So I guess I'll have to post my computer related problems here.

I have a problem with my new-ish computer that is really quite pissing me off. I got this thing in January for $1000, it's custom made and quite good. It runs all the newest games (that don't use DX10 or physx cards that is) at pretty much top performance, and I'm quite happy with it. However, it has a big problem with heat, it seems.

I recently bought Oblivion (finally), and suspiciously that was the same time when the computer started acting up. It also probably has to do with the summer heat, though. Anyway, whenever I play a game, anything fairly processor intensive, it seems to overheat and just freeze even when I play for only half an hour. It has a few different crash 'styles', if you will. One, it simply freezes instantly and makes a very loud, startling noise. Two, it will simply shut down instantly and restart on its own. Or third, it will give me the blue screen of death. It's really pissing me off, as I can't play any of my games for more than half an hour at a time, and I bought it so I would be able to finally play newer games. It's very weird that it would overheat though, as this thing has 4 fans on it in and a vent. It can't be a virus either, as I have an antivirus program that tells me it's all quite clean in there.

Any ideas? I need help.

What kind of vid card do you have?

GeForce 8800 or 8600, I believe. I can't really remember. It's behaved perfectly fine all through winter until now.

Have you de-dusted the innards of the computer? Like, gone into all the nooks and crannies, especially where the processor sits, and cleaned all the dust out?

A few weeks ago, I took probably two fist-sized balls of dust out of my processor area, and it solved a similar problem.

I can see into my computer and there is no dust in there. I'll try de-dusting it with an air compressor at some point soon though. Maybe I'll be surprised. :[

Seen it often enough that the antivirus program is attacked first. You could scan from a Knoppix CD or another boot CD to be sure.

But it does sound more like a hardware problem. Perhaps the fans aren't positioned correctly and trap the hot air inside. Did you monitor the temperature?

Be sure you haven't turned down the rpm of the fans too much.

Make sure the video card (And everything else for that matter) is connected and seated properly. Also make sure the video card's fan is spinning good. It's not unheard of for a fan to be dead on arrival.

I would definitely check your CPU temps in the BIOS. If they are high, (70C + ) remount the CPU HSF.

How do I get to the BIOS? (I don't even know what that is .()

When you first turn on your PC, you have to press a certain button. Usually F2 or Delete. There is usually a message that says something like "Press <key> to enter setup".

The motherboard should support some sort of a PC health monitor you could use to check the temperature also in Windows. It should be on the driver / software cd that comes with the motherboard. Or check the manufacturer's web page for downloads if your dog ate the cd.

Also, if your tower sits in a nook in a computer desk, especially if the door is closed, it could be trapping hot air in the nook.

It does indeed sit in a nook. There's nowhere else to put it, sadly.

I installed a fan in my room, hopefully that'll keep the temperature down to a reasonable level. Excitement in Zell's life: Installing window fans!

The temperature is about 45 degrees celsius. This makes no sense. All of my games still freeze and/or crash within 10 minutes of playing. This is really pissing me off.

Reinstall drivers..?

I've had this happen before, the fan stopped spinning, and *poof*.

Definitely. I've always considered those computer cabinets to be for low-end machines that tend to run cooler than most gaming rigs.

I used to keep a gaming rig inside one of those cabinets and I noticed a huge increase in stability once I provided better ventilation.

BTW, why is *** ( Q.F.T. , without the periods) censored? Last time I checked, it meant Quoted for Truth.

I put it in my last post on this thread but had to swap it out for something else.

Because about two years ago, people were way overusing it, causing the mods to censor it.

You must learn to love QFBTWIWGTS.

Funny how those two words solved all my problems. I did that, and voila, it all works now. I just played a good 3 hours of one game without it crashing. Thank you so much.