Possible graphics card problem?

[XeNoN89]

Whenever i play a game it works for around 5 or 10 minutes and then 1 of 3 things happens:

1.Game crashes saying 'the program has encountered a problem'
2.Computer Completely freezes, have to restart.
3.Computer just suddenly restarts itself

Now this has only started happening a few days ago, and i cant seem to find the problem. It only happens when playing games (not just 1, any game i try) so i i think it could be something to do with the graphics card.

I have a Sapphire X1950PRO 512MB (AGP)

Anybody got any ideas what the problem could be and how to fix please?

 

[XeNoN89]

Just to test i just ran ATi Tool, and showed 3d view to put the card under some pressure, the temperature shot up straight away, it went upto 90, then after a couple of minutes, computer restarted itself again, so its almost certainly the graphics card.

 

[XeNoN89]

Could just be dust in the heatsink/fan, give it a good blow.

Thats what i thought, i even had a good old go at it with a brush and hoover, didnt help though

 

[XeNoN89]

well with it being warmer this and you noticing 90c it has to be heat on the gfxin my opining does the cooler seem loose ? can you get more air into your case ?

Well i cleaned the card as much as possible, it had lots of dust in the heatsink, it droped the max temp down by 10 just from that, but it still crashes after 5-10mins, so maybe its not the heat?

 

[XeNoN89]

I have a cheapo 400watt PSU, was only £20. Could that be the problem?

 

[XeNoN89]

I don't think that would cause overheating, just instability and crashing, unless the fan isn't getting enough power and is cutting out once the system is under too much load. Can you confirm for us if the fan ever stops spinning while you're using the PC or playing a game?

Just out of curiosity, how many 12V rails does your PSU have and how much amperage per rail?

Im not very good with power supplies...but i think i have found it on the companies website if that helps.

http://www.mercury-pc.com/product-detail.php?link=p-powersupply&subtitle=Power Supply&productid=640#

 

[XeNoN89]

It doesn't give the information needed and google isn't helping much either from a quick search. I also tried zooming up the picture of the PSU but the text is too blurry to read.

Could you please open your side panel and write down what you see for amps under 12v?. If you are unsure about what to copy then just copy all of it and post it.

It is a cheap PSU though. I know the q-tec PSU's are about the same price and they are a nightmare so it may be this but then again it might not.

Ok i didnt know what ment what on the PSU, so i just copied the whole thing down.

 

[XeNoN89]

ANother thing i have just noticed while trying to play a game, my FPS is considerably worse then it used to be, would the power supply cause this or has it been a problem with the graphics card all along?

 

[XeNoN89]

bump

 

[XeNoN89]

I bought a new PSU, Antec 430W, and still have the same problem so that was a waste of £50, So now its obviously the graphics card, what could be causing it and how do i fix it?