Heat?

I just got Doom3 today. Looks fine, running it on medium settings. The problem is that my comp seems to be overheating. If I let it sit for a while and then start Doom3 up, it'll run for a while (Maybe 3/4 of a level) but then it'll just CTD. If I try to run it immediately after it CTDs, it'll crash much quicker into a level. My other games, if I play them long enough, will just get the fan running really loud. With Doom3, the fan doesn't get loud, the game just crashes. Any suggestions (Maybe a way to manually get the fan running at high RPM before I start)? Or do I have to fork over some more money and get a better cooling system?

System Specs:
Pentium IV 3.2 GHz
1GB RAM
Radeon 9800 Pro
Generic Dell Fan

Have you actually checked what temp your cpu is running at normally at idle? Is this a Dell PC or have you whacked a Dell fan in there and are you sure it's up to the job?

It's a Dell 8300. And now the crashing doesn't seem to be connected to heat, as I just started my comp after a 20 hour break, tried Doom3, and it crashed within 2 to 3 minutes. I'll try updating my sound and video drivers.

m21 said:

It's a Dell 8300. And now the crashing doesn't seem to be connected to heat, as I just started my comp after a 20 hour break, tried Doom3, and it crashed within 2 to 3 minutes.

Even with that, I wouldn't rule out overheating completely. I'd check all the fans just to be sure. And updating drivers is a good step.

Dell likes to exchange a front intake fan for some ducting (massive hood covering entire processor and all but the intake-side of the heatsink) and partitioning in order to attract people to their silent-running PC's.

If you aren't still under warranty, then you have nothing to lose changing out the pre-existing exhaust fan. There's probably no mounting for an intake fan on the front anyway, so a hardcore exhaust fan will probably be all you can do.

Though, your processor, with Dell's cooling scheme, is probably cooled adequately enough (but even so, fans are pretty cheap and you only need to buy one to help your CPU out if its heat is the issue -- best to rule it out by getting a decent fan). Do you notice any video artifacting or anything like that before the crashes? It could be your video card that is overheating. It may even be your northbridge.

If there is any intake fan mounting, measure from screwhole to screwhole or the size of the bracket if there is one, and get the nearest corresponding fan size (normally 80mm, 92mm, or 120mm). Get the fans with the highest CFM rating (RPM is unimportant if the CFM's don't stack up) at under 35 decibels (if you're concerned about noise). NewEgg.com has some excellent fans for sale.

In a Dell machine, they're bound to have things packed pretty tight, so clearance for additional fans might be an issue. You might not be able to change the fan out at all -- they might be using their own proprietary power connectors or something like that. Anyway, most case fans are 25 or 38mm thick. The latter is somewhere between one and two inches. Measure to make sure that whatever you get (the dimensions of the fan will be listed, so you don't need to buy and measure those, but measure the clearance in your case) will fit. Issues you may have: 38mm fans hitting the curve in the CPU hood. I don't know how much clearance is there, so you'll have to measure it yourself. If you can fit a 38mm thick fan, do it, because the additional pitch in the fan blades pushes lots of air. If your fans go in brackets, those will only take one thickness, and usually that is 25mm for case fans. There might be screw-holes under the brackets, though.

I've probably said more than is necessary. Hopefully the drivers will help.

Hopefully the drivers will help.

They did. After I updated the Radeon drivers the game stopped crashing.

My cooling advice will enable you to overclock a bit. :D

...yes, that's right, having done nothing more than read my post, you can squeeze an extra 2 GHz out of your processor.