iMac shuts down plating CoD4.

[Marcucco]

It's very odd and I can't figure out what's going on.
I'll be playing CoD4 and the computer will suddenly shut down completely.
It's not going to sleep, this is a hard shut down.
I'll have to leave the computer unplugged for 15-30 minutes before it will restart.

This is a new trick, it just started this past week.
I've been playing on line for more then a month without a problem.
It doesn't happen when I run any other software.

What I found:
It ONLY happens when I'm playing CoD4.
There is nothing in the console logs that would indicate why it shut down.
It doesn't go down when I start the game, I'll get to play for 10 minutes or so before it shuts down.

What I tried:
I tried swapping out joysticks thinking maybe it was a hardware problem.
I tried zapping the Pram
I threw out all the 3'rd party and custom maps.

The only thing I can think of is maybe it's a PunkBuster issue.
The week before all this started, I suddenly had to manually upload an update.
I never had to do this before, so I downloaded a fresh updater as well.
This is the only thing that's changed in the past 2 weeks so I'm leaning toward this being somehow related to the problem.

Anybody got any ideas?

 

[xparaparafreakx]

Any heat issues or loud fan noises?

 

[Jethryn Freyman]

Which computer model and OS are you running?

Try running the Apple Hardