PC powers off playing Oblivion

I would appreciate any help on this issue.

I just purchased and installed the game Oblivion. Nearly every time I play the game, my PC powers completely off. No warning, no pause or freeze, no noises. It occurs maybe half-hour to an hour into it. It is just as if I flipped the switch on the back or pulled the plug. My first thought is possibly a heat related issue, but this does not occur during any other activity. I've burned DVD's, watched television, and played emulated games all at the same time without a hitch. I am assuming this must be an oblivion related issue? Just wondering if anyone else who has this game has encountered the same issue.

Thanks

 

I think you may be right with your first impression as heat being the problem. The other activities you mentioned don't stress the system nearly as much as playing high-performance video-intensive games. To easily find out if heat is the problem, open the side of the case, aim a house fan to blow into the case, and play the game. If it does not shut off as it normally would, your video card or other components are likely overheating.

 

aye sounds like a heat issue me thinks

 

Yea, I also agree. Hey Tdonohue, could u tell us what stats ur running oblive on? Ghz, ram, and video card. Thanks

 

Well, after having a similar problem with my machine, another cause might be your Power Supply. I noticed the same thing on my new machine during heavy gaming. Turns out that the power supply was cheap, and couldn't stay stable under load. I've upgraded to a much better PSU, and now it works fine. It's something else to try if heat is not the issue.

 

Great point! PSU's have gotten so much flak in the last year...

 

before rushing out with your wallet open, run this program and start the test and let it run for 1 hour
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Prime95_d4363.html

while that is running, monitor your cpu temp

if the pc powers off then it could be a powersupply problem if the cpu temp is under 60C

also monitor the voltage if they fall too far below their rated values while running the program then the problem is your powersupply.