Graphics Issue/Freezing after WoW patch

[G4S]

Hey everyone,

I am running an Intel based iMac, 24 inch with the nVidia Geforce graphics card, and up until Tuesday it was working flawlessly. On Tuesday world of warcraft came out with patch 3.2 and that is when the problems started. I logged into the game and was able to play for about 30-45 second before my graphics messed up and the computer completely locked up. I tried a console command (an in game command that is typed into the chat log) that was suggested on the official forums (can’t remember it off the top of my head) and it worked. The game stopped freezing and everything was fine. Until the next day when my wife tried to get on the computer and she had the exact thing happen, the graphics spazed out and the computer locked up. She was only trying to surf the internet.

I checked yesterday and all my software is updated. Does anyone have any ideas/solutions?

Thanks in advance.

 

[jmpage2]

Hey everyone,

I am running an Intel based iMac, 24 inch with the nVidia Geforce graphics card, and up until Tuesday it was working flawlessly. On Tuesday world of warcraft came out with patch 3.2 and that is when the problems started. I logged into the game and was able to play for about 30-45 second before my graphics messed up and the computer completely locked up. I tried a console command (an in game command that is typed into the chat log) that was suggested on the official forums (can’t remember it off the top of my head) and it worked. The game stopped freezing and everything was fine. Until the next day when my wife tried to get on the computer and she had the exact thing happen, the graphics spazed out and the computer locked up. She was only trying to surf the internet.

I checked yesterday and all my software is updated. Does anyone have any ideas/solutions?

Thanks in advance.

The graphics card is failing. It is probably coincidental that you put the WoW patch in at the same time.

 

[G4S]

The graphics card is failing. It is probably coincidental that you put the WoW patch in at the same time.

Really?? The computer is just over a year old, it was purchased last July. The issues started about 2 minutes after I started the game up, and I had the computer running for about 2-3 hours before I started the game...that would be a huge coincidence.

Thats going to make me really mad too...I went to apple because all I heard about was their reliability...

 

[iLog.Genius]

Really?? The computer is just over a year old, it was purchased last July. The issues started about 2 minutes after I started the game up, and I had the computer running for about 2-3 hours before I started the game...that would be a huge coincidence.

Thats going to make me really mad too...I went to apple because all I heard about was their reliability...

Run the Apple Hardware Test.

 

[G4S]

Run the Apple Hardware Test.

Thanks for the tip, I am pretty new to macs so I didnt know that this exsisted.

Thanks for all the help!

 

[kkat69]

You might want to also check out the Mac forums on the WoW website. See if anyone else has issues. If you truly suspect it may be WoW related, they can help a lot better than most people here.

Some of the 'blues' do come here but you'll get quicker/better response if it's WoW related there plus they'll even help you (give you steps) on how to check your logs to see if it's WoW related.

 

[jmpage2]

Really?? The computer is just over a year old, it was purchased last July. The issues started about 2 minutes after I started the game up, and I had the computer running for about 2-3 hours before I started the game...that would be a huge coincidence.

Thats going to make me really mad too...I went to apple because all I heard about was their reliability...

You can do a simple search here and see that others have had problems as you describe with your Macs graphics card.

Hardware fails for a number of reasons. The iMac is basically a laptop with a big screen setting on it. While reliable, I doubt it can handle the type of punishment that a gaming PC can handle for constant high heat (and for the record I've had two high end graphics cards on PCs go out).

In all likelihood the graphics card needs replacement. Your best bet is to find a local shop that services Macs and see if they can do it for less than what Apple will charge you (which will be a lot).

 

[miniConvert]

Sounds like what happened when my original ATI X1900XT fried.

 

[kgapp]

It is almost definitely a video card failure. I agree it sounds like it is just a coincidence that it failed right after you installed the patch. However, there is a decent probability that extended WoW usage on your iMac over time may have helped contribute to the failure.

The same thing happened to me on two separate iMacs that were used for heavy WoW usage. Video card failure. Both times Apple had to replace the logic board to fix the video problem (even though one of the Imacs had a daughtercard video processor - they decided to replace the whole logic board anyway).

Bottom line is that extended WoW usage = lots of heat generated by the machine. Heat and electronics are usually a bad combination. The iMac packs a lot of power in a small space and if its not well ventilated heat can cause issues.

Hopefully you purchased the extended Applecare for your machine. If you did not than being over 1 year from purchase date means you will most likely be declined for a free repair. Maybe if you beg and plead they will extend for you. Hard to say for sure. It just depends on how helpful of a support specialist you talk to on the day you bring it in. If you have to pay for it out of your pocket it is going to be crazy expensive like all Apple repairs.

Good luck. Hopefully they will take care of you.

 

[G4S]

Well, turns out that we purchased it on July 20th 08, and thankfully we had enough sense to purchase the apple care.

 

[G4S]

So when I did the hardware test as suggested above it came back with no errors/troubles. I did the quick test first, and then the extended test and got no issues. If the video card was really failing wouldn't I get some kind of error?

 

[G4S]

I am now thoroughly convinced it is Warcraft related because the issues stated above have stopped and a new issue has arisen... I get the black screen of death anytime I start up warcraft....