Vista - Call of Duty 4 Freezes and pixels go strange

G'day guys,

I'm using a NVIDIA 9500GT with a VGA (blue cable) monitor. When I play Call of Duty 4 Multiplayer, I'll be playing for around 10-45 minutes, and the game will freeze. The pixels on my monitor will go a strange green, purple and other colours. After that, I'll have to manually push the reset button to reboot the computer.

Also, with The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, sometimes (after around 15-20 minutes of playing) I'll fast travel, or open a door (ie load another area) and it will load. After the load screen is over, the game will freeze and get the strange pixels like above.

Thanks.
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CPU: AMD Phenom 8650 Triple-Core Processor 3.20GHz
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9500GT 1GB
Motherboard: M2N68-CM
RAM: 4GB
Power Supply: ASUS ATX-450D
Wattage:
MAX: 400W
PEAK: 450W

Voltages and temperatures:

CPU Temp: 38c/100F
MB Temp: 34c/93F
CPU FAN SPEED: Around 3214RPM
VCORE Voltage 1.344V
3.3 Voltage 3.312V
SV Voltage 5.068V
12V Voltage 12.099V
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UPDATE!

I went to Computer > Manage > Event Viewer > Error

Faulting application iw3mp.exe, version 0.0.0.0, time stamp 0x4859a219, faulting module nvd3dum.dll, version 7.15.11.8120, time stamp 0x4954a4ce, exception code 0xc0000005, fault offset 0x0021b809, process id 0xa68, application start time 0x01c96ca7ef36b423.

Quite possibly the error logged for the issue. I am unsure if it's the error from the freeze.

sounds like your GFX card is overheating to me..???

are you monitoring GPU temps..??, whats the inside of your case like, i.e ...fan config & cable management..??



SK

Thanks for the reply.

I've got heatsink, and I am not OC'ing (overclocking) anything. I've taken the side of the tower off, that does nothing. Perhaps it is faulty, or the PSU is too weak?

I am not monitoring those, no program such as RiverTuner is detecting the device. My case is tidy.

Thanks.

please use this app to monitor your card temperatures while gaming (especially when its about to artifact)

GPUZ

make sure you clear as many wires away from the card as possible, this will improve case airflow..... how many case fans do you have, & where are they positioned..??

also removing the case side panel is not good long term, especially when its powered up..... the electrical charge will attract dust straight onto your components & further hamper cooling.

lets make sure its not airflow before we move onto the card & PSU..



SK

2 Fans.
1 Connected to the PSU
1 On my CPU with a tube that connects to the tower to directly exit the case, so the air doesn't blow around inside it goes straight out.

This is what I have at the moment, not gaming.

right, idle temps are normal....... now game for a while or run a GFX benchmark & see what temps your getting, if it starts to creep near to 90c, heat is the issue..

if it does not we can then look to the components themselves....

so...... you have 1 chassis fan, which im guessing is in the top of the case at the rear..??, & a CPU funnel which is terrible for case flow....

if your 9500 is a ''single slot'' card (which i think they all are) its blowing hot air back into the bottom of your case, where you have no fans..??



SK

10 minutes into gaming:


15 minutes into gaming:
67*C

20 minutes into gaming:


30 minutes into gaming:


So it's not my temps?

Yes I have a fan for my PSU, a CPU funnel, and a few "air holes" on the side of my case. But if I have the side off, it still happens...

My 9500 has heatsink (heat gets sucked into a copper peice of metal from the card) - no fan. Single slot.

ahh, you have a ''passive'' card (no onboard fan), i wouldn't rule out heat as being an issue, after 30mins its creeping up there, i take it you never saw the green pixelation after the 30min point..??

screen artifacts are usually always caused by an unstable OC, lack of airflow, of simply a GPU going bad....

the fact the card is passive & you have no fans in the surrounding area still seems like the problem to me...(seeing as you dont OC) i cant see it being driver related, or OS related.....

when the system locks & you need to reboot, are you able to game when it restarts..??, & im right in thinking you get no error pop ups before the crash, & no BSOD..??, except what you listed from the ''error log''.


run this app in windowed mode on standard settings...''furmark'', until the system crashes (while using GPUZ to monitor the temps), the heat sink may need re pasting, & re seating, how long has this been happening..??

i will be very suprised if this turns out to be S/W related.....

oh & what did you mean by...''1 fan for my PSU''..??, the PSU extracts air from the case so if you have a fan right next to the PSU which also extracts air, your gonna create a ''dead spot'' (an area where no air ends up moving due to conflicting flow directions).... not a biggie, just something else to bear in mind..



SK

taking the side off is a bad idea the case uses the side panel for airflow to all your parts, leave'r on there. Have you tried any other VGA cables? does this only happen with COD?

I'll throw this out there since it seems no one has asked... what version of drivers are you using for sound & video? Is your display drivers also up to date? Does the display name shows under DeviceManager/Display or just a Generic PnP display?