Alright so my uncle gave me his old desktop mac. Its nice but when I run a game like wow, spore, sims, or any game- it runs really smoothly at first, but eventually freezes, goes black, or the graphics mess up so bad you can't see what's going on. The INTERNET and most other programs don't seem to have any issues and for the most part I love the mac- just really wish the gaming quality was nicer. Wondering what I can do (preferably cheaply) to fix this problem? Is it a MOTHERBOARD issue/processor/heating/ram? I have no clue. Any help would be great You gave no info on which desktop Mac ( some are easy to open, others are not).  See my signature as a sample for minimum useful info to give.  If you need help identifying the machine, DOWNLOAD the free MacTracker for your OS:

http://www.mactracker.ca/



But---

 going with your runs OK for a while (eliminates minimum hardware specs), then messes up, I would guess a heating problem.  Clear the vents, blow out the dust bunnies, check the fans and heat sinks ---

   ADDITIONAL RAM always helps, as does a reasonably healthy hard DRIVE. Depending on your OS, you may need as much as 20% available space for temporary files.


Greg
Leopard OSX 10.5.6
12" PowerBook, G41.5Ghz, 1.25G RAM


The info you sent by Private message indicates:

2006-2007 era Mac Mini or iMac, probably.  RAM limits and video cards vary

  The mini looks like a white box that you plug your own keyboard and monitor into (like the ones from your old windows machine)

   The iMac looks like a flat panel monitor on an L shaped metal stand. If you can tell me which ---- along with Model name and model identifier (available by selecting "More Info..." in that About this Mac panel --- it's in the hardware section at the top.  Also quick check "Diagnostics")

   Once we have that, then we can move on to pointing you to the right nut-and-bolt info.