Is this bad and should i return the card?

[Fozma]

I realise this isn't a support forum but i would be really grateful to anyone who can give me some quick advise.
I built my computer about 6 months ago and i have recently been experiencing random crashes even when the computer is idle. The Northbridge fan was making strange noises so i replaced it and things improved slightly - however it still crashes after about 10 minutes of playing a game :bang head (but it no longer crashes when idle/minimal system load. I ran memtest, prime95, 3d benchmark all without errors.

However i looked at the temperature statistics in PC Wizard:

http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/8600/pcwizardpu4.png

Is this bad? I heard temperatures above 50 o c can cause your system to hang. Thanks for any help in advance! :)

edit: here is system summary if that helps:

<<< System Summary >>>

> Mainboard : MSI K8 Neo4 (MS-7125)

> Chipset : nVidia nForce4

> Processor : AMD Athlon 64 3000+ @ 1800 MHz

> Physical Memory : 1024 MB (2 x 512 DDR-SDRAM )

> Video Card : Nvidia Corp GeForce 6600 GT

> Hard Disk : HDS728080PLAT20 (82 GB)

> DVD-Rom Drive : TSSTcorp DVD-ROM SH-D162C

> CD-Rom Drive : GENERIC FREECOM24B

> Monitor Type : V7 L17MB - 17 inchs

> Network Card : ADMtek AN983 FastNIC PCI 10/100 Fast Ethernet Adapter

> Operating System : Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 5.01.2600 Service Pack 2

> DirectX : Version 9.0c

Another possibility that i've just thought of is that it's the Northbridge that is still causing the problem, possibly because i havn't installed the new fan correctly (thermal paste not spread out well or something).

[fabulouscoops]

welcome to the forums.

The vid card temps do not seem that bad but I would be concerned about your voltages. 13.56 volts on the 12 volt line is out of spec.

[Fozma]

Heh thanks. :-D

Would that be caused by a faulty power supply or is the whole motherboard kaput?

I ran 3dmark for 5 minutes and the GPU temperatures shot up to over 70 o c: is this still normal?

Also after crashing i sometimes get a windows error report thing which says that the hang up was caused by a driver problem.

[fabulouscoops]

Video cards can take higher temps than CPUs. 70 is still not bad under heavy load. I don't think your motherboard is bad either.

A PSU 13% off the rated values is probably the cause of your crashes. What brand is it and what is the wattage? We should concentrate there first.

[jivetrky]

Yep, if that reading is accurate, that's kinda high. Get a hold of a Digital Multimeter (DMM) and test the 12v Rails. Just put the probes into one of the Molex Harddrive power connectors. Put the Red probe on the yellow wire, and the balck probe on the black wire right next to it. Then read the voltage of it.
If it really is in the 13's then get a new PSU!

EDIT: And BTW, I doubt that the problem is with your Video Card. For a 6600GT mid to high 50's for temps aren't bad.
Also your Northbridge temp is pretty good too. 40c is pretty decent for Nforce4 chipset.

[rainless]

Definately a powersupply thing, but check out his motherboard TEMP! 40 DEGREES!

My ancient A7N8X-E usually runs around 34 when it's hot and 28 at idle. That temp could be caused by your power supply as well...

[jivetrky]

But this is a different chipset. NForce4 ...and mine would idle in the mid 40's and load in the upper 40's and even low 50's

[Fozma]

welcome to the forums.

The vid card temps do not seem that bad but I would be concerned about your voltages. 13.56 volts on the 12 volt line is out of spec.

Hmm the thing is the figure for the 12 volt line that CoreCenter (an MSI utility) gives is 11.90. Apart from for the 12 volt line the figures are the same. I'm not sure which program is more reliable.

[fabulouscoops]

The point is that it can fluctuate. If all the other values are the same than just use one program that can monitor in real time and watch to see if the voltage changes during times of peak usage like using hard drives and dvd player and something on the USB at the same time as the vid card is stressed.