Hardware, or software problem?

[Serio]

I've been having a problem lately. I don't know if it's just me lacking a proper understanding, or if it really is illogical. But basically, when I try to play some games, not all, the monitor will give a "No Signal" message and the fans will spin extremely fast. It doesn't happen on startup, nor on entering the game. It's only about five minutes into the gaming session. And it only happens to some games, for example:
Tropico 3 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Anno 1404 Simcity Societies

It does not, however, happen when playing:
Dragon Age: Origins Star Trek Online Borderlands Left 4 Dead 2
I've ruled out the RAM as being the culprit, along with outdated drivers and defect drivers. I did get a new GPU recently, which is when the problems began to occur. My specs;

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.40GHz
2.0GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 332MHz
1024MB GeForce GTS 250
500GB Seagate ST3500630AS
Realtek High Definition Audio

However, my current PSU is only 400W. I'm not entirely sure, but I think that might be the problem. So, thoughts? Is my conclusion correct, or will I need to reschool myself in hardware problems?

[Archangel]

Those Core 2 Quads, being pre-Corei7 architectures, can draw a decent bit of power for a CPU, and the Nvidia GT 2xx series is extremely well renowned for poor power efficiency and overheating, even though the GTS 250 is just a rebranded 9800GTX+.

With a 9800GTX+ and Intel Core 2 system, your total system power consumption is upwards of 300W. Given the amount of variables simply with the number of fans or LEDs you've got around, I'd be guessing that you're dangerously close to the margin for power consumption problems there. Given that your PSU is likely the default one that came with the case or PC, it also means it'll be a relatively cheap one with low efficiency (probably around 75%), so it will be operating with an alternating power output frequency between 300 and 500 Watts (25% of 400 = variance of 100).

If your system is freezing, the display is going dead and the fans are ramping up, that is certainly a hardware fault. It means either your system is hanging because the power draw is too great, or that your Graphics Card is failing and/or overheating, causing the system to hang, and the fan controller (likely being managed by your motherboard) is no longer operating, so the fans are getting full power as opposed to regulated power, hence the spinning extremely fast.

A failed GPU can lock up the rest of the system, causing the motherboard to fail and such, but it's slightly less likely to occur in comparison to the whole system hanging due to power draw problems. It's not too hard to tell if it's the overheating problem, though.

Just find a temperature monitoring program (Realtemp (http://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/), or Everest or Rivatuner if you want something more complex and... well, expensive), install it and run your games in window mode or the like so you can read the temperature of your Graphics Card. Above 70 in Celsius is pretty toasty, but the card should be able to survive. 80 in Celsius is a temperature I've never reached before, and that's when you would have some decent overheating errors.

I'm more inclined to say it's to do with system power consumption, though. If you know anyone with a PSU you can borrow that supplies about 600W, then that'd be great to test the problem, provided you know how to hook up and disconnect a PSU, otherwise you'd just have to take it to the shop and get an upgrade--then hope that your money was well spent.

[Serio]

Well, I got a new PSU installed. My temperatures dropped by 20c, and the power should be sufficient. But the problem still persists. I just can't seem to figure out what component (if any) is causing this. I had a similar problem after getting my 8800GT installed, but I fixed it by switching the Primary Video Adapter to PCI-Ex16 in the BIOS back then. From what I can find, this seems to be a common problem with newly installed GTS 250 cards, but I haven't been successful in finding a solution yet.

[Archangel]

Well, if your temperatures dropped by 20c, then yeah, means you were having some crazy power inefficiencies beforehand. I had a very similar thing a couple years back when I got myself an X1900GT. Good card; had worked fine in my brother's computer beforehand, but when it went in mine it just wouldn't go, and the temps were crazily high. Thing with not having enough power is that, for the duration of not having enough, it can stuff up your hardware for a duration of a more permanent variety.

It could just be the GTS250 you got was a bit dud, or it could be your motherboard dislikes it a whole bunch (Flashing your BIOS could have a very slim chance of helping). But it can also be that when you were playing those games that it crashed on, the power irregularities going through your GPU blew something or toasted something else.

If you have another PC handy (or a friend's or whatever), you can try installing the GTS250 in that along with the new PSU, and see if the crash still happens. Isolate the problem to whether it's the GPU by testing the GPU in multiple rigs. If it crashed in more than one, then it's more than likely the GPU. If not, then it doesn't seem to enjoy your own PC.

