# ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 IGP gaming problem.



## Satoko (Mar 22, 2005)

I have a peculiar problem that I can't really attribute to anything in particular, as it started happening randomly over the past few weeks. I hadn't changed my drivers or installed any sort of virus program, nor did I install new hardware.

Whenever I try to play any sort of game--Age of Empires I and II, Gunbound, Zoo Tycoon, any of The Sims, Sim Tower, Yoot Tower, you name it--my computer shuts off. I'll get maybe five or ten minutes of gameplay, and then without warning, my computer will just turn off. It's a very strange thing, and it only happens when I try to play a game. 

I've got a Toshiba Satellite P35-S611 laptop with 1.5 GB RAM, 3.33 GHz Pentium 4, ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 IGP video card with Omega drivers (updated a few days ago from stock drivers but to no avail), and it runs at 38C idle. When I alt tab to check the temp when starting a game, it's within one or two degrees of what it runs at idle. Previous inquiries about this model of computer in the past have told me, without even asking what my temp is, that it's an overheating problem common to all Toshibas. Yet I never had this problem up until a few weeks ago. Anyone have any ideas?


----------



## McTimson (Aug 16, 2002)

Random shutdowns are usually caused by overheating. Don't just rely on the temperature sensors, sometimes they're inaccurate. Make sure it has proper ventilation around it at all sides, if you can see any dust, try cleaning it out. Make sure you're using it in a cool room, and that there is a good source of cool air near it.

Even if the temperature sensor says the temperature is the same, it might be placed near the CPU, while the GPU is getting too hot for the rest of the system to handle. Or, the heat, along with the power requirements, could be putting too much stress on a motherboard component, causing a power failure. Either way, it's most likely hardware related, and checking ventilation is the easiest first step.


----------



## Satoko (Mar 22, 2005)

Thanks for the reply, McTimson.

I'm no stranger to overheating, as it were. I had a general performance problem a few months ago, so I disassembled the entire laptop, cleaned the fans, and used Arctic Silver on the heatsink. I'm not opposed to doing it again, but it seems so soon. I had the laptop for an entire year before needing to take it apart and do some cleaning. Could it really be necessary after just a few months of general use?


----------



## McTimson (Aug 16, 2002)

It shouldn't be, but it seems to be the most likely culprit. Just to make sure, you are running the laptop with the power adapter connected, right? 

In desktops, a problem like this is usually either heat or the power supply acting up. In rare cases, it can be a bad piece on the motherboard, like a blown capacitor or something. Heat is the most common, so I would double check that. Next time you open the laptop to clean it, try running it while it's taken apart. See if the games last any longer when there's fresh air hitting the inside of the laptop. If it works a lot better, then heat is the problem.


----------

