Recommended Posts

Hey Guys,

 

So I built an (almost) brand new computer, with a budget of ?400 - I think I did OK! The specs:

Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570S

RAM: 4GB (2x1GB sticks) at DDR3 1333MHz

Graphics Card: Nvidia GTX 650 (2gb Memory)

Hard Drive 1: 120GB Kingston SSD (Windows installed)

Hard Drive 2: 1TB Samsung Hard Drive @ 7200rpm

PSU: 550W

OS: Windows 7 Ultimate SP1
 
Now, its slightly embarrassing - I fix computers in my spare time when not at uni; but I cant begin to think what my problem could be.
 
Every time I go on a game, I get a 'program not responding' after various minutes. With the two more modern games, I can usually play 5-10 minutes. With the two older games, 30 minutes - 1 hour. I started a thread over at Rome Total War 2 forums about the issue (http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/117408-Rome2.exe-Rome2.dll-Application-Error-Crash-dxdiag-(With-mdmp-file)), but have since realised it might be a more serious issue than just the game.
 
The games: Age of Empires II & Rome Total War too Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag & Rome Total War 2

The event viewer logs vary, but the sources are usually the game exe files:
 
Rome TW 1
Faulting application path: D:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Rome Total War Gold\RomeTW.exe
Faulting module path: D:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Rome Total War Gold\RomeTW.exe

Rome TW 2

Faulting application path: D:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Total War Rome II\rome2.exe
Faulting module path: D:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Total War Rome II\Rome2.dll

Assassin's Creed Black Flag

Faulting application path: D:\Program Files (x86)\Ubisoft\Ubisoft Game Launcher\games\Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag\AC4BFSP.exe
Faulting module path: D:\Program Files (x86)\Ubisoft\Ubisoft Game Launcher\games\Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag\AC4BFSP.exe

So I'm a bit confused. It's not the graphics card overheating, its usually a steady 40-50 degrees, and just in case I use EVGA Precision X to increase the fan speed to Max when playing. All the games are on the lowest possible settings.

Nothing else crashes, just games - so could it be a faulty graphics card?

 

Help from you neowin guys would be great before I post to one of the other forums :/.

 

 

Tim

 

Could be: Faulty GPU (or heatsink/fan), bad drivers, memory timing or redundancy issue, PSU problem (insufficient power or insufficient cooling), other hardware issue (hard drive on it's way out or faulty motherboard).

If your system has integrated graphics, remove the GPU and try games using that (obviously on much lower graphic settings) and see if the problems still happen, if not then you can rule out hard drive, memory, etc.

Wow - thanks for all the quick replies!

 

Sounds to me like a PSU issue, you're probably not getting enough juice to the card

Thats what I originally thought, but its a pretty decent PSU - and the graphics card isn't crashing/ its the program crashing, still its a potential issue!
 

I used to get application errors all the time when I had faulty RAM. Might wanna run memcheck on them, even if they are new. 

I'll run a memtest this evening and see what the results are.

 

Try running GPU-Z to see how the GPU is performing during play.

I use RivaTuner in the games, the temp never exceeds 50 degrees, and the FPS is usually quite high (60fps) as I'm running the games on low. The GPU utilization fluctuates a lot.

 

RAM: 4GB (2x1GB sticks) at DDR3 1333MHz

 

There's your problem right there. You can't have 4GB of RAM with two 1GB sticks.

Ha, major typo there! I've got 2x2gb sticks - thanks for pointing it out!

 

I had similar problems with my build. I had to back off my memory timings. It wasn't stable at the default XMP settings.

Use a memory tester to make sure.

I'll memtest later

 

Could be: Faulty GPU (or heatsink/fan), bad drivers, memory timing or redundancy issue, PSU problem (insufficient power or insufficient cooling), other hardware issue (hard drive on it's way out or faulty motherboard).

If your system has integrated graphics, remove the GPU and try games using that (obviously on much lower graphic settings) and see if the problems still happen, if not then you can rule out hard drive, memory, etc.

Drivers all seem fine, I've reinstall the nvidia drivers countless times, with clean installs everytime.
Havent changed any memory timings etc
PSU problem is likely! But 550W still seems ample.

PSU might seem ample, but that's at optimum conditions. Using more power = components get hotter, some PSUs are made cheaply and there's insufficient cooling in them, so the parts in the PSU heat up more and as a result, the total amount of power that can be provided to the system drops. What brand is it?

