Graphics locking up in 3D computer games (video card problem?)

Factual Questions
1

I understand this is not a tech forum, and I don’t expect a clear solution to arise here, but, just in case the issues I’m having sound familiar to anyone, perhaps someone can point me in the right direction.

Technical details:
Operating system: Windows XP, SP 2
Video Card: NVidia GeForce FX 5200
… I’m not sure what other information would help. I’ll happily list anything anyone asks for, provided I can find it.

Problem:
While playing World of Warcraft, I started having problems with the game freezing for up to a full minute at a time. I at first blamed the lousy wireless signal I was getting at my family’s house, but after I came back home to my usual wired connection, the problem continued. I then blamed the gigantic new patch I had to install (I hadn’t played the game yet since several months before the new expansion came out). Later, after giving up with the solutions Blizzard’s tech support offered, I went to play The Sims 2, and I was having the same problems there as well. Whatever the issue is, it seems to be with my computer and not a specific game.

(I’m also having problems with Spore [the game won’t even load anymore, even after a complete reinstall], and Google Earth [similar episodes of locking up], but I’m not sure if those are related or not. I did learn, after the fact, that my video card is just under Spore’s minimum requirements, but that doesn’t explain how I managed to play it just fine for months beforehand).

Given that these games all worked fine before, but aren’t now, I’m guessing something had to have happened to my computer. Some change I made or what, I don’t know. Unfortunately, I don’t have any idea what it could be. My workload during last semester was crazy, so I didn’t really touch of any these games then. That’s several months during which this problem could have arisen.

For the record, I have updated my drivers–video and sound–as well as DirectX. I’ve checked frequently, making sure there wasn’t anything I missed. Neither EA or Blizzard tech support has been able to help, but their solutions are understandably centered around the games, not some higher problem with my own computer. It seems to me that maybe my video card is having trouble (or even just completely shot?). A friend tried loaning me a card he wasn’t using, but I wasn’t able to get it into my computer–it’s some fancy one that apparently needs a power source plugged directly into the card? Idunno. I’m not that technologically inclined, I’m afraid. Decent graphics cards look a bit pricey, so I’d really like to know if that’s definitely my problem or not before I go off and buy a new one.

So… I don’t suppose anyone is familiar with this kind of problem? Any help that you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

2

Does the card have a fan? Is it working? Are the computer’s CPU and case fans working?

BTW many if not most modern medium and all high end video cards need auxiliary power from the PSU.

3

I will second this question. A graphics card that is overheating can certainly cause the framerates to drop substantially, going from a slideshow to a full-on hang. It can even crash the system.

The fan does not need to be entirely dead for this to happen. If it is gunked up with dust or running slowly because it is worn, it can also lead to overheating. The problem probably would not show itself for normal 2D applications because in those cases, the heatsink alone is enough to dissipate the heat.

4

The card does not have a fan. Unless it’s a very, very small one that I missed. The two fans in my computer itself seem to be working alright. One of them will rattle now and then with dust buildup, but some compressed air and wipes usually take care of that easily enough. My computer, and thus, the card, are about 5 years old now. The card was decent for gaming back then, but is more than likely a bit under-par nowadays. But still, these games were working fine at the end of summer last year, but suddenly having problems when I resumed play in December. I could see increased graphical demands being an issue in the case of World of Warcraft, but I never made any changes to The Sims 2, so there’s no reason for that game to be showing the same symptoms.
ETA: Just read JKilez’s post more closely. Maybe I simply haven’t removed enough dust from the computer’s fans, and they’re finally overgunked after all these years? It’s worth a shot, though I admit I’ve never really been able to open up their cases, and I’m a bit wary of doing so. I’m always paranoid I’ll screw something up royally when I get inside my computer.

I’ll also see if I can do some testing to determine if the freezing correlates to times when the computer’s fans sound like they’re working harder or not. I can’t remember if that’s the case or not (I know that with WoW, the fans are almost always working a bit harder, but that’s not necessarily the case with The Sims).

5

It’s possible that background services are also to blame. If cleaning doesn’t seem to work, try running msconfig and making sure only services and programs you want to be runnning are being loaded up.

Is this only happening when playing games? Or does the desktop/office software also appear sluggish?

6

I haven’t noticed an issue with anything but the programs mentioned in the OP (definitely The Sims 2 and World of Warcraft, probably Google Earth, and maybe Spore). I’ve had to use MS Office stuff pretty often throughout last semester and this, and all of those programs seem to be running just fine (I’m not running Office 2007, if that makes a difference. I’m a stubborn luddite who doesn’t want to get used to the new interface yet. Same goes for Internet Explorer 7).

