HD5670 Screen goes blank
 

Hi
I have been having problems getting Sims 2 to work on my desktop, works perfectly on Daughter's laptop, which is in for repair, hence the need to load on desktop
Problem is that after about one minute the screen goes blank and locks up the entire PC which then has to be switched off and on again.

I have replaced the original graphics card, which I thought was the problem, with a XFX Radeon HD 5670 which the man in the shop said was definitely capable of running Sims 2. After replacing the card, it has made absolutely no difference whatsoever. I did some more searching and found references to registry problems on Vista possibly being the issue, so I downloaded registry booster which found 746 problems, fixed them and then defragged the registry, made no difference whatsoever

I am now at a loss what to do next and getting loads of grief from my daughter who blames me everytime the PC crashes

system is Intel P4 3.2Ghz with 3 GB of RAM running Vista 32

Any help would be appreciated

Bill

Virus ALERT!

Thanks for taking the time to reply, but if you could elaborate

I have AVG loaded and frequently run Malwarebytes, neither are reporting any problems

did you remove the old driver for you old graphics card.. what type card you had in there before you replaced it

No.

If the computer is locking up hard after about a minute of gaming, might be a hardware issue like overheating. Is the computer free of dust? What brand and wattage power supply does it have? Have you monitored temperatures? I would install HWMonitor and take a screenshot of it with your temps. Also, maybe run the game for 30 seconds (or however long it takes just before it crashes) with HWMonitor running to see what your temps get up to.

http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

It was a Radeon X700 series came with the PC, I removed all of the old drivers, and I have installed and re-installed the new one

what Mainboard brand do you have and what other system spec........... had you updated DirectX software http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...dxwebsetup.exe

we need some more info on your psu and temps. fill in your system specs here http://forums.techpowerup.com/profile.php?do=specs

System specs are needed. Turn off VPU Recovery. The other problem is Windows Vista, Make sure motherboard drivers are updated to include direct X. Reseat the video card, ensure powersupply is able to power that card easily, If need be try the videocard in another machine that Meet the System Requirements as of power supply. Use catalyst 10.4a drivers

Attachment 36740

MW Monitor file attached the psu is FSP Group Fortron /Source
model fsp350-60MDN 50-60hz
DC output 350w

will try to monitor temps just before it crashes

power supply is under power you need 600 watt psu

My video card in system specs requires a 450Watt Unit, Rest Assured the 5670 needs more than that, Course I have a solid 500 watt unit. The Specs of that FSP PSU are under powered (350 Watt) and FSP is not very reliable as of terms of performance. It's like running a Ferrari Enzo on regular unleaded. The best thing anyone can do is search for the specific system requirements are for a component. Btw As per eXtreme Power Supply Calculator You will need a 500 watt Powersupply- Corsair, PC Power and Cooling, Antec, Enermax, Seasonic, Silverstone, Thermaltake all make strong units. XClio, FSP, Raidmax, and several others do not make the cut.

No it doesn't.
The 5670 is a rather efficient card that draws less than 70W under worst conditions.
PSUs like an Antec EA380 will do fine.

He might get away with it with a 350W if it delivers that power.
It depends on what other things he has in his rig.

If it is the PSU problem, than i think you should try a Wattage calculator in internet.
All you can do is downclocking everything possible and try out how it will work, cuz overclocking sucks a bit of power from the PSU. Try it in bios for the CPU and with riva tuner for the card. Either way i don't really think it is the PSU problem. How did the x700 card perform before?
5670 card really doesn't take any real power from the PSU.
Downclock will definitively help you

Well lets see. Some problems may be( these may be the problems)....Something with the drivers. Your psu is not enough for the card. You have installed it incorrectly. A bad install of sims 2. Your card is overheating. I'm going to probably say that it's your psu as if you take in the fact of capacitor aging and P4 use quite alot of juice, im guessing your psu is not sufficient for your system. I suggest buying a new powersupply from a good brand such as Corsair, Gigabyte, Thermaltake. You won't need a good one, only one that costs around $60 and is atleast 500+ with a 6 pin power connector so you know FOR SURE it won't black screen again. It's very easy to install a new powersupply and only takes 5-10mins!- 1nf3rn0x And also to check if it's your powersupply, download something like furmark. IT will push your card to the limits in power draw and termperature (it won't explode) and if your pc shuts off or black screens IT'S DEFINITELY THE PSU.

*Always read the Manuals Requirements for the video card, that includes the wattage of the Power Supply You need, Also the Radeon 1950 Pro required atleast a 450 watt powersupply and so I already had a 500 watt Antec Neo HE which runs great to this day, at the Time I got the 500 watt Antec it was $90 USD on the shelves (2006).

Apologies for delay in coming back, after the latest crash when I was checking what happened to the temperature just before crashing, I couldn't log back into the forum. Anyway a few answers to things that have been raised and thanks to everyone

Just before the system crashed there was no change to the readings on HWM
Everything for Vista is up to date including Direct X
All drivers are up to date
I have vacummed the inside of the PC
The X700 worked OK other than for Sims, although the screen is now clearer with the new card
I have installed and re-installed Sims, also Sims works perfect o daughter's laptop

My local store that is open tomorow sells, CIT, Powercool, Highpower and Atrix PSUs, any recommendations

I think I replaced the PSU about two years ago and did not spend a great deal on replacement so probably do need to replace

Again thanks for all of your help

As far as i know they're all the 'avoid' brands. I've had an atrix one in the past that was fine reliability wise, but only really could output around 60% of it's rated before it squealed like a hamster in a trouser press. If you can afford the day or two wait, order something like an antec psu (even if just one of the basiq branded ones). I'm sure some of the others can send you some links to good ones :)

Side of the box says 400w power supply required, so again PSU looks favourite

indeed, although my cousin has a dual core with a hd4670 on his no brand generic 350w psu. However it is much newer than your p4 era psu, so i agree that is the most probable cause. Download something like 3dmark06 and run it, if it crashes then it's not just the sims that is the problem :)

Well also you have to compensate for the other system requirements, reason I say the 500 watt is they should be very cheap now, I mean 4 years ago my PSU on the shelves was less than 100 dollars.

Even a 18$ PSU which says 550W is really good. So you wont go spending a fortune cuz you don't really use a lot of wattage. Companies which are to avoid are not that bad, really. Especially if you don't want to spend 100$ or even more. One important thing, that everyone forgot to mention, is that 5670 does not need a PCI-E 6 or 8 pin connector which makes you go for cheap PSUs. PSUs with the connector usually cost 40$ or more.
The max wattage 5670 uses is 75W just for instance (OC).
Another problem which you would have, but this is not a real problem, is that 5670 uses PCI-E 2.0 technology and considering that you have P4 than it makes me think that you have PCI-E 1.0. That makes the 5670 take half of bandwidth, making the card not as powerful as you would think, but no prob cuz 1.0 and 2.0 are compliant with each other.

Just wait until one of your cheap PSU's fry on you. I never thought it would happen to me until it did. Took the motherboard with it.

Just a question for me to be safe.... How much did it take to fry? I have mine since 4 years :P

Well, you have a good one then. It took about a day for the 500w I had. I was playing a game, then all of a sudden black smoke was coming out of the back of the PSU. It looked really cool!