Dell XPS Gen 3 overheating issue?

[archonblack]

Hey all,

I have a problem with my Dell XPS gen 3. When I play Half-Life 2, the computer crashes after a while. The game plays great but all of a sudden, the graphics freeze and the sound is looping. At the same time, the fans start blowing like mad and I can't do anything for a while. Then I can get control back using ctrl+alt+del or alt-tab but I get some error messages and the screen is all messed up. like this:


After a moment, the screen goes back to normal (or sometimes I have to reboot to get my Windows resolution back) and the fans go back to normal. I am thinking this may be some overheating problem since when I'm playing just after computer startup, the game can play for way longer before crashing. I also read somewhere that the CPU on XPS Gen 3 didn't have any sensors but only a security mechanism allowing the CPU not to burn. (ie the CPU stops by itself before burning) I must add that the temperature in my room is ranging from 30 to 32 at the moment, maybe this explains it.

I also ran the full tests of Dell Diagnostics and all tests passed, so I don't know what to think, maybe any of you experts know the answer. I sent an E-Mail to customer support but I didn't get an answer yet.

Lately I used compressed air to blow the dust out of the CPU HSF but the same problem keeps happening. Maybe I should call Dell and have them replace the HSF? What do you think?

PS: Here is my configuration:

Dimension XPS Gen 3
BIOSA06
WindowsXP
Pentium 4 HT 3,6 Ghz
1 Gb Ram
160 Gb Hard Drive
ATI Radeon X800 XT 256 Mb
Creative Audigy 2
Monitor LCD Acer AL1731 (DVI)
Zone Alarm with Antivirus

[devnull]

Well, the problem is most likely due to your high ambient temperatures in the room. You may also want to back your computer somewhere that fresh air can get to.

If you are looking for a more permanent method of fixing this problem, search around on this forum for better mods that will benefit your whole system in the long run.

[crusier]

Try moving the audio card to the slot farthest from the video card and crack the left side of the chassis open about an inch at the rear. Then let me know what you get.

[archonblack]

Ok I moved the soundcard to the farthest slot from the video card and opened the case. After 8 minutes of playing Half-Life 2, the same problem happened... I don't know what to think since I played F.E.A.R demo yesterday and I had no crash issue. Maybe this could be a HL2 issue? But I doubt it since I have all the patch + latest driver for sound and video card... I did a format not so long ago too.

Btw it's only 28.8°C in my room now. Also I checked the CPU heatsink and it's hot everywhere, so I'm guessing it's working properly.

Edit: I also did full tests of DellDiag and MemTest and no errors at all...

[devnull]

Can you repeat the crashes in video-intensive programs like 3D Mark 2005 and 3D Mark 2003? Loop those about 5 times and see if it crashes. If not, I think Cruiser might have narrowed down the problem. However, that screenshot looks like artifacting from an overheating card (or a broken card). Btw -- I removed the link to get you to post it using another free image host. That host you had before was paid for using adult ads, which I would prefer that you not do. Sorry man =)

[archonblack]

I did many 3D mark 2003 & 2005 in a row and not one crash... I did 49 (!) memtest86 and I had zero error. I played F.E.A.R demo and it played without crashing... I'm beginning to think it could come from HL2?

Or is it possible that HL2 is way more intensive and causes an overheat? Anyways, I think I will finally call Dell tomorrow and see what they can do for me... I got a 3 years warranty afterall.

[hills420]

I had a similar issue and I found that changing my video driver fixed the problem. I was using Omegas and DNA. I found that using the official Catalyst seemed to fix the issue. It is not evey Omega or DNA, just certain ones.

[ben]

it appears that your gpu is on its way out.
have the crashes become more frequent?
which fans crank up, the case fans or your X800XT?
have you tried reinstalling HL2?

[devnull]

Well we know it likely isn't just an overheating problem, otherwise those benchmarks and games would have crashed the computer. However, this isn't the case.

[archonblack]

About the drivers, I tried Catalyst 5.3, 5.6, 5.7 and now 5.8, same issue.

The crashes seem more frequent now but I can't really tell, it's pretty random. But I can't play for more than 30 minutes that's for sure. I think the rear fans go crazy not the video card one's. The noisiest fans I think, so the rear fans (case). But maybe they go crazy because the CPU is in a looping pattern?

I tried reinstalling everything and I even reformatted not so long ago so I'm guessing this isn't the problem.

Also I got this error message:


And I managed to save the files the error reporting tool sent to Microsoft but some expert need to decrypt them, I can't do that.

[crusier]

any chance one of the rear cooling fans are reversed.....

[TRow]

This has to be Ambient related.

Physically take your PC to a friend/relatives house who has cooler ambient temps and do a test run their. 23c would be a good test bed.

The alternative is running caseless with a House fan blowing onto the components.

Let us know!

Edit: 90F Ambient is CRAZY!

[devnull]

And it usually isnt 90F without some humidity in there. Maybe a long shot but moisture + computers is never a good mix.

[crusier]

Hehe...90F room temperature and the xps carrying on.......hhmmmppph. I hit summer time highs in excess of 100f as measured on the desk where da puter sits.....with no bad side effects.......but then I have been working at it for quite awhile...this year it was accomplished using just the two stock rear nidec fans and an artic cooling assy on the vid card...wheeee

[devnull]

Hmph. My house is a nice 77F. Great for the computer, nuff said.

[archonblack]

Well now it's only 29°C so 84.2F... It that still too hot? I mean, I know that the P4 3.6Ghz 560 heats a lot but I bought a PC to play during summer as well, not only winter. Oh and there is 39% humidity now but varies a lot depending on wind.

Also I thought about something, I installed some Omega drivers for my Radeon X800 XT, maybe those drivers damaged the video card? Is that possible?

Anyways, I've been busy the last two days, but I will call Dell tomorrow and see what they tell me.

[devnull]

Ya know, I have been having some problems with the ATT in the new cat5.7 omega drivers. However, I very much doubt that they would do permanent damage to the card. Still, give Dell a call and see if they can offer any more insight.

[archonblack]

Update: I called Dell today, and after 45 mins waiting (!), I finally got to talk to a technician. So I explained the problem and he made me do a few tests (CPU and memory) and all seemed fine... We tried running a advanced graphic test from ressource CD and it didn't work. Then I changed the output of the video card from DVI to VGA and the test passed without any problem...

Basically he wasn't sure it was a graphic card problem so he told me to try HL2 on another system which I'm doing at the moment. Of course it works great on my old Pentium 4 2,4 Ghz Just slower but no crashes at all... The he wanted me to try to put another video card inside the XPS but I don't have any PCI-e card... Only AGP video card so I can't check.
Well I don't know what to think, could it be a hardware problem when all tests are passed?

So tonight, I'm trying HL2 on another system and then FORMAT INC on the XPS! I will try to run it on a free system with only necessary drivers and see.

Also I thought about the heatsink problem, could it be I have this? The fans gets really loud when I play some games or CPU intensive applications. But kinda quiet when I do nothing.

[Zefram0911]

I think that's the way the heatsink fan is suppose to act.

[archonblack]

Ah! I found the cause of the problem! It was v-sync that was causing HL2 to crash... Now why? I have no idea, it's really strange since I played with it activated when I got the game... So I played HL2 from the start to the end and I didn't have any problem...

Well the game crashed twice due to Antivirus updating (and popping a window) during gameplay... Gotta hate that. Anyways, thanks for the help.