BleepingComputer.com: problem with video card

so the video card is a geforce 8500gt.

pc specs
vista sp1
phenom 2.2ghz quad core
700gb hdd
3gb ram
300w psu

so the computer works fine but theres this high pitched sound that comes from the tower and once i start a game it will play them amazing then 5 minutes later lock up for no reason. the sound will get stuck and loop and i cant even pull up a task manager the only option from there is manual reboot.

please help this is so frustrating, ive tried installing new drivers and stuff. even thought it was heat issues but i took the side cover off and still the same results. the fan on the gpu is constantly running.

thanks in advance

"300w psu"

Cutting it pretty close to the bone !
The 8500GT system requiremenst are,

Minimum of a 300 Watt power supply.
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 18 Amps.)

Notice the word minimum !

I suggest getting a stroger PSU .

now why would a new computer come with a psu that doesnt support the video card it comes with?

I dont get it.

whats the manufacturer? and because prebuilts are dipsticks like that, from that setup it looks like a bottom of the line quad core system, designed for around the house stuff, word processing and the like, not designed to do intensive games like that. and the PSU will prolly run it fine for around the house stuff but under load its probably really straining a computer, 300 watts is really low for a computer these days. I wont even put anything lower then a 500 watt into a build anymore, and thats for a general around the house system, my gaming rig has a 750 watt. But my guess is your PSU cant handle the load, or the video card has issues. are all the drivers up to date?

What brand & model computer is it ?

Most computer manufacturers put in the minimum wattage, cheapest, PSU they can get as long as it makes the computer work for general use.
They do that to keep the cost of the unit as low as possible to stay "competitive" .
Most "brand name" computers aren't set up for any kind of gaming other then maybe a very simple game [Icy Tower ] .

BTW, I'm not saying for a fact the PSU is the problem, just that it barely meets the minimum requirements.
I'm suggesting that under a heavy graphics intensive game that the PSU simply doesn't have enough "juice" to keep up with the load.

I was using onboard video until I got a Radeon X1800 XL video card.
The minimum requirements call for a 450 watt PSU, I killed 2 of them !
I put a 680 Watt PSU in & have had no more problems.

Try this,
Download & install PC Wizard,

http://download.cnet.com/PC-Wizard-2008/30...4-10793737.html

Open it.
On the bottom right click on the icon that looks like a temp gauge.
The Volts & temps will be listed.
What are they ?

At the very bottom click on Benchmark
When the page changes click on the icon at the bottom that looks like a monitor with a clock on it.
That is Benchmark video
See if it finishes without any problems.