Just because you haven't changed your memory timings doesn't mean it can't be the root of the problem. Have you had a look to see what it's running at, does it match the recommended settings from the manufacturer? 

Thanks for all your help guys - sorry for the late reply, I just backed to university this week, so been pretty busy.

 

I ran a memtest last night and got a bunch of errors:
memtest.JPG

Interesting thing is, all these errors occurred on 4162MB or higher; But I've only got a 4040MB of RAM.

Any ideas, or should I just get some new RAM?

Hello,

RAM: 4GB (2x1GB sticks) at DDR3 1333MHz

 

There's your problem right there. You can't have 4GB of RAM with two 1GB sticks.

These kind of replies dont add anything to the thread and IMO shouldnt be allowed :( Its obvious its a typo.

 

 

Thanks for all your help guys - sorry for the late reply, I just backed to university this week, so been pretty busy.

 

I ran a memtest last night and got a bunch of errors:

memtest.JPG

Interesting thing is, all these errors occurred on 4162MB or higher; But I've only got a 4040MB of RAM.

Any ideas, or should I just get some new RAM?

Get new RAM. ASAP.

Could you gives us the model of your RAM sticks?

Hello,

Another comment that some have said here: Your graphics card requires 400W min of a PSU. You have a 550W PSU. Im not sure if when playing high end games for a while you are going to have power issues or not...

test individual sticks to see where is the actual culprit.

 

Also that card is rated at 64W for the Thermal Requirements; minimum PSU is 400W, so a 550 is more than enough for it (http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-650/specifications); riahc3 i think you got confused...

Hello,

test individual sticks to see where is the actual culprit.

(if) He bought it together, its problable they are all from the same bad batch.

 

Also that card is rated at 64W for the Thermal Requirements; minimum PSU is 400W, so a 550 is more than enough for it (http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-650/specifications); riahc3 i think you got confused...

I dont know; Seems like small leg room in case he goes SLI or something. Nevertheless, thank you for correcting me and I apoligize for the error.

Hello,

Like what everyone said, I don't think 550W can run that card and your other hardware. Go for 750W maybe?

Yes, by my comment I was not only referring to the card, I was referring to the card and other hardware he had.

Hello,

(if) He bought it together, its problable they are all from the same bad batch.

 

I dont know; Seems like small leg room in case he goes SLI or something. Nevertheless, thank you for correcting me and I apoligize for the error.

 

I've seen new OEM builds with individual defective RAM (cough *HP* cough) so it's possible.

About the PSU: just by seeing his components IF the PSU is a good and reliable one that really delivers 550W (must see the 12v rail connector) then it got enough juice to power the whole system and still have some left; remember that this card only requires 64W maximum. Also his board can't do SLI :)

Like what everyone said, I don't think 550W can run that card and your other hardware. Go for 750W maybe?

 

If the PSU couldn't deliver enough power then it wouldn't be just the games that would crash, wouldn't it? ;)

It's your drivers, try updating the drivers, If you cannot get any where with the new release drivers try beta drivers from the Nvidia website.

 

did you guys saw the whole thread? he tested the mems and got errors.

Hello,

Um, what?

 

