New Graphics Card Crashes Every Game.. Even 90s games :'(

[Tjcrazy]

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

 

[-T- Member]

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

[+Anarkii Subscriber²]

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. 

[ShadowMajestic]

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

[123456789A]

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

 

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

[BrainDedd]

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.

[n_K]

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.

[Tjcrazy]

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.

[n_K]

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?

[StealMySoda]

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? 

[+Thom Vee Subscriber²]

Did you read this thread?

[Tjcrazy]

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:


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?

[riahc3]

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:

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?

[riahc3]

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...

[Praetor]

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...

[riahc3]

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.

[riahc3]

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.

[Praetor]

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? ;)

[ShellBox]

Have you tried updating your drivers for your new graphics card? It could also be time to upgrade your RAM.

[mkol]

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.

[Praetor]

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.

[Slammers]

A decent 550w psu is definitely enough for you system. 100% sure on this. 

 

What kind of powersupply? 550w doesn't mean jack if it's a budget psu. 

 

Sounds like a mem thing. 

[riahc3]

Hello,

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

Um, what?

[Praetor]

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.

[ka-la]

Try switching the memory modules. And if you still get memtest errors, try them by one stick... it sure seems that is where your probleem is at.