Member Avatar for vault dweller

Hi guyz..
i recently got a new gpu i.e. radeon HD 6770. This card is quite powerful and runs most of the recent games in at least middle range. Or so i thought..!
When i started the first game on this card, which is POP3 the two thrones, i was taken aback to see in two minutes the pc crashed and rebooted. I suspected overheating as the cpu was crammed and freed some space around it. i even opened the case and through ccc increased the fan speed upto 70%. And yes it ran PoP3 quite okay. But again, when i started playing Dragon age origins, the crashing commenced. What is baffeling that the whole time ccc never showed the temperature reach upto 55C!
i am really annoyed with this and will appreciate any help offfered...:sad:
i am trying to upgrade the gpu drivers by applying hotfix upgrade of ati but i am not sure it will work...
My humble system specs are...
intel dual core 1.6 GHz processor
3 gb ddr2 ram
windows XP 32 bit
and as said above, ati Radeon HD 6770 gpu, ddr5 1 GB memory.

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reported sudden reboots under game load after installing an HD 6770; Catalyst’s temp readouts stayed modest. recommended swapping the card into another machine to isolate the fault, and recommended capturing BSODs/dump files. Below is a short, prioritized diagnostic checklist that goes from inexpensive software checks to hardware isolation.

Important context: the temperature shown in Catalyst is the GPU diode only—VRMs and memory usually lack sensor readings and can overheat even when the core looks cool. Sudden reboots can come from driver/kernel failures, a failing PSU or 12V delivery, hot VRMs/memory, or a defective card. The steps below aim to gather evidence first, then isolate the failing subsystem.

  • Capture evidence: disable automatic restart on system failure and enable crash dumps; collect the minidump and check Windows Event Viewer (System) for critical errors at the crash time.
  • Clean-driver test: uninstall the ATI/AMD driver cleanly (safe mode + driver-clean utility), then reinstall a stable WHQL release rather than an unproven hotfix.
  • Stress + monitor: run a controlled GPU stress/benchmark while logging core temp and fan RPMs; artifacting or immediate crash under synthetic load points to hardware or power.
  • Power checks: confirm use of a proper 6‑pin PCIe cable (no Molex adapters), reseat cables, and if possible try a different PCIe cable or higher-capacity PSU to rule out rail overload.
  • Thermal/physical checks: inspect heatsink contact and any thermal pads on VRMs/memory; improve case airflow or add a small fan directed at the card—VRM overheating will not show in Catalyst.
  • Isolation swap: test the card in another known-good PC or put a known-good GPU into this PC; if the fault follows the card, pursue RMA/exchange.

Priority order: dumps → clean drivers → monitored stress test → power/VRM inspection → swap/RMA. Minidumps and Event Viewer entries will usually reveal whether the crash is driver/software or hardware-related.

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Member Avatar for jingda

What is your CPU usage? I doubt it is an overheating issue but you can't rule that out entirely. Seems like some faulty components in your PC. Do you hear any loud noises coming from your fan before and after playing? Are all your drivers updated? Does other game have this problem.


I also want you to test the graphic card on another spare laptop and see whether when you play games like Dragon Age Origins, will the spare laptop crash. This test is to determine the problems like with the video card and not with the computer problem.

Member Avatar for vault dweller

thnx jingda for replying so fast..
my cpu usage is limited only for media playing and games. The desktop is not connected to a net connection so the cpu is most of the time load free. also i updated the grafics card drivers and it does seem to increase the performance level. Turning the Overdrive off, now the gpu goes in auto mode properly and increases the fan usage as per the temperature. Trying out Dragon age again, i made it upto nearly an hour before the cpu sadly crashed. Also, i kept on switching to windows to check the temperature of gpu and tried to keep it down to 55C. Can anyone pls inform me at what temperature the cpu is likely to crash?
The crashes appear only while gaming and other media play are completely flawless. my psu is well suited for the card and it even outgrows the recommended 450W supply(it is of 500 W). As per connecting to other laptop i dont have any nor do i have enough experience to do that.
And no, no noise can be heard apart from the fan powering up(or down). I will try some other games too but i want know if all games have to overheat the gpu subsequently or it can do well on built in fan...
Kindly help me in these issues...

Edited by vault dweller because: n/a
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