His games are the only ones crashing; if a PSU can't power a whole system (because it's asking more then it can deliver) then it won't be just those same games that were crashing but the whole system. A PSU or even Windows won't kill a process because of lack of power.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Stellarium 26.2 by Razvan Serea Stellarium is a free open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope. It is being used in planetarium projectors. Just set your coordinates and go. Stellarium key features: Realistic simulation of the sky, sunrise and sunset Default catalogue of over 600,000 stars Downloadable additional catalogues for up to 210 million stars Catalog data for all New General Catalogue (NGC) objects Images of almost all Messier objects and the Milky Way Artistic illustrations for all 88 modern constellations More than a dozen different cultures with their constellations Solar and lunar eclipse simulation Photorealistic landscapes (more are available on the website) Scripting support with ECMAScript (a few demo scripts are included) Extendable with plug-ins: 8 plug-ins installed by default, including: artificial satellites plug-in (updated from an on-line TLE database) ocular simulation plug-in (shows how objects look like in a given ocular) Solar System editor plug-in (imports comet and asteroid data from the MPC) telescope control plug-in (Meade LX200 and Celestron NexStar compatible) The major changes of this version: Added new sky culture Added new plugin: Planes Many improvements in plugins Many improvements in Core and GUI Many updates in sky cultures. [full release notes] Download: Stellarium 26.2 (64-bit) | 456.0 MB (Open Source) View: Stellarium Home Page | Other Operating Systems | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • NASA: This asteroid may not kill us but it probably won't be far off either by Sayan Sen Image by Zelch Csaba via Pexels New observations by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have eliminated the last remaining impact threat posed by asteroid 2024 YR4, ruling out the possibility that the near-Earth object could strike the Moon in December 2032. NASA said observations collected by Webb on February 18 and 26, 2026, enabled scientists to refine the asteroid's orbit enough to "rule out a chance of lunar impact on Dec. 22, 2032." Instead, asteroid 2024 YR4 is now expected to pass the Moon at a distance of about 13,200 miles (21,200 km). The agency stressed that the update "reflects improved precision in our understanding of where the asteroid is expected to be in 2032 rather than a shift in its orbital path." The announcement closes a remarkable chapter in planetary defence that began in late 2024, when the approximately 60-metre-wide asteroid briefly became the most closely watched near-Earth object in the world. Discovered on December 27, 2024, by the ATLAS telescope in Chile, 2024 YR4 initially appeared to have a small chance of colliding with Earth on December 22, 2032. As astronomers gathered more observations, the impact probability briefly climbed to around 3%—the highest ever recorded for an asteroid of its size—before steadily falling as its orbit became better understood. By early 2025, international observations had ruled out any significant risk to Earth. However, astronomers were left with another possibility: a roughly 4% chance that the asteroid could instead strike the Moon. "The probability that asteroid 2024 YR4 will strike the Moon on 22 December 2032 is now approximately 4%," the European Space Agency (ESA) had said last year, noting that "there is a 96% chance that the asteroid will not impact the Moon." ESA said such an impact, while unlikely, would have presented an extraordinary scientific opportunity. "It is a very rare event for an asteroid this large to impact the Moon – and it is rarer still that we know about it in advance. The impact would likely be visible from Earth, and so scientists will be very excited by the prospect of observing and analysing it," said Richard Moissl, Head of ESA's Planetary Defence Office. "It would certainly leave a new crater on the surface. However, we wouldn't be able to accurately predict in advance how much material would be thrown into space, or whether any would reach Earth," he added. The asteroid also exposed an important blind spot in planetary defence. Because 2024 YR4 approached Earth from the direction of the Sun, it remained hidden from ground-based telescopes until after its closest approach. "We looked into how Neomir would have performed in this situation, and the simulations surprised even us," Moissl said. "Neomir would have detected asteroid 2024 YR4 about a month earlier than ground-based telescopes did. This would have given astronomers more time to study the asteroid's trajectory and allowed them to much sooner rule out any chance of Earth impact in 2032." He added, "As an infrared telescope, like Webb, Neomir would have also immediately given us a much better estimate for the asteroid's size, which is very important for assessing the significance of the hazard." The latest NASA observations underscore the value of space-based infrared telescopes in tracking faint asteroids. According to NASA, Webb made "among the faintest ever observations of an asteroid," extending the object's observational record by nearly eight months at a time when it had become too faint for other telescopes. That additional data allowed scientists to eliminate the remaining uncertainty surrounding its 2032 flyby. Although asteroid 2024 YR4 is now confirmed to pose no threat to either Earth or the Moon, scientists say its discovery remains one of the most significant real-world tests of the international planetary defence system, demonstrating how continued observations can rapidly transform an object once considered hazardous into one whose future path is known with high confidence. Source: NASA, ESA This article was generated with some help from AI and reviewed by an editor. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, this material is used for the purpose of news reporting. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.
    • Yup. Google is just scraping the entire internet for their own ad profits without sharing revenue with the sources. It's obviously stealing, but since these sites depend upon Google's search scraps to survive... As for me, I just stopped using Google for anything except Reddit searches. If Reddit's own search wasn't complete crapola, I'd never use Google search again.
    • I had a feeling this was coming. Picked up my first Mac ever last Saturday. Glad I did.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Conversation Starter
      Admir earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • First Post
      The_Focal_Point earned a badge
      First Post
    • Apprentice
      daryld went up a rank
      Apprentice
    • Contributor
      Carltonbar went up a rank
      Contributor
    • One Month Later
      The_Focal_Point earned a badge
      One Month Later
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      418
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      170
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      130
    4. 4
      Xenon
      69
    5. 5
      neufuse
      69
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!