I’ll definitely attempt the cleaning this weekend. That, or convince someone who’s more used to poking around in computers to open up those fans for me, if I chicken out/can’t get them open myself.

Thanks everyone, for the helpful suggestions. I was afraid this thread would sink, without a single response. I love this board.

7

My .02 cents worth… this card is inadequate to most of the games you are trying to run.

Office and such are not trying to render 3d objects on the fly on a second to second basis, basic onboard video is more than up to the task for them. Just for compison I have a few low end motherboards here with GeForce 7050 and 7100 chipsets built in. These are not high end boards.

8

Sir Dirx,

With the discovery that your graphics card may not be up to spec, perhaps it’s time for a possible upgrade?

I’ve sent you a personal message.

9

If the cleaning doesn’t do it, you may wish to attempt subbing in a different video card and see if the problem follows the card or the copy of Windows.

10

If his graphics card is that old, it may well be AGP, and he’ll find it difficult to upgrade.

11

I’ll second (or fourth or whatever it is) the possibility that your video card might be overheating. There’s a free utility called Speedfan that can tell you the temperature of your hard drives, your video cards, and other things (depending on which have thermocouples). I’ve found that if my video card (they call it “core”) gets above 50 degrees C, my computer will probably crash.

12

While it may indeed be a bit inadequate, it doesn’t explain why the games were working just fine in August, and then when I tried them again in December they were not. I had never had any graphics problems with either The Sims 2 or World of Warcraft.

I wanted to try that, but so far, the only friend with a spare card has one that doesn’t seem to work in my PC–needs a power source to plug directly into the card, and I’m fairly certain I don’t have that. Otherwise, yeah, that’s the first thing I thought of, to see if the problem was with my card or somewhere else on my computer.

13

Honestly, since cards like you have are basically garbage in today’s PC ecosystem, I’d suggest asking on craigslist for anyone willing to sell you an equivalent card for $5-10 or whatever.
Time is money.

14

The reason why games could work one month and not the next is simply a matter of efficient heat dissipation.

Heatsinks do the job just fine, but once you get a layer of dust on them, it acts similar to a blanket, and makes it that much harder to dissipate the heat from the GPU core.

However, since you mentioned that you blew out the computer with a can of compressed air, that may not be your problem. Have you tried cleaning out the heatsink vents on your graphics card?

15

Or maybe your card is simply dying. It is 5 years old, you said.
**Get a new card. ** A quick check of ebay shows the Geforce 5200 for $10-20. Possibly you could pick one of those up and pop it in. If the problem persists, at least you’re only out a small amount of cash.

Other options:
Reinstall your CPU fan/heatsink. Graphic applications (games) are going to tax the CPU more than MS Office is. It’s possible your thermal paste is old and cruddy and not transferring heat to the heatsink/fan as efficiently anymore. You could get a tube of thermal paste, take the heatsink off, clean the old thermal paste off, put new thermal paste on, and put the heatsink back on. Thermal paste usually runs $5-10 at most.
**Through cleaning. ** Remove all your cards, drives, etc, THEN thoroughly clean out the case with compressed air. Get some cotton swabs and use them to clean the blades of all the fans you can find (dust and dirt tends to stick to fan blades and compressed air won’t remove it).
**Reformat. ** Backup your important stuff, wipe your hard drive, and reinstall your Windows and all programs. This might help if it’s a software issue or a change you made to your system.
**Get a new computer. ** Your comp is 5 years old, and even if you fix this issue, you’ll likely have others in the near future. Computer parts don’t last forever, and your system is definitely nearing the end of its lifespan. Not everyone has the money for even a budget system though, so it may be a last resort for you.

16

One thing to look for when a card is under suspicion: look at the electrolytic capacitors to see if any of them have blown.

They often have a very small Y-shaped incision in the top of the can, which provides a failure point (intentional) if the capacitor is ready to blow.

If you see a little brown blob at the center of the Y, then the capacitor is likely bad. Don’t bother trying to replace it, just get a new card.

17

Are you sure? External power for a videocard is typically the same cable/connector as what’s powering your 3.5" floppy drive. Do you have a spare 4 pin molex connector anywhere in the bundle of wires coming from your power supply? If so, just get a molex->floppy power cable, and you should be good to go.