Guild Wars 2

HI GUYZ. So recently i decided to come back to GW2 after not having played for about 3 or 4 months, maybe longer. Pre to this present time i was able to play GW2 with no problems. Just the other day (about 2 days ago) i started up GW2, waited for the long kitten patch and then BOOM, off i go. Within about 5 mins my PC decided to die. I started my PC up again and started GW2 about 3 more times to see if the problem persisted, which it did. I tried updating my drivers and re-installing the game but when i see no changes i decided to switch to my old graphics card (uninstalling old drivers and installing the ones for my old card), STILL no change. So my PC keeps turning off randomly and i have no clue why. Nothing happens however, if i play a different game such as BO:II/Dead Space, Even Tomb Raider, which to me, seems quite demanding from graphics without FPS lag. Something seems to be telling me, maybe it’s GW2? I don’t know but hopefully someone can help my sorry kitten PC Specs are below with my old graphics card in the description, however, i will list my newer card.

AMD Phenom™ II X4 995 Processor – 3.2 GHz
4GB Ram
ATI Radeon HD 4870 (Old card in current use)
XFX Radeon 6790 (Newer card but cba to switch back yet)
Antec 650w PSU

As i stated, I had no problems previously. This is recent, and also this doesn’t happen with any other games i play. If anyone has resolved a problem like this without the expense of buying new components i would greatly appreciate the information.

Thank you please.

If the PC shutsdown for any reason and wont automatically restart itself, then its your PSU thats on its last legs. Likely its not able to give the system the wattage it needs or its getting taxed too hard and going in to overheat shutdown before dying completely.

A new PSU methinks.

I do not understand though, like i said, it don’t happen with other games and GW2 was fine a couple months back =///. Looks like I’ll have to INVEST

Before ‘investing’ I would make sure of a few things.

-Download Prime95 and let it run for 30 minutes (I usually run it on whatever one says it gives the most heat generation) or how ever long it takes GW2 to mess up your computer.
-If your computer survives that without shutting down or giving any errors when it is testing your CPU then grab a GPU tester as well, something like MSI’s Kombuster. Running both of these applications at the same time will yield max power use and max temperature. If your system survives this then it is safe to say its probably not a lack of power or overheating (aka no need to invest).

Judging from your description it sounds like something Anet tossed in the recent patch screwed things up for your system. Perhaps try reinstalling the game (delete the gw2.dat and redownload it).

Thanks breddah, I’ll give this a try (Y)

Hi again. Thank you for your suggestion, Ilithis Mithilander.3265. I ran a stress test using Prime95 on the most pressurising test but left it on a 15 minute timer and as i predicted, it shut down again after about 5 minutes during the test.

As i mentioned before, this was the first game it happened on and earlier just to be sure, i ran Tomb Raider. No problems. I don’t understand what is going on. I now don’t know that if my PC dies during the stress test i certainly need to replace my PSU or if it is just something that is affecting my PC playing this game. I used to be able to play this fine a couple months back and just recently it’s decided to disable my computer.

Even though i didn’t think it was neccesary, i re-formated my PC just to see if that was any help. I ran another stress test on a fresh install and presumed the fate of the outcome, it died again. Over the weekend I’ll install BF3 again and max out my settings just to see if it shuts down on that and If it does then i think I’ll buy a new PSU but if not I’m just going to wait for something to make sense with this game. Hopefully a patch that fixes this error a few of us are managing to get.

I read earlier someone had the same problem, with I7, 32GB ram and a GTX 6XX (can’t properly remember). Judging by the build he had, i would say he had at least a 750w PSU if not, more so it can’t be system builds, surely? It’s making more sense that most users have some sort of critical error at the moment.

For now, I’m gonna stay away, this game obviously doesn’t like my PC at the moment lol. I’m hoping to see a fix or a reasonable/solid explanation soon!

I don’t use or work with AMD CPU’s at all but id imagine anyone on here that does, could tell you, like the Intel chips when they get to hot they auto shut down to prevent damage, id be checking temps in that system too.

I am baffled lol. I just played a whole 2 matches of Battlefield 3 on high settings on 1360 × 768 res and my PC was fine, no shutdown or any problems. These are usually the same settings i run on every game i play. So now, to be honest i generally don’t think i need a new PSU, or yet at least while this one is surviving on other games.

This is what i mean. I was able to play other games before the thought of playing GW2 again popped into my head and now i am convinced it’s something to do with the game and it’s recent update that not just I, but a handful of people, some with PC setups 10x better than mine are having the same issue.

