i'm a recent Slackware convert from RedHat and i rather enjoy it more than i ever did Redhat. However, i've installed the latest drivers from NVidia just fine but about 3 minutes into playing a game my whole computer shuts off completly. The games that it has been occuring with are Vendetta and RTCW: Enemy Territory. I installed the basic *.run file many times, then i downloaded the source, compiled and installed it with the same results. I searched through the forums but didnt find anyone with my particular problem. If anyone could help I woudl greatly appreciate it.

my comp stats:
GeFroce FX 5200 128MB w/ NVidia drivers as of July 28 2003 IA32
AMD Athalon XP 2400
512 DDR
80GB 7200RPM
Slackware 9.1 w/ Kernel 2.4

Sounds like your CPU is overheating. Is your case well ventilated?

i thought that too since its an AMD. i opend the case and set a 10" exhaust fan next to it to blow in more air but it still shuts off.

try a normal fan instead. table fan for instance. 10" refers to diameter or radius? i'm using a table fan with about 20-24" diameter. don't use an exhaust fan. i've u opened up ur cabinet on one side, an exhaust fan won't cause much airflow. (hence the "try a normal fan"). make sure it's blowing right into the cabinet. if it's too close, the vortex will hamper performance, so make sure atleast have the fan is blowing diagonally into the cabinet (important for circulation).

i have/had the same probs (nvidia riva tnt2 pro). stuff used to crash in windows too. it's not an amd thing. my agp card fan stopped working a long time ago. it wasn't as much a problem in winter but it is otherwise. u might wanna c if ur agp card fan is working fine and not stuttering or anything like that.

even i have an amd but i'm sure it's not that coz i had replaced that huge table fan with an old cpu fan hanging right next to the agp card chip blowing air over it and the comp worked fine. so i KNOW it's not an amd thing. that's still my current setup.

side note: my old cpu cooler was not as good. cpu ran at 70-73 when idle, 81 during games. this setup worked at that time too. now i've got a better one that keeps it at 55-56 idle and 61 during high processing.

i'm curious as to other ppls' running temps.

Check your ram too.
AGP fans are a pain, with the tower case upright, the fan is upside down and many types seem to fail very quickly.

yeah it was the processor over heating. 245 deg F is baaad. rakafraka AMD :P
thanx to all who contributed

Been PC'ing and running games of various sorts for the last 12 years and never had a CPU overheat - is your CPU fan bad? If you have to resort to removing your case and blowing a table fan on things, something is seriously wrong. I have an Antec server case with 4 3inch fans, my GeForce 3 has a fan, the CPU fan and the power supply fan. Been running this setup for three years now with zero problems, in Texas. You must keep your case clear of obstructions, and clean the dust bunnies out every once in a while too. If you are overclocking, I can see where overheating is a problem, but stock CPU's shouldn't overheat if you are running a good fan - unless, of course, you are running the PC in a un-airconditioned room in the middle of Texas, or Arizona...

Sorry if I sound like I am chastising you, but I just found the table fan thing rather amusing...

Paul

no CPU fan works fine when not playing games but when playing games it doesnt seem sufficient. i'm in lubbock, texas my self so i know about dust bunnies and dust devils too . i have a friend with and AMD XP 2000 who is having the same problem as i am. i have a 4"diameter fand on top of a 5" copper heat sink on the processor, but thats about it in the case. i plan on buying about 3 extra frans to put in the case so i dont have to use the table fan. i must say i never had this problem with any of my older Pentium systems though.