Hi all. I have been recently struggling with an issue that seems to lead to all negative signs.

Basically, after barely 1-2 MINUTES in any 3D game, the computer locks up, the screen pixelizes in a mostly purple colour and the only way out is a hard reset. I'd attach a screenshot, but it's pretty much impossible to obtain one. In some games, this doesn't seem to occur until the game is being actively rendered (so I can wait around for a while on a main menu, but as soon as I load a game it locks up). I've researched somewhat on the issue and everything I've seen seems to be linked to the Video Card being fried, overheated etc. Naturally I started to fear the worst as I'm not really in the best financial position right now to spend on a brand new card.

I guess the reason I'm posting this is just to be able to hear from some experts and see what you guys think on the issue. I'm not really expecting a miraculous fix but if there's any chance I don't need to replace my Video Card, I will grab at it. I have run a program called FurMark and, though it hasn't locked up the computer, it shows temps. of the Video Card maxing out at around 75 degrees Celsius if that information will help. I have also checked the cooling fan on the video card while the computer and games are running and it is working fine, though it does appear to making a loud whirring noise (which has been going on long before the current problem).

My system specs are as follow (what I could find):

Microsoft WINDOWS Vista Home Premium Edition Service Pack 2 (build 6002), 32-bit
2.5 GB RAM
nVidia GeForce 8600 GT
1.5 GB Video RAM
AMD Phenom(tm) 9600 Quad-Core Processor

Not sure what else to ADD to the list...

Any help would be much APPRECIATED as I am becoming very frustrated with this issue!Perhaps a runtime error or your graphic card has a defect? I'm not sure...   

I have already a problem like that and it was the graphic card  Do your computer specs support the games REQUIREMENTS?
You can try Can You Run It? to make sure that your system supports the games in question.

Have you tried to reinstall the video card driver?
Video Driver for your card.

What else do you have running in the background that might be interupting it?