Then again, it can also just be entirely nonsensical. Nonsensical things have a tendency of happening. My NAS once wouldn't boot through BIOS properly when I gave it 2x2GB of RAM. Take out one stick and it worked. Switch that stick with the other one and it worked. Switch one of the sticks with a new one (same brand, mind), and put both in, and it worked. Since then I've been using the second 2GB stick that supposedly didn't work (and yet did work when it was all alone) in my HTPC, alongside another 2GB stick. Where is the sense? I dunno. But sometimes weird shit happens for no real reason.

[Nonsequitur]

I have a silly idea that might work... Check the connection from video card to monitor at both ends. My second silly idea is return your card and get a ATI.

You've checked the obvious stuff but still haven't identified the source of the problem. You should start running stress programs on each part to figure out what exactly is failing.

As Arc mentioned earlier you need to pick up a program to monitor temps and fan performance. Try Speed Fan http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php

You should try stressing your GPU and CPU seperately while watching temps.
For your GPU I recommend Folding@Home http://folding.stanford.edu/English/Download you just need to configure the program to work off your video card. If you encounter a heat or power issue you may get warning from speed fan of your OS.

For CPU testing you might try Prime95 http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft/ Select stress test and watch your temps.

One of these tests should reveal which component is failing. If it does things should sort out quickly. If not...

One more silly idea is to change the resolution and/or aspect on your monitor. what make and model is your monitor by the way?

[Serio]

The monitor is a wreck. It's a 22" LCD from the Finnish Yüsmart. The model is 229IP-P, of the type L22BW. Heck, you'd be lucky to find a picture of it online. I generally run games and applications in 1680x1050, as that's the native resolution, but I'll try lowering it for some of the games. Alternately, I have another monitor I could try connecting. It's smaller, but better quality than this one.

I should probably mention that Windows doesn't log any errors, hardware or software, when it happens. I still have sound, and it's not in a "loop" as I'd imagine with a complete computer crash.

And Nonsequitur, I'll try those tests if all else fails(I never imagined Folding@Home being useful for stress testing though).

EDIT: Well, I just finished playing Anno 1404 for nearly two hours with the other monitor. So far, no problems.

[Nonsequitur]

Folding@Home runs a lot of threads through the GPU simultaneously creating heat and sucking down power, but yes it won't check your shaders or anything like that. I started using because it was the simplest way to check temps on my card (No setting up logs or configuring programs to run in windowed mode).

Hopefully you just have a wack monitor. I had read somewhere that some cheap monitors would go tits up at certain resolutions and and aspect ratios. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

[Archangel]

Wouldn't make much sense for the monitor to run fine at desktop or in certain games, but to balls up when running other games.

Also wouldn't make much sense for the monitor to fail only after getting a new GPU.

[MyNameDidntFit]

Archy, my boy, if there's one thing I know about technology (and there likely is only one thing), it's that sense and it are not on speaking terms.

[Serio]

I think my system was enjoying being illogical. But I think I have a suspicion as to why it worked with the other monitor. I connected my Yüsmart, started Anno 1404, put the resolution to 1480x900. It ran for two and a half hours before crashing the system, with the sound in a loop. I set the resolution to 1680x1050, ran it for thirty minutes and crashed. The other monitor was much smaller, so the resolution was naturally lowered a great deal. It's either a coincidence, or there's a defect with the card, because I'm not the first person to have this problem with a rig containing the XFX version of the GTS 250.

[Archangel]

That's a bit more logical, there.

Well yeah, as I said, the temperature decrease you had after installing a new PSU is definitely a sign that your power could have been better. So nothing wasted there. But before you switched it out, the old one could have blown something on your card, or the card could have been faulty from day 1.

Either way, I'd see about replacing it with a friend's or another of your own GPUs to make sure the whole system still goes before forking out the cash for a new GPU. Just to be sure that it's not continuing to be completely illogical.

[Nonsequitur]

So what's up?

[Serio]

I haven't really been able to look into the problem much, as most people are on vacation this week. The GPU is new and still under warranty, so if it turns out to be a defect on the card, I'll be able to get it switched, but not until next week.