Problem with nVidia GeForce 8600GT

[phrono]

Hello everyone, I have a big problem with my graphics card and I don't know if it's a cooling issue, a power supply issue, the motherboard, driver conflict...

The thing is that until a few months ago everything was fine, the games ran perfectly, I could handle games like Crysis with almost everything maxed out and I didn't have any problems.

But then it started having problems when showing effects like dust, sand, snow, rain, etc... in games. I especially noticed it with Modern Warfare 1 and 2 and GTA IV. Later I also noticed it with Dead Island.

Well, a few days ago I installed the latest drivers from the official nVidia website (verified, they are theirs). I also reinstalled GTA IV + its two expansions, and to my surprise, today, while playing the game, my computer suddenly restarted on its own, without a blue screen or anything.

I thought it might be a driver issue, so I reinstalled them. These are the ones:

http://www.nvidia.es/object/winxp-280.26-whql-driver-es.html

I also tried playing Modern Warfare (both) for a while and, apart from the slowdowns with dust, etc., nothing strange happened.

I went back to GTA, and I played for 2 hours calmly, turned off the computer and now, when I came back at night, I started the game again and the PC restarted again.

Confused, I did a test with FurMark 1.9 and it took less than 2 minutes to trigger the temperature alarm, besides the 3D image running at about 15 fps and the computer freezing (I had to hard reset because the keyboard wasn't responding).

Does anyone have any idea where I can start looking? I'm not very experienced with tinkering inside the PC except for installing and removing disks and RAM, and I'm a bit afraid of breaking something...

Thanks in advance!

Oh! I'll copy and paste from Everest, I have a DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo E8200, 2666 MHz (8 x 333) with this motherboard: Asus P5KR (3 PCI, 1 PCI-E x1, 2 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394). And the card is this: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT (1024 MB).

[XRAYBoY]

@phrono:

I've run a test with FurMark 1.9 and it took less than 2 minutes to trigger the temperature alarm

The easiest and least invasive thing to do is to check if there's any dust balls like in the Wild West between the CPU and graphics card heatsinks and that the fans are running freely.

[Jesus_Panella]

You should check if the fans on both the CPU and the graphics card are circulating perfectly. This happened to me with my 8800 GT and also with a Core 2 Duo E8200, where I noticed how the graphics card lost performance. I found out that in one of the tests, the GPU temperature reached 112 ºC after running a 3DMark 06.

This may be helpful to you.

I solved the problem when I changed the thermal paste on the graphics card. Even so, it wouldn't hurt to monitor the temperature of the CPU and GPU.

Regards.

[incrediboy]

it looks like it's too dirty. when a pc gets too hot, it lowers the power to try not to get so hot, and if it still gets hot, it will eventually freeze. as others have said above, possibly with a thorough cleaning of the pc it will work again. i also tell you that in computer stores they usually sell spray cans of compressed air that remove dust from the heatsinks very well.

[phrono]

Well, I opened the computer, went over it with the duster, a rag, and the vacuum cleaner, and it seems to last longer. In fact, yesterday I was playing GTA IV and it didn't give me any problems, nor did it restart or slow down.

But today it's back to its old ways, even though it's already moderately clean inside... I'm going to stop by the computer store in my neighborhood to get one of those sprays to thoroughly clean the entire motherboard, connectors, etc., and I'll let you know...

By the way, does anyone know how to detect if the power supply is half-burned? because I've noticed that it heats up much more than normal for the use I'm giving the pc and I fear that the electrical installation of my building leaves much to be desired (it's 35 years old).

I say this because I'm going to clean it anyway, but if the problem is the power supply, then I might as well open it up and replace it with a good brand one to prevent future headaches... :hangover:

Thanks guys!

Edit: the problem has changed variant... I opened the computer, removed all possible dust accumulations with a compressed air spray + vacuum cleaner, and when I reconnected it, it started making a noise, a kind of hum that varies every so often (constant, intermittent...) and doesn't stop.

Moreover, the sound system (which previously had no residue) now makes a hum and crackles that sound electrical, as if the voltage varied or something... it goes on for about 10 minutes and then stops, and comes back after a while.

From where it's coming from, I think it must be either the power supply or the microprocessor... well, more likely the fans of one of these components...

These two are the ones that have been the hardest for me to clean because I don't know how to disassemble them. I know how to remove the power supply, but I can't open it and clean the fan, and the micro has like four "screws" that rotate and allow the fan to be lifted, but I don't know how to disassemble it to see if there's dirt inside... I'm starting to fear that my CPU has been damaged. If it's the power supply, no problem because it's not very expensive, but if it's the micro I'm screwed because they cost a fortune and I'm not exactly Rockefeller...

Any suggestions? I don't know if I should close this topic and open a new one in another sub-forum...

Thanks in advance, all suggestions are welcome!

[incrediboy]

if you have electrical noise in the speakers and I didn't have it before, I would say that your source isn't working too well. to find out where the noise is coming from, the easiest thing is to put one of these cardboard tubes from the kitchen paper on your ear and bring it closer to the source.

[phrono]

Well, I think it's one of two things... either I left something incorrectly connected and/or rubbing against a fan or my power supply is on the verge of failure... what should I put on it?

[CNCBCN]

Do you have the stock heatsink on the CPU?

[XRAYBoY]

I also had the problem of electrical noises and crackling in the speakers.
In my case, I got the 220v cable wrong and connected another source. It didn't fit well, it had some slack and crackled occasionally.
When the whole thing got hot, it was clear that something was expanding because it stopped doing so and it cost me a fortune to find out where it was coming from.
Sometimes (it happens quite often to me) it's the most trivial thing. In case it helps you...

[phrono]

Yes, the heatsink is the one that comes with the CPU, and I think what's making the noise is that, when I sprayed the compressed air, the dust that had accumulated between the heatsink and the CPU itself moved and is now rubbing against something, but since I have no idea how to disassemble it, I can't be 100% sure...

and it's true that it stops after a while... but there don't seem to be any loose or poorly connected cables... and nothing is rubbing either!

I'm going crazy with this... I think I'm going to have to take the computer to the store, they know how to disassemble the CPU and take a good look at it, even though it bothers me because they always take forever to return it to me... and while I'm there, I'll tell them to put a nice power supply in it, even if it costs more, and that it can handle the horsepower...

Anyway, thanks everyone! When I talk to the store and they tell me exactly what it is, I'll let you know...

[phrono]

Okay, I already know what it was: the power supply.

It wasn't completely broken yet, but it was on its last legs... I went to a trusted store and they recommended putting a more powerful one in (520, if I remember correctly), I changed it and... ta-da! the problem disappeared, both the electrical noises and the temperature spikes and slowdowns... my PC is working properly again!

However, I got myself a UPS, just in case... I don't trust voltage spikes. And I'm also thinking about putting a cooling system on the CPU and the graphics card, which are the parts that suffer the most in my computer... I'll look into it when I have some money.

Many thanks to everyone for the help, suggestions and advice... now, if any of the administrators can close the thread, we can consider it solved, even though in the end it had nothing to do with the graphics card...

That's it: Thank you very much!