Driver Problems

[Cernos]

How did you go about working out it was your PSU? 

Process of elimination really. Swapped the gfx card for an old one, same prob, ran with one mem stick then the other, same problem, removed sound card, same problem and so on. Eventually I dug out a ropey old emergency PSU I had tucked away in a cupboard and tried that, and despite the PSU being horribly under-rated for my system it ran 100% stable so it pointed to the PSU being the problem. Got that replaced and everything back to normal.

As for your fans, I'm sure they're going to be blowing the right way but worth checking of course. The side fan could legitimately run either way, either as a blowhole to extract hot air, or as a method for blowing extra cool air onto the GPU. Which is best depends on the airflow inside your case (I'd probably leave it the way it's already mounted).

It's unlikely to be your CPU overheating if you have an aftermarket cooler and it has been fine up to now (assuming it is still properly fastened down).

[Saxif]

I played again, this time with the side of the case on and it took longer to crash but it still did when it hit about 85'C.  The GPU that is, I dled this http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php and it tells me all other components are at least 10'C or more cooler than my GPU.  Not sure why Demigod makes my GPU work so hard tbh.

Played some more with fan speed at 80% and case off, didn't crash in about 2 hours. 

My CPU fan is a sexy bit of kit  http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Zalman-CNPS9500-AT-Intel-LGA775-Aero-Flower-Cooler

Sax.

[Cernos]

I played again, this time with the side of the case on and it took longer to crash but it still did when it hit about 85'C.  The GPU that is, I dled this http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php and it tells me all other components are at least 10'C or more cooler than my GPU. 

Hmm, so does this mean that your CPU and/or motherboard are running at 75'C under load? If so, this is too hot.

[Saxif]

When my gfx card is running at 75'C after playing for maybe a couple hours, my CPU runs at 40'C on both cores and my mobo is logging 30'C.  I'd like to work out a way to keep my gfx card cool, I am sure running my fan on it at high speeds won't do any damage but I need my window open just to keep the room cool enough to stop the pc getting to hot atm which is silly imo.

Sax.

[Cernos]

Your CPU and MB temps are perfectly fine. GPU temp seems slightly high but not excessive. My GT260 runs at around 63'C when under heavy load.

If your gfx card worked fine with your cooling system for some months and now doesn't I think it is a warning sign that things are beginning to go wrong with it. Yes you can boost your cooling with extra fans or higher fan speeds, but there's probably an underlying problem you need to address. I'd research what the normal operating temp for your card should be and perhaps talk to Scan about why it is falling over under your normal cooling.

[Saxif]

You pretty much nailed what I intend to do Cern, dunno if you have come across it but I also use Guru 3D for pc advice (don't feel like I am cheating on you or anything ;p).  I also find googling problems helps cos whatever has gone wrong has always gone wrong for someone else first.  Being bank holiday I'll phone Scan on Tuesday (which incidently I have off as a priviliage day being a Civil Servant .

Cheers,

Sax.

[Saxif]

Ok, a further update, apparently (and obviously when you think about it) fan speed should increase with temperature, my GPU fan speed according to EVGA Precision Tool stays at 40% all the time I checked by playing Dead Space for 20 mins then checking out the graphs.  This I reckon is part of the problem.  I also installed a further side fan that pulls hot air out from around my gfx card, this further helps regulate temps.  Whilst playing Dead Space I didn't clock above about 55'C, this is with the case closed up but the extra fan and the fan speed set at 60%.

So I think part fo the problem was the gfx card isn't speeding up the fan when it gets hot and I didn't have a fan next to the gfx card to keep it cool.  This is something I will continue to monitor though.  Is this a good enough reason to ask for a replacement do you think?

Sax.

edit - It might stay at about 55'C whilst playing Dead Space but Demigod still cranks it up to 80'C

[Cernos]

Ah, if your gfx card fan is stuck at 40% then this could well be the cause of the problems. The fan speed should ramp up under load. If it isn't doing so this could either be an issue with the drivers, or it might be an issue with the card's firmware, or it might be that the fan controller on the card has gone wrong and so it isn't providing feedback to the driver (I would imagine that 40% is the default speed).

If you can manually set the fan speed to something faster via the EVGA Precision Tool then this should prevent the crashes. But it's not ideal as the card should do all this automatically. Unless it is a known driver issue then I would think it would be reasonable grounds for a replacement, as your card wasn't doing this when new, or otherwise you'd had had crashes from new.

[Saxif]

Ye, kinda what I thought.  I have been messing with drivers recently, but afaik I have done the businiess right.  Still I'll phone Scan and see what I can get out of them.

Sax.