Powermac crashes when playing games

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Powermac crashes when playing games

Hi. I've got a problem with my Powermac G4 (Dual 450MHz).
Everytime I play a game (Quake 3 or Redline for example) the mac crashes sooner or later and I need to reboot. I've checked RAM, fixed HD permissions, fixed the HDs and cleared all cache. The mac has a stock ATI Rage128 Pro and 640 MB RAM. My mac crashes only when playing games, never when in "normal use".

Powermac G4 Gigabit Ethernet, Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Posted on Dec 3, 2006 2:57 AM

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Answer 1

Dec 3, 2006 3:39 AM in response to fintendo

Hi

It may be worth just checking the ventilation holes in the case aren't clogged with dust etc and the case fan is still spinning okay. If games are the only time you 'stress' the processors (e.g. you don't also use it for DVD encoding etc), perhaps it's a heat issue. You could try temporarily using it with the case open to see whether it makes any difference, which would also allow you to check the fan(s). It seems unlikely but it may be worth a shot.

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Answer 2

Dec 3, 2006 6:22 AM in response to fintendo

fintendo, welcome to Apple Discussions.

How much RAM do you have? Could be insufficient RAM.

 Cheers, Tom

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Answer 3

fintendo Author

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Dec 3, 2006 7:35 AM in response to Texas Mac Man

As I stated already the computer has 640 MB RAM.
I've just replaced the main fan so it shouldn't be a problem.

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Answer 4

Dec 3, 2006 9:25 AM in response to fintendo

You Mac will take up to 1.5GB RAM. So, you might consider increasing it. However, your 450MHz processor speed may be the limiting factor.

 Cheers, Tom

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Answer 5

BTMBASS

Level 1

95 points

Dec 4, 2006 8:30 AM in response to Texas Mac Man

hey, as a gamer myself; I have noticed while playing WoW, C&C, or Rainbow 6 for an extended period of time my computer crashes as well. I thought it was the cpu overheating, but after feeling around the cpu after a crash it didn't feel overly hot, touched the graphics card and almost burned my finger; lol. so it might be your graphics card over heating, although i never had my ATI 128 overheat, try running it with the case fully open and see if that helps.

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