Fallout crashing my computer

[phoneyLogic]

Yep, thats pretty much possible. You should check the values under stress.

How long should I run the game before checking?

This should happen really fast, maybe 2 or 3 minutes - better 5.

[Timzor]

Okay, after playing for a little over 5 minutes, these were the results.

 

http://i37.tinypic.com/sfi39x.jpg

[spammster]

well time for me *yay*

 

the idle temps are already kinda high (50°C is way to much for idle, preferably that should be around 30° (so slightly above room temp.)

 

70°C is the MAX. temp. an Intel Core 2 Duo should suffer (65°C actually should result in an annoying beeping noise warning you that your CPU temp is critically high) (90°C for 30 seconds equals a 100% chance that the CPU will die)

 

so I actually don't think its Fallout 3 thats crashing your System (its a notebook right ?, they always got heat issues) its the emergency shutdown.

 

btw. your graphic card is too hot as well.

 

a good tool for Stress testing would be prime95 (the newer versions support dual and quad core)

 

also stress testing is done for normally at least 3 hours to get a real idea what the max. heat production is.

 

5 minutes is nothing, the temp. will increase quite fast for 30 minutes and afterwards it will increase slower and after about 3 hours you reach a temperature thats pretty much the max. temp of the system.

 

If you use smart fan don't (cool'n quiet etc.) change that setting so that at least the cpu cooler is running @ 100% all the time.

[Timzor]

Yeah, it's a notebook. It's the only computer I've got.

 

Okay, I've downloaded Prime95. I guess I can leave it running overnight, and report the results later.

 

Though, you seem pretty sure there's a heat problem already.

 

Is there anything to be done about that?

 

I don't believe I'm using "smart fan" or any kind of fan control program. Should I look into downloading one so I can increase the fan speed?

[spammster]

Yeah, it's a notebook. It's the only computer I've got.

 

Okay, I've downloaded Prime95. I guess I can leave it running overnight, and report the results later.

 

Though, you seem pretty sure there's a heat problem already.

 

Is there anything to be done about that?

 

I don't believe I'm using "smart fan" or any kind of fan control program. Should I look into downloading one so I can increase the fan speed?

 

don't run it overnight, if its that bad after 5 minutes, I'm guessing you reach temps around 85° after 1-2 hours. that gonna cause heat death.

 

smart fan etc. usually is a bios setting one does normally not need an additional program for it (though there might be OEM software that allows you to change settings from within windows)

[Timzor]

Won't my computer shut down if it gets too hot, like it does for Fallout? So, how long should I run it for? And do you know how I can increase the fan speed? And whether I should?

[phoneyLogic]

The point is, if there is a really serious problem with your cooler / fans, then you don't need to stress your PC several hours to get it overheated. This would take just a view minutes and boom. Of cause, sometimes you need to test it over hours.

 

What you can do is opening your Notebook (if it would be possible) and have a look, if there is everything fine, clean and not covered by stuff (to get an air flow). - Be very carefull, I don't know how it works on Notebooks)

 

At least it might be better to let it check by someone who knows what he / she is doing.

 

Also, you may get hints from Bben46s greate guide about how to Clean up your PC.

http://thenexusforums.com/index.php?showtopic=159534

 

Another question:

Does it only happen with Fallout or with other games as well?

[csb]

There are docking stations for notebooks that provide extra cooling. But I suspect that Fallout3 is going to overly stress your notebook, regardless of what you do (well, barring installing a forced-air cooling system typically found in large-scale server farms).

 

Christmas is coming ... maybe your fairy godmother or Santa or someone will see fit to get you a proper PC for gaming. Hints sometimes work ... God knows my kids dropped enough of them. :biggrin:

[Timzor]

The point is, if there is a really serious problem with your cooler / fans, then you don't need to stress your PC several hours to get it overheated. This would take just a view minutes and boom. Of cause, sometimes you need to test it over hours.

 

What you can do is opening your Notebook (if it would be possible) and have a look, if there is everything fine, clean and not covered by stuff (to get an air flow). - Be very carefull, I don't know how it works on Notebooks)

 

At least it might be better to let it check by someone who knows what he / she is doing.