I will run temp checks on the next match to see what they are hitting. I’m re-installing GW2 and If the problem persists I will even go through the effort of re-pasting my CPU.

Thanks for all your suggestions guys. I’m hoping something works or an explanation on Anet’s side is published.

Did you check the temperatures during your prime stress test?
Could be overheating.
I would bet a norn ale that it is the PSU though.
Click Start, Run and type eventvwr.msc
Select Application entry in the left pane
In the right-pane, look for the Error entry denoted by a Red X
Check for Event 41.

OK, I think i may have established a problem. I’ve attached a screenshot of temps via CPUID – Hardware Monitor. Thanks for the suggestion, Ok I Did It.2854

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/707/screengh.jpg/?sa=0

As you can see, My GPU hit 52°C after about 5 minutes on BF:3 but that wasn’t in a high populated place with a lot of scenery/smoke so i guess it will probably hit around 60°C – 65°C in them circumstances which isn’t TOO bad i suppose.

What i don’t understand is why on idle, MY CPU’s are fine and with somewhat just over average temps i’d say but as soon as i bang on a game they shoot up like they haven’t got any thermal paste or a fan on.

I’m gonna pull out the thermal paste and get to work on the CPU’s to see if i can drop the temps on them at all when they are being put to the test and possibly run another stress test as Ilithis Mithilander.3265 suggested.

Thanks guys!

Those temps are way way too high for that CPU. The thermal limits for that CPU are:
Phenom II x4 9 Series 95W → 71’C
Phenom II x4 9 Series 125/140W → 62’C
Make sure your fan(s) are ok as well

@Stormcrow.7513, I have come across event 41 with the red X. Does this mean i indefinitely need a new PSU now or would my CPU temps have something to do with the power shortage?

Tom -

First, you should open up your case and clean the dust buildup (if any) from the CPU heatsink and fan, as well as any other fans.

I recommend that you remount your CPU heatsink/fan and apply new thermal compound. Sometimes the heatsinks use a thermal pad (they don’t always last) or the existing thermal grease has dried up.

I use Arctic Silver. Radio Shack carries it:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2216879

Here are the instructions for using it:

http://www.arcticsilver.com/PDF/appmeth/amd/md/amd_app_method_middle_dot_v1.3.pdf

Oh dear lol. I’ll get to work now (Y)

If your CPU is overheating it will most likely shut down, which could in turn give that error message.
Apply the paste(dont use too much and see how that works. Also make sure that the heatsink is ok and clean of dust, debris and dead spiders~!(i actually had that happen once to a client!)

I know how to re-paste but thanks. I recently just cleaned my PC of dust the other day, the only thing i didn’t do was re-paste my CPU’s, However i did re-paste my GPU.

I’ll re-paste my CPU’s now and let you know the results tomorrow.

Thanks guys.

So last night i re-pasted my processors and so far seems good! I’ve left my PC on idle for about 20 minutes and so far the temps have hit a max of 29’C and a min of 24’C. Hopefully It’s done the job.

I wish i took a photo of my fan. When i say you couldn’t even see the heat sink, i mean you REALLY couldn’t lol. I had to literally pick it off. It was so clumped up and THICK of dirt and dust I can’t imagine how my PC has even lasted this long. I will try GW2 later when i get back from work and let you know the results.

Thank you for everyone that got involved! Maybe this is a solution for others that are having the same problem and i hope now that I’ll be able to last longer than 5 minutes on the game. BBFN

Sod it, i just had a bash on BF:3 and done a whole game. Temps are telling me they hit 52’C max in game so it all sounds well with the processors now, lets just wait and see if GW2 still shuts down my PC. Thanks guys!

Good Luck hope it works for you

A little heads up GW2 is EXTREMELY CPU intensive, BF3 on the other hand is very GPU intensive. I own a 965 BE which is in the Phenom II x4 9 Series. I used to have temps hover around 58 to 60 JUST for guild wars too due to the extra stress, I purchased a 40$ aftermarket CPU cooler for my system cause those temps drove me up the wall.

Got the little bugger to 40c while playing GW2 so that’s a really good option if you keep having thermal issues. Installing a new heatsink isn’t as scary as everyone thinks just gotta get one compatible with your socket =D

I am so, so pleased that i don’t have to buy any new PC components lol. Thank you everyone!

I’ve played GW2 for at least 2 hours now with no problems and on top of that, since re-pasting my CPU and cleaning the fan, my CPU’s max temps have only hit 48’C whilst GPU has hit 53’C in game… not bad!