games crashing, how can i tell if it is winodws xp, or my computer?

Question

I have multiple games on a computer I recetly bought off amozon, withe the following specs:
Computer
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
OS Service Pack Service Pack 3
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Computer Name PC-3CD26D601B63
User Name PC

Motherboard
CPU Type DualCore Intel Pentium D 930, 3000 MHz (15 x 200)
Motherboard Name Dell OptiPlex GX620
Motherboard Chipset Intel Lakeport-G i945G
System Memory 1024 MB (DDR2-667 DDR2 SDRAM)
BIOS Type Phoenix (11/30/06)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port ECP Printer Port (LPT1)

Display
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce GT 610 (1024 MB)
Monitor Plug and Play Monitor [NoDB] (TJKG125G0WTU)

Multimedia
Audio Adapter Intel 82801GB ICH7 - AC'97 Audio Controller [A-1]

Storage
IDE Controller Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) Ultra ATA Storage Controllers - 27DF
IDE Controller Intel(R) 82801GB/GR/GH (ICH7 Family) Serial ATA Storage Controller - 27C0
Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive WDC WD800JD-75MSA3 (74 GB, IDE)
Disk Drive ST9500325AS (465 GB, IDE)
Optical Drive DTSOFT Virtual CdRom Device
Optical Drive DTSOFT Virtual CdRom Device
Optical Drive TSSTcorp CDRWDVD TS-H492C
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions
C: (NTFS) 74002 MB (50585 MB free)
E: (NTFS) 2282 MB (1458 MB free)
I: (NTFS) 476937 MB (339042 MB free)
Total Size 540.3 GB (381.9 GB free)

Input
Keyboard HID Keyboard Device
Mouse HID-compliant mouse
Game Controller Microsoft PC-joystick driver

Network
Network Adapter Belkin USB Wireless Adaptor (192.168.1.7)

Peripherals
Printer Microsoft XPS Document Writer
USB1 Controller Intel 82801GB ICH7 - USB Universal Host Controller [A-1]
USB1 Controller Intel 82801GB ICH7 - USB Universal Host Controller [A-1]
USB1 Controller Intel 82801GB ICH7 - USB Universal Host Controller [A-1]
USB1 Controller Intel 82801GB ICH7 - USB Universal Host Controller [A-1]
USB2 Controller Intel 82801GB ICH7 - Enhanced USB2 Controller [A-1]
USB Device Belkin USB Wireless Adaptor
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
USB Device Xbox 360 Controller for Windows

I would like to find out if it is win xp, or my gpu that I'm running. Games usually crash after 20 min mabye, without warning. I understand that this card is not really designed for games, but it can run some games at lowest settings. I wanted to ask the community if anyone knew anything before I got a linux distro or another windows version and tried.

Answer 1

just upgrade your RAM to 4 GB

Answer 2

When it crashes what error message is displayed or what else is observed?



It seems most likely that the video card is overheating, or that the game itself has some bugs that need patched, or that you need a newer video card driver if the driver is the cause.



It is not XP. That's a ridiculous presumption if the game works for 20 minutes rather than refusing to install or displaying a message that it isn't supported.

Answer 3

Its your Computer+XP both..

As you've only 1GB RAM and Pentium D so you won't be able to run any of the games beyond 2007 (some before 2K7 too)..

And secondly Win XP can't run games which require DirectX 10 or 11 so better upgrade it to Win 7 as its better at gaming than XP and supports DirectX 10, 11 natively..

Thirdly GT610 can run any game released by now at lowest settings with acceptable FPS as long as its paired w/ min. Pentium Dual Core E5200 (preferrebly overclocked to 3Ghz) and 3GB RAM..