GTA SA freezing constantly, GPU problems..

[AmyV]

Firstly, my specs are:

AMD X6 Hex Core 1055t CPU
ATI HD Radeon 6850 (1GB GDDR5)
8GB Ram (2x4gb)
512gb SATA HDD
Windows 7 64-bit
500w Power Supply

All other games run great on max settings, (such as GTA IV, Sims 3, MW2, etc) but then when it comes to playing GTA SA, it keeps freezing, sometimes every minute, and at other times, rarely. It will freeze for about 10 seconds, then the screen will go black, and it'll be back to normal again.

EDIT:
A balloon often pops up at the bottom right corner with a warning about AMD failing, or something, but I can't actually see it as it disappears before I have time to read it..
I managed to take a pic of what the balloon says here:


My computer is new, and is not second-hand, I only bought it less than a month ago. The Catalyst drivers are up to date.

Any ideas? It gets to point where it does it so often, there's not even any point playing    Thanks 

EDIT:
Now I have managed to see what the problem is, I will be google'ing it and seeing what I can find. There seems to be alot of similar problems with other people too, I hope to find some sort of fix, but please feel free to still post here!

[Todor]

Nice PC, Amy. Hey tell me which driver is crashing for you please. Is it ati2mtag?

[AmyV]

Nice PC, Amy. Hey tell me which driver is crashing for you please. Is it ati2mtag?

I actually have no idea, it just says 'AMD driver' :/
I've tried loads of things to fix it but its still just as bad...
It could be the driver you suggested, I heard it mentioned a few times when I was searching for help but I dont really know. Is there a way I could find out?

[SugarD]

Offered my assistance to you over MSN/FB Chat, as you already know. Hopefully that card parallel to the video one is just causing a simple heat issue

For future reference for others, this issue isn't necessarily specific to GTA:SA or SA:MP. I've gotten it in GTA III, Liberty-Unleashed, and other games before too. It's usually caused by the computer and/or video card overheating and leading to bizarre error messages.

[AmyV]

Offered my assistance to you over MSN/FB Chat, as you already know. Hopefully that card parallel to the video one is just causing a simple heat issue

For future reference for others, this issue isn't necessarily specific to GTA:SA or SA:MP. I've gotten it in GTA III, Liberty-Unleashed, and other games before too. It's usually caused by the computer and/or video card overheating and leading to bizarre error messages.

I've just took out the Wireless PCI card which I thought was causing the problem, the fan was already working before I took it out, I'm trying playing SA:MP now with my USB Wireless which didn't cause a problem before, but even with the case side off it still does the same problem. Infact, it does a different problem now which I haven't encountered before, it will suddenly go to <1 FPS for short periods and just have a few pauses... :S

[SugarD]

I've just took out the Wireless PCI card which I thought was causing the problem, the fan was already working before I took it out, I'm trying playing SA:MP now with my USB Wireless which didn't cause a problem before, but even with the case side off it still does the same problem. Infact, it does a different problem now which I haven't encountered before, it will suddenly go to <1 FPS for short periods and just have a few pauses... :S

There could be other factors too. If you have your computer off all night and you turn it on, let it fully log in until nothing else is loading, and then play the game, does it do it then?

[AmyV]

There could be other factors too. If you have your computer off all night and you turn it on, let it fully log in until nothing else is loading, and then play the game, does it do it then?

I believe it stops doing it for a while, and then carries on... Earlier I switched the 'Very High' setting to just High, and it stopped doing it for a long while but then, again carried away. The temperature is on a average of 47c :/
Im thinking of switching to XP due to other reasons and conflicts I have had with 7 64bit, do you think it would help? I noticed the people who were having my problem were also on Windows 7.

[SugarD]

I believe it stops doing it for a while, and then carries on... Earlier I switched the 'Very High' setting to just High, and it stopped doing it for a long while but then, again carried away. The temperature is on a average of 47c :/
Im thinking of switching to XP due to other reasons and conflicts I have had with 7 64bit, do you think it would help? I noticed the people who were having my problem were also on Windows 7.

If it only happens under Windows 7, then something may be wrong with your drivers. I would check Device Manager for any conflicts. Windows 7 should be stable enough for SA:MP. I don't even have SP1 of it (thanks to a bug) and it's even stable for me. Is your computer up-to-date?

BTW, for video drivers, if Windows Update finds one, always install it, but don't rely on just that. Many times Windows Update is far behind in drivers for video cards, so I would recommend checking ATI's site for the latest drivers in case it's a bug.

[AmyV]

If it only happens under Windows 7, then something may be wrong with your drivers. I would check Device Manager for any conflicts. Windows 7 should be stable enough for SA:MP. I don't even have SP1 of it (thanks to a bug) and it's even stable for me. Is your computer up-to-date?

BTW, for video drivers, if Windows Update finds one, always install it, but don't rely on just that. Many times Windows Update is far behind in drivers for video cards, so I would recommend checking ATI's site for the latest drivers in case it's a bug.

I tried uninstalling the drivers and then downloading them of the ATI website, (the proper 7 64bit one) and still no luck

[SugarD]

I tried uninstalling the drivers and then downloading them of the ATI website, (the proper 7 64bit one) and still no luck

Do you see any conflicts listed at all? They usually will have an exclamation point next to them.

Edit: Looked at your temp. That is VERY hot. Heat is more than likely your issue.

[AmyV]

Do you see any conflicts listed at all? They usually will have an exclamation point next to them.

Edit: Looked at your temp. That is VERY hot. Heat is more than likely your issue.

No conflicts, and I see, even though my PC is packed with fans I wasn't expecting overheating to be the problem
Is it worth buying a new fan?

[SugarD]

No conflicts, and I see, even though my PC is packed with fans I wasn't expecting overheating to be the problem
Is it worth buying a new fan?

You'll probably hate me for saying this, but considering the power your computer outputs, I would look into liquid cooling. Fans just don't cut it anymore in the computer world, but manufacturers refuse to acknowledge it because it's more cost-effective to buy a 50-cent fan and add $2 to the overall computer's price for it. I don't think adding more fans is going to help you with the kind of computer you have. Generally the more powerful a computer is, the hotter it gets because it's processing more at once over those little metal marks on the circuit-boards. All that data in the form of electricity trying to go as fast as it can through there creates a lot of heat. Adding more fans would only [slightly] push that heat around in the case, use more power, and make more noise. :P

[AmyV]

You'll probably hate me for saying this, but considering the power your computer outputs, I would look into liquid cooling. Fans just don't cut it anymore in the computer world, but manufacturers refuse to acknowledge it because it's more cost-effective to buy a 50-cent fan and add $2 to the overall computer's price for it. I don't think adding more fans is going to help you with the kind of computer you have. Generally the more powerful a computer is, the hotter it gets because it's processing more at once over those little metal marks on the circuit-boards. All that data in the form of electricity trying to go as fast as it can through there creates a lot of heat. Adding more fans would only [slightly] push that heat around in the case, use more power, and make more noise. :P

I understand, but how much is water cooling? I dont know if I'd be able to afford that kind of stuff

[SugarD]

I understand, but how much is water cooling? I dont know if I'd be able to afford that kind of stuff

Unfortunately it can get quite expensive, which is why Alienware is the only company that sells pre-built computers offering such a thing as a standard option.