I have purchased the 7600 GS OC 512MB video card from Nvidia and have been experiencing lock ups and auto-reboot issues when playing CounterStrike-Source. The machine is completely stable during normal operations but crashes after about 15 minutes of playing Counterstrike-Source. Most of the time it sounds like a power spike and then a reboot, however, there have been times when the screen locks up and I am forced to do a manual reboot. I recently upgraded my motherboard to allow for my AGP card to operate at 8X. The motherboard is a Mercury PS661 FXM-L SIS661FX Socket 478 ATX w/Video, Snd. The CPU is a P4 3.0MHz. Other than the graphics card, there are no other ports being used. The audio and Ethernet is built in to the MB. The MB brand is certainly in question, however it seems like I am very limited if I want to use the 478 Chipset MB and AGP 8X. At the time of purchasing the video card I also purchased a 400Watt power supply. I have tried some of the Steam suggested fixes (No-Sound, Play in Window option) but still experience the problem. I flashed the Bios for the MB which brought it up to 2004 levels. I’m still looking for a more up to date Bios for the MB. The CPU and GPU are running well within their specified temperature ranges. The CPU runs around 35C and the GPU around 45C. The MB system temp is around 26C. Based on Windows and a few other diagnostics software programs there are no IRQ conflicts. I’m about to purchase a 600Watt power supply. I’m thinking it could be a low power issue caused when the graphics card goes into an intensive 3D modeling mode. Maybe it pulls too much power and the overall drop is causing the crash. Nvidia recommends at least a 350Watt power supply. However, with a Zalman 9500 CPU fan and 4 other system fans running I may be pulling too much power. Any thoughts on what may be the issue ?? -Landshark
A high amount of watts doesn't mean that the power supply is good. What power supply do you have? (brand) Also, have a look at this thread.
My power supply is a cheap CompUSA brand 400watt unit. it might be the root cause. I've ordered a brand name 600watt unit to swap out. I'll check out the site. Thanks! -Landshark
