Okay guys, so I'm starting to get pissed that this computer I bought for a grand about two years ago isn't running simple old games like Fallout 3 on maximum settings. And I'm pretty sure its because of my Video card (Nvidia GTX 260) so I'm currently looking for a video card on the market that will handle that and I'm also looking for a better PSU because *I think* my computer is having other problems and they might be PSU releated. Basically when I try running 3D Futuremark or CPU-Z my computer shuts itself off, It could be because a faulty BIOS or it could be a power issue, also when I turn on my computer it gets stuck on "Starting Windows" on that screen, only after I turn off the computer for a FULL MINUTE then it will get passed this screen.

It also does that when I put in a windows 7 bootdisc or try to go into safe mode, I believe its a hardware fault and has nothing to do with my HDD. Anyways I figure its worth a try to upgrade some of my stuff anyways.

So in terms of video cards I'm thinking about getting a Radeon HD 6870 video card or a Nvidia GTX 560. Basically I don't want to have to spend anything over $200 but I might be willing to go up to $250 if the card makes that much more of a difference. Also, I'm looking for a better PSU, maybe a 750 watt. anyways I don't want to spend anything over a $100 for that.

Also; just to let you guys know I sent my computer into gateway to fix this problem before, they told me they replaced the motherboard but the problem still persisted. The problem really could lie with the motherboard and the bios but isn't the motherboard really expensive to replace because you might have to replace your Processor, Ram and other things?

Anyways leave a post telling me what you guys think.

- Jdawg

Hey it sounds just like heat problem, have you checked the temperature?

I agree with zyn, definitely could be a heat issue. If i was gonna buy a video card, i would go with a Nvidia 570 if you can afford it.

The problems you are describing could be a number of issues.

Dieing Hard Drive

Bad Section on hard drive

Corrupt files

Drivers corrupt or outdated

Bios Corrupt (not likely)

I personally would try reloading windows OS then update all the drivers and the OS. Starting off fresh can be a great thing to do from time to time. This can eliminate a lot of issues.

I would not buy any hardware upgrades until you find and fix your current problems.

should check this out.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VIBOX-GT-X-PHENOM-QUAD-CORE-1TB-8GB-GAMING-COMPUTER-PC-/220840469174?pt=UK_Computing_DesktopPCs&hash=item336b1e22b6

or

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VIBOX-970-ULTIMATE-10-2-3-5GHz-HIGHEST-SPEC-GAMING-PC-/220762232038?pt=UK_Computing_DesktopPCs&hash=item33667454e6

if you want to spend a grand again

Yes it could be harddrive also, but the part where he has to turn off the computer for a while sounds like heat problem, that the CPU need to cool down.

Is your computer clean on the inside or lots of dust?

You can try this software for temperature monitoring:

Speedfan

ZakDank VIBOX 970 ULTIMATE are not worth the price, i just bought and built a computer for a friend that is better and costs about half the price and it wont be fun when you need to upgrade, almost no upgrade ability. It's that expensive because they put in stuff that are not neccesary like Bluray & Wlan card.

didnt really look at the 970 ultimate specs tbh , but yeah your right, i thought it had a dual graphics card setup aswell but meh.

Hehe yep <object class="emojione" data="https://resources.enjin.com/1489581540/themes/core/images/emojione/svg/1f61b.svg?0" type="image/svg+xml" standby=":p">:p</object>

Hmm well right now I'm @ campus waiting for a class to start but later I'll turn on high graphics game and then see what my PC temerature is using intelCoreTemp or something.

Maybe instead of buying the new PSU I should get new fans? hmm

Also this card looks like a good deal

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150561

but it's not a GTX 560 ti... <object class="emojione" data="https://resources.enjin.com/1489581540/themes/core/images/emojione/svg/2639.svg?0" type="image/svg+xml" standby=":(">:(</object> actually i Hear that the GTX 560 was built sorely for competition against this card.