PC games...

[Your Funny Uncle]

Dust buildup in PCs can be a real problem. All the air throughput means that they are dust-traps, so filters on air intakes are a very good idea.

[jaytrance]

Mass effect 1 & 2,Dragon age

[gregf]

Shutting off without warning is either too much power being drawn, usually
by graphics cards, as Steve described, or a flakey mobo.

I was playing Crysis but got stuck half way thru after night falls at the
enemy copter landing zone. I think I need to learn to use the trick extra suit options.

"Come out yankee pig and die like a dog."
Later.
"Come out yankee dog and die like a pig."

I still think one of the cleverest games ever was Portal : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpdCi5XpCsE

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"He-llo. Are you still there ? Target lost. Shut-ting down".

[Electronic Dave]

Shutting off without warning is either too much power being drawn, usually
by graphics cards, as Steve described, or a flakey mobo.

I was playing Crysis but got stuck half way thru after night falls at the
enemy copter landing zone. I think I need to learn to use the trick extra suit options.

"Come out yankee pig and die like a dog."
Later.
"Come out yankee dog and die like a pig."

I still think one of the cleverest games ever was Portal : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpdCi5XpCsE

<object width="960" height="745"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QpdCi5XpCsE&hl ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QpdCi5XpCsE&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="960" height="745"></embed></object>[/youtube]

"He-llo. Are you still there ? Target lost. Shut-ting down".

I'd also add to what you said gregf...

PSU: StevePSB's older PSU was probably underpowered (either not enough watts when under full load) and/or not enough amps available on the 12V rails(s) to run an HD4870 X2.

BSOD: Another consideration is that its a BlueScreenOfDeath (BSOD) caused by unstable hardware - if Steve was running Windows XP on that old machine it will automatically reboot itself by default if an error occurs, so you would never see it (perhaps only for a fraction of a second)...there is an option to turn this off in System so BSODs stay on screen and the problem can be diagnosed - the codes would give clues to what is causing the error.

OVERHEATING: the case and cooling layout of his old PC case may have been ok for an HD4870 512MB but inadequate for the HD4870 X2, the GPU overheats and so crashes the system - as the heat warms the case up it can't escape properly due to lack of airflow / case fans. An HD4870 X2 is one hot card! Also the additional heat in the case could cause the processor to run hotter thus triggering the 'CPU shutdown temperature' value to be reached (set in the BIOS) to protect it.


That gun in Portal reminds me of the one in Half Life 2 which allows you to grab and throw objects...the Gravity Gun

Also with Crysis the Korean guards sound like they are saying 'Bill Oddie' as opposed to 'reloading'