Help! My com is weird

Hey, I'm a total computer idiot I think and I really need help.
My computer always hang when i play games... First there will be a "Tick" sound then after a few seconds, My com will hang. I can't quit the programme except to restart my com. Can anyone offer help Pls? Thanks

Is this just one or two particular games? Games demand the most of your machine, so you might want to close anything you don't need (try disabling anti-virus, too) before running. This includes your MSN Messenger, Fold@Home, etc. Clean out the task bar.

Also, check each games' manufacturer/distributor website for updates or patches.

Also, check for driver updates for your video card.

yeah will you tell us what games and what the specs of your computer are....that might help a bit.

My computer is a 2.8E with 1 gig Ram, Video card is a Radeon 9800 series. It applies to alot of games , not all but some... Hope this info is enuff..

It could be a cooling problem. How are your cpu temps?

my friends had the same problem but it turned out to be a psu problem.so try different psu and check temps

Now now guys, Guitarboy, you always say its a PSU problem! . It could be alot of things! Might be a driver issue, maybe a temperature issue, bad sector or partition on HDD, DirectX, RAM...etc. If the Radeon is connected to one off those power connector thingies, then maybe its a PSU issue, but will most likely still be a Graphics card issue. I would have suggested lowering the details of the game...but looking at the specs........I dont know any any games (that ARE available) that could do that! Guess we gonna have to do a process of elimination! Start with software,

Can you give us your Operating System, DirectX version, driver version....etc?

well i have bad luck with psu's,damn things need to have like 20 year warranties for me

My cpu temp is 52 deg while my sys is 45. Running on XP PRO and as for the rest... I'm not so sure... I always hear a TICK sound , so my friends and I assume it's my hard disk or graphics card.. But now I doubt...

if you really want to be sure, do these steps.

first get a burn-in benchmark software, the whole bunch is not required. the processor burn in, and the hdd burn in. if u can get the Graphics / GPU burn in, better. these are freewares, and VERY small in size.(can be downloaded from pal's comp)

1) test processor - be sure to have a medium sized fan blowing air into the side of the cabinet. you have to open it.

2) test HDD
3) test GPU

now see in which test the comp is hanging......
then revert back to us.