

Alternately since you have more than one machine you could try a memory swap between machines (assuming they use the same memory types).  If you do and the problem persists again you have eliminated memory as an issue. If it migrates to the other machine you know that it is bad (or incompatible memory).  If it is eliminated then you just have a motherboard that can't handle that particular memory.

Right now I have my own cooling problem.  My #2 dual CPU machine has a failing CPU fan.  Of course I find that out at a moment in time where it will be difficult to get one for a day or so .  Fortunately I have two other machines to play with though my SETI output is suffering   until it is fixed.

[E_Look]

Knoppix??  I haven't touched UNIX systems in a veeerrrrry looooonnnnng time!  But in those days of command line interfaces, it didn't seem that bad though... 

Right now I have my own cooling problem.  My #2 dual CPU machine has a failing CPU fan...

At least you KNOW the problem and CAN fix it!

If that fails I think that you have reached the stage where you need to pull half the memory and try running without it.   Once you know if the problem still exists or not you can try the other one.  If you have the problem with both individual memory units then it is likely not a memory issue.  If you have it with one unit and not the other then you know which unit is faulty.  If with neither then it is a conflict between two incompatible units and you should look at getting identical ones.  All this of course assumes that your motherboard does not require filling two banks at a time (some do). 

Alternately since you have more than one machine you could try a memory swap between machines (assuming they use the same memory types).  If you do and the problem persists again you have eliminated memory as an issue. If it migrates to the other machine you know that it is bad (or incompatible memory).  If it is eliminated then you just have a motherboard that can't handle that particular memory.

When I get some time, I will try this one.

... and run SFC.exe...

Yo!  You mean go blow up some starships?!  Sure!  I never knew that fixed computers!!  Gee, thanks!  I'll go install all four Starfleet Commands on my kid's comp right now!   

[Nemesis]

... and run SFC.exe...

Yo!  You mean go blow up some starships?!  Sure!  I never knew that fixed computers!!  Gee, thanks!  I'll go install all four Starfleet Commands on my kid's comp right now!   

That is an order that I can give here and know it will be obeyed.

Go forth and get on tonights test server

[Nemesis]

At least you KNOW the problem and CAN fix it!

Fixed.  I have a couple of old heatsinks and fans for slower CPUs, though the heatsinks were not up to spec I realized that the fans were virtually identical.  I checked and the old fans fit the newer heatsinks.  Testing now.  The formerly overheating CPU now runs cooler than the other CPU.

[Midnight Tech]

That's good to hear Nemisis! I had to cannibalize an old Socket 370 heatsink for a fan to fit a (gasp) Slot 1 Pentium 2 the other day...running like a charm now!
Knoppix can be booted into command-line mode as well...but with all the software offered in GUI mode there's not much reason to.

[Nemesis]

The repair has been stable for more than 24 hours and the computer has done 13 SETI WUs since then.

[Javora]

If that fails I think that you have reached the stage where you need to pull half the memory and try running without it.   Once you know if the problem still exists or not you can try the other one.  If you have the problem with both individual memory units then it is likely not a memory issue.  If you have it with one unit and not the other then you know which unit is faulty.  If with neither then it is a conflict between two incompatible units and you should look at getting identical ones.  All this of course assumes that your motherboard does not require filling two banks at a time (some do). 

Alternately since you have more than one machine you could try a memory swap between machines (assuming they use the same memory types).  If you do and the problem persists again you have eliminated memory as an issue. If it migrates to the other machine you know that it is bad (or incompatible memory).  If it is eliminated then you just have a motherboard that can't handle that particular memory.

When I get some time, I will try this one.

Didn't you already go through all of that already?  *Looks down the thread a ways*  Yep, you already went through all of that and used memtest on top of all of that.  I think you are at the point now where using Midnight Tech's idea of booting Knoppix or swapping CPU's might be a good idea.  If you don't feel confortable about swapping CPU's, you could take it in to a repair store that you can trust and let them test the motherboard and CPU for you.  You could also try matching pairs of Ram but IMHO that would be a waste of money, but if you are using mismatched Ram make sure they both have the same power/usage ratings.

[Nemesis]

Didn't you already go through all of that already?  *Looks down the thread a ways*  Yep, you already went through all of that and used memtest on top of all of that.  I think you are at the point now where using Midnight Tech's idea of booting Knoppix or swapping CPU's might be a good idea.  If you don't feel confortable about swapping CPU's, you could take it in to a repair store that you can trust and let them test the motherboard and CPU for you.  You could also try matching pairs of Ram but IMHO that would be a waste of money, but if you are using mismatched Ram make sure they both have the same power/usage ratings.

I just looked through the thread and though this was suggested before it does not appear that E_Look has tried it yet.  He did do the memtests though.

[E_Look]

All right, folks, I am running Memtest on the second stick of RAM, the Kingston 512 Mb DDR-333 (PC-2700) stick and is so far totally free of errors.

The first stick, Kingmax 512 Mb, was also free of errors according to Memtest...

... BUT I NOTICED A VERY STRANGE THING DURING BOOT UP WITH THAT ONE STICK AND DURING THE MEMTEST RUN- IN BOTH INSTANCES IT WAS READ BY THE COMPUTER AS DDR-400 (PC-3200)!!! while the sticker and packaging (and my invoice) read DDR-333.

I'll bet that the timing and rate mismatches will lead to *a little* system instability.  This is the strangest PC building problem I've seen!

Let's see if I can get it exchanged for a stick of DDR-333 or if they'll be kind enough to offer me an extra stick of DDR-400 for all my (my son's, really) frustration!

I'll keep you guys posted.

[E_Look]

I called Newegg a couple of days ago and got a RMA number.  They gave me a credit for shipping, but it is apparently for Fed Ex and I used U.S. Mail... but that's minor.

The main thing is that I shipped it off, the mislabeled RAM chip module, and upon receipt, they promised to send me a replacement, which I will this time IMMEDIATELY test, not only for errors of the type we normally might expect, but also for "bad stickers"    .

I must say though, in general, Newegg is great to deal with!

[Nemesis]

How is the computer working with the "mere" 512mb left?  Stable?

[E_Look]

Well, tonight he gave it a whirl with the "miniscule" 512 Mb and at the very outset, it lagged a little playing his online game, but that stopped quickly and didn't crash once during a 30-45 min run.

I saw on Newegg's site one of the customers *CHEERING* that his stick of DDR-333 Kingmax 512 Mb was read by his mobo as DDR-400; I guess if you have two modules of these, then it IS cause for a little joy... but if you mix'n'match, then, well, your kid cries, kvetches, moans, and otherwise makes known his unhappiness.

Anyhow, I am SINCERELY HOPING that this replacement stick I am to receive will behave exactly as a DDR-333 module should behave.

[E_Look]

Hey, guess what... the system still crashes, say, once or twice an hour or two, with the one stick of Kingston 512 Mb in it.  I think I'm just spinning my wheels...

...