Civ V restarts my computer every 10 or so minutes

[Topaxi]

Alright, I have a problem since EITHER updating to the latest patch, or upgrading my cpu. I played it fine before both of those things, then I took a break for a couple of weeks, during which both of those things got done. I went from a 1.8GHz dual core to a 3GHz dual core. All my games played fine on the old CPU, including Civ.

Now when I play Civ, my computer just shuts down every ten minutes or so. It has the exact symptoms of some kind of overheating issue, but I'm sure it's not, because I can play Skyrim fine for hours on end, with the temp getting up to the same area (57c ish max) with no issues.

Here is my Dxdiag thang:

 

[The_J]

Might be that the graphics card can't handle the enhanced speed (it's a bit a weak one for Civ5).
Since a reboot means that a bluescreen appeared, you should now first disable the direct reboot after bluescreens, so that you can see what error message appears there.

 

[Topaxi]

Might be that the graphics card can't handle the enhanced speed (it's a bit a weak one for Civ5).
Since a reboot means that a bluescreen appeared, you should now first disable the direct reboot after bluescreens, so that you can see what error message appears there.

Thanks for the reply dude! So how do I disable the direct reboot then?

 

[The_J]

Please see here for a description .

 

[Topaxi]

Alright, I did that, and nothing has changed. Still getting the immediate restart. No error messages or anything.

Running the DirectX and VCRedist setups (I ran them, dunno if they actually changed anything) seemed to lengthen the period between restarts, but not a lot has improved. Does that mean it's likely the graphics card problem you mentioned?

And I thought the card I had was pretty decent. Damn, computer stuff becomes obsolete fast.

Also, I'm running Windows Update at the moment and getting some hefty ones (including a service pack, apparantly). Gonna see if that helps.

 

[tokala]

Now when I play Civ, my computer just shuts down every ten minutes or so. It has the exact symptoms of some kind of overheating issue, but I'm sure it's not, because I can play Skyrim fine for hours on end, with the temp getting up to the same area (57c ish max) with no issues.

You might be wrong there

First, Civ is a bit more stressful for the system, at least for the GPU.
Second, 57°C is already critically high for a 6000+

Maximum operating temperature (°C) : 55 - 63

Third, it might be the GPU giving up; what's its temperature just before the shutdown?
Fourth, the culprit could as well be the mainboard and/or the PSU, the exact models of those might be helpful.

 

[Topaxi]

You might be wrong there

First, Civ is a bit more stressful for the system, at least for the GPU.

Really? I just assumed it wasn't graphics intensive at all.

Second, 57°C is already critically high for a 6000+

But it gets up there when I play Skyrim and nothing dies.

Third, it might be the GPU giving up; what's its temperature just before the shutdown?
Fourth, the culprit could as well be the mainboard and/or the PSU, the exact models of those might be helpful.

Actually, I did change the whole motherboard over as well. This may have complicated things a bit. How do I find the model of the motherboard?

 

[tokala]

Really? I just assumed it wasn't graphics intensive at all.

Lots of people have reported overheating and even dying video cards with Civ5, especially 8800's.

But it gets up there when I play Skyrim and nothing dies.

Different applications may produce different load patterns for the CPU and the voltage regulation modules.

Actually, I did change the whole motherboard over as well. This may have complicated things a bit. How do I find the model of the motherboard?

Check the mainboard tab of CPU-z.

 

[Topaxi]

Lots of people have reported overheating and even dying video cards with Civ5, especially 8800's.

Oh wow, I'm gonna have to take it easy. I still don't understand, if it's a problem with the graphics card not being powerful enough, why it wasn't doing it before though.

Different applications may produce different load patterns for the CPU and the voltage regulation modules.

Check the mainboard tab of CPU-z.

I'm being told the model is GA-MA790X-DS4. That doesn't mean anything to me.

Also, I've updated my DirectX, Windows, etc, and I've played many a turn without it restarting. It may have a bit more to do with the weather being somewhat cooler today than it was yesterday, when it was about 40c (hooray for the Australian summer).

 

[tokala]

Oh wow, I'm gonna have to take it easy. I still don't understand, if it's a problem with the graphics card not being powerful enough, why it wasn't doing it before though.

The cooling solutions on a lot of 8800s seem to be underpowered. It wasn't much of a problem when those cards first appeared on the market, because no game was able to really stress them due to their new architecture. Civ5 on the other hand is using the computational units very efficiently, and correspondingly produces a lot of heat.
You can check the GPU temperature with tools like GPU-z

I'm being told the model is GA-MA790X-DS4. That doesn't mean anything to me.

That's a middle of the road model which officially supports your CPU. It should work fine, although the CPU is among the most power-hungry supported models.

Also, I've updated my DirectX, Windows, etc, and I've played many a turn without it restarting. It may have a bit more to do with the weather being somewhat cooler today than it was yesterday, when it was about 40c (hooray for the Australian summer).

That might indeed be the case. Ambient temperatures above 25°C tend to be not very healthy for a PC. You should make sure that you have a good airflow in your case, and clean, dust-free fans.

 

[timtofly]

Is the CPU seated properly and has the proper amount of thermal grease?

 

[Topaxi]

The cooling solutions on a lot of 8800s seem to be underpowered. It wasn't much of a problem when those cards first appeared on the market, because no game was able to really stress them due to their new architecture. Civ5 on the other hand is using the computational units very efficiently, and correspondingly produces a lot of heat.
You can check the GPU temperature with tools like GPU-z

But it was working fine before I upgraded my CPU/motherboard.

The cooling solutions on a lot of 8800s seem to be That might indeed be the case. Ambient temperatures above 25°C tend to be not very healthy for a PC. You should make sure that you have a good airflow in your case, and clean, dust-free fans.[/QUOTE]

Well I don't know about good airflow, but I keep one side of my case open, and I clean the dust regularly (most recently when this problem started).

Is the CPU seated properly and has the proper amount of thermal grease?

I assume it is. My dad installed it, and he's no novice when it comes to this.