Reasons Why Computer Freezes When Playing Games
I have been there. Right in the heat of the moment, when you are about to blow of a terrorist’s head in a closely fought game of Counterstrike, the computer freezes and you lose the shot! While controlling the uncontrollable outburst of expletives, you watch your CT team taking a beating. In such cases, if computer freezes while playing games, you need to immediately identify the source of the problem and take care of it, to prevent further freezing episodes. I am going to help you figure out the problems that could cause your computer to freeze while playing computer games in this Buzzle article.
Why Does Your Computer Freeze During Game Play?
Every single computer problem can be traced to two prime sources, which include hardware and software related issues. Rendering and operating computer games poses the ultimate challenge for your computer hardware and software and if both are found lacking in any aspect, it’s bound to reflect in performance. In the following lines, you will find the prime hardware and software related problems that may cause a computer to hang up or freeze in the middle of action.
Mismatching Hardware & Software Requirements
When you investigate why your computer slows down all of a sudden while playing games with heavy GPU usage, you will find the most common reason to be mismatching hardware or software requirements. If the game demands that you need at least 2 GB of RAM for the game to run smoothly and your computer has a paltry 512 MB of RAM, the game is sure as hell going to slow down! If your processor, graphic card and software requirements are not met, the game will continue to freeze or in some cases, it won’t run at all. So check out the minimum hardware and software requirements for the game and upgrade your computer to ensure that freezing doesn’t occur!
Video Card Driver Problem
One of the most crucial components that play a large role in the graphic rendering of games is the video card. If you don’t have the right video card driver or your existing video card driver has bugs, the game may freeze. You will need to upgrade the video card driver to solve the problem.
Overheated Video Card and CPU
Another purely computer hardware related cause that may freeze your PC is overheating. If you have been playing for hours, the mortal failing of your CPU and video card are bound to get exposed, leading to a freeze situation. When this happens, you need to switch off the system and let it cool down for a while, before you start playing again.
Background Processes Eating Up Memory
If you have too many programs running in the background when playing computer games, they are bound to eat up the working memory of the computer and cause it to slow down. Ensure that all background processes, besides the ones that are absolutely necessary are not being run, to make your game play smooth.
Virus Problems
Another cause, which is the root of most software or hardware related computer problems is a computer virus infection. Viruses can keep processes running in the background that may cause a freeze during game play. They may even corrupt the game software installed on the computer. Get one of the best antivirus software and clean out all the virus infections that might be slowing the computer down.
Outdated or Corrupted Rendering Software
A crucial component in the running of games on a computer is the rendering software like DirectX that is installed on the computer. If you have an old or corrupted version, you may experience rendering problems during game play, leading to a freeze. This can be prevented by installation of the latest rendering software.
In most cases, the freezing problem is mostly related to the graphic card driver or mismatching hardware or software requirements. Check for each of the above causes one by one, until you arrive at the right diagnosis. Make sure that all the hardware requirements, as well as software requirements are met to ensure that your computer runs smoothly and doesn’t hang up when you are in the middle of action!
