Seriously frustrating computer problem..

[huckleberrypie]

Alright, I removed the driver you both talked about and installed the version that we talked about. Ran a Dell diagnostic on the video card and it seemed just fine, passed all the tests.. then I played Sonic Generations as a hands-on test. After 10 minutes it just completely froze. x.x

*sigh*

So it seems there might still be a problem.

EDIT: According to Alexia's research, the model I have is known for some overheating issues.. with many accounts sounding a lot like what I'm descrbing..

You might be up for a refund or RMA, then.

[RAMChYLD]

This is why I never recommend a Dell anymore. Bad experience with my mom's XPS 1210M (it's supposed to be gaming capable! Why the heck did it overheat and suffer GPU damage?!?) followed. By poor support (turns out that there is a recall for the model, but only if you live in the US!) pissed me off.

[cpd2009]

This is why I never recommend a Dell anymore. Bad experience with my mom's XPS 1210M (it's supposed to be gaming capable! Why the heck did it overheat and suffer GPU damage?!?) followed. By poor support (turns out that there is a recall for the model, but only if you live in the US!) pissed me off.

The best option for a gaming rig is to build one yourself Angel, but you need to have knowledge of how to connect components to a motherboard and installing an operating system, and for some people, that can be a very intimidating task.

I hope those drivers didn't do permanent damage to your gaming rig, Angel. You paid quite a lot for it, and for the rig to have problems this soon....

As a rule, I only update my drivers on my laptop (Greta) when the Gateway Updater application says updates are available. I have been offered an nVidia Graphic Driver update through Windows Update, but per David's advice, I hid it from view so it won't get installed. As most pre-built computers and laptops come with their own driver update application, it's best to use that for driver updates over Windows Update.

I wonder if the Alienware driver update application is distributing the 320.18 drivers though?

[huckleberrypie]

This is why I never recommend a Dell anymore. Bad experience with my mom's XPS 1210M (it's supposed to be gaming capable! Why the heck did it overheat and suffer GPU damage?!?) followed. By poor support (turns out that there is a recall for the model, but only if you live in the US!) pissed me off.

I'm not sure with current models, but from what I know the earlier Pentium IV-era ones use a non-standard PSU pinout. 'Tis no wonder why people are so cynical at Dell, or in the case of gamers and system builders, Alienware.