 

Also, you may get hints from Bben46s greate guide about how to Clean up your PC.

http://thenexusforums.com/index.php?showtopic=159534

 

Another question:

Does it only happen with Fallout or with other games as well?

 

 

Okay... I'll test it during a time when I can keep an eye on it.

 

I'll see about cleaning it out... hopefully, I won't end up breaking it entirely.

 

There are other games besides Fallout?

It's my drug of choice at the moment, so I really haven't tried any others. I can try running Portal for a while, I guess.

 

There are docking stations for notebooks that provide extra cooling. But I suspect that Fallout3 is going to overly stress your notebook, regardless of what you do (well, barring installing a forced-air cooling system typically found in large-scale server farms).

 

Christmas is coming ... maybe your fairy godmother or Santa or someone will see fit to get you a proper PC for gaming. Hints sometimes work ... God knows my kids dropped enough of them. :biggrin:

 

My Christmas is going to consist entirely of an iPhone. So that's out.

 

If Fallout is just inherently stressful for my computer, why have I been able to play it for months now--for long stretches at a time--without having this problem?

 

*edit*

 

So, you said that 70 is the highest it should go, huh? After literally a few seconds of the stress test, I was getting these readings.

 

http://i38.tinypic.com/35335u9.jpg

 

It didn't crash, or beep, or stop the test or anything, though. I just stopped it myself, and it went back to normal.

 

So what does this mean?

[spammster]

it means the cooling that was built in is cr*p.

 

I got the same issue with my notebook (though its the reason i stopped playing games on it, there was a way i avoided massive overheating) my notebook got the cooler below it (always smart, to cause massive overheating even in idle mode) so i just put something below it (usually a pack of cigs or something) so that i get a nice airflow going, which keeps my notebooks temp @ around 65° after several hours of gameplay, so it doesn't cause permanent damage.

 

but you should have a look at cleaning it.

 

tip though, read the manual that came with the notebook carefully, notebooks are a pain to open and clean.

 

for a good look you prolly have to remove the keyboard (normally you do that by removing 2-3 screws from the bottom of the notebook, then use a screwdriver to push these small black thingys holding the keyboard in place back and then you carefully lift the keyboard out of the frame (CAREFULLY, in case you missed a screw etc. also the keyboard uses one of these green cable thingys to connect to the notebook, so if you pull to fast you rip that one out and it can take forever to get it back in.)

 

best way to clean it is using Q-tips first round use dry ones to get the large chunks of dirt and when you're done with that make em wet (not dripping) and clean it all again. when you're done with that place the notebook in a warm room (preferably next to a heater etc. or if you have to blowdry it for a couple minutes (careful not to overheat anything)) to get rid of the excess water.

 

you should always be careful with electronics and fluids though on the other side, i did carry my notebook in a bagpack on a plane together with a bottle of vodka and the bottle broke, so the notebook was literally swimming in alcohol for about an hour, yet after 3 hours of blowdrying and watching the notebook puke vodka out of the DVD-drive its still working (though the DVD drives laser was ruined and theres spots on the LCD now) so electronics can survive fluids but best not to try it (srsly. that replacement drive was like 150 €).

 

also you might wanna check if the heat conduction paste is still in place (there should be a very thin film of a silverish metal paste on the CPU below the cooler, if there is literally none you got yourself the reason for the problem (though its unlikely that there is none, notebooks get build by machines and they usually don't skip anything)

 

towards your crash/beep question etc. that normally is BIOS settings as well, your notebook might now have them or they are disabled by default etc. (OEM notebooks have horrible BIOS versions) however they all have a emergency shutdown.

 

so have a look at your bios and see if there are fan settings (easiest way to fix cool'n quiet etc. if you can't disable it is changing the temp. levels. simply set max. cooling to a start-temp of like 35°, then the cooler will always work fulltime)

 

you could also try to underclock the CPU (in case you have no clue what i mean: instead of making the CPU faster and thus incrasing the temp. and risking system instabilities, force the CPU to work slower, this will decrease the temperature development (however it will also slow down the system))