Member Avatar for rockon_rrh

For 6 monthes now my screen has been blacking out at random times, usually for about 1-2 seconds before returning to normal. Games, movies, and music in the background dont seem to skip or freeze when this happens.

Also, games that I know my computer can handle without breaking a sweat seem to be running really slow. Empire at War is the worst, as it will be running completely smooth one moment and drop to less than 1 fps the next. Changing resolution and video quality settings does not fix this problem in the game.

I'm guessing its either a problem with my memory or my video card, though I am guessing it is the former (as my video card works fantastic in most games).

My specs are:
ABIT AW8 motherboard
Intel Pentium D 930 Presler 3.0ghz dual core
G.Skill 2 GB (2x1GB) Dual Channel Kit desktop memory
Sapphire Radeon X850XT 256mb GDDR3 PCI Express x16
Western Digital 200GB 7200rpm 3.0gb/s SATA
AOpen Cobra 5.1 sound card
BenQ Combodrive CD/CDR/DVD
Rosewill RV450 450watt power supply

Please help, this problem has plagued me for way too long considering this computer was brand new when it started.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by SnowDog
Member Avatar for SnowDog

Does it do it in Safe Mode?

You stated it does it randomly, which in turn implies that it can happen if the computer is just sitting there. So the Empire at War thing is a bit of a red herring.

It shouldn't do it, so you've got to pin it down through a logical approach.

Eliminate the monitor if possible (if it's a TFT they have been known to do this sort of thing). Remove all external devices - you never know (some USB-powered modems can be a pain). Then focus on the GFX card - uninstall and reinstall the latest drivers. Can you get hold of a cheap card to try (NOT on the Empire of War game - just to see if the blanking still occurs).

You've got to prove or eliminate things one at a time.

It also appears it is still under warranty. Don't forget that. After all, why should you have to buy any extra GFX cards or other gear to fix a hardware problem?

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