Screen going blank and system freezing?

[BlackScarletLove]

With increasing frequency, something is happening when I am playing games or watching movies. The screen suddenly goes blank and displays the message that it is not connected to any source, but the audio continues for a few seconds before it freezes in a quick loop and the only thing I can do is restart the computer. Obviously this is incredibly disruptive to a gameplay/movie experience -- what is happening, is my video card dying?


Windows XP SP3

AMD Radeon HD 6850 - 1024MB

MotherBoard:
ASUSTeK Computer INC. P5K SE Rev 1.xx
Bus Clock: 200 megahertz
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. 0401 07/19/2007
Realtek Onboard Audio

3328 Megabytes DDR2 RAM

Processor:
2.00 gigahertz Intel Pentium Dual
64 kilobyte primary memory cache
1024 kilobyte secondary memory cache

 

[LeeJend]

Probably the video card, but it could be just about anything. My worst problem with lock up while gaming lasted 4 months and I only found out it was the sound card by accident when I decided to upgrade to a better one.

If overclocking the video card (you or factory) drop the clock speed by 10% and see if the problem gets better or goes away. If it does it's the video card aging. Based on past video life issues I will never use an OC video card again.

If down clocking the video doesn't help run a stress test one component at a time (memory, CPU, etc). Sisoft Sandra used to allow this or there are stand alone programs like memtest.

A weak power supply could cause issues also. If the voltage to the components is a little low they will run slower and can lock up. For that matter reseat all the power connectors, corrosion in high current connectors can be an issue is the build is getting old.

Blow out any dust on the MB, vid card and vid card and CPU heatsinks. Heat will also slow down the circuitry causing crashes.

PS When a vid card starts going it usually 6 months or less tiilt dies. Start saving for a replacement. CPUs and memory that slow with age usually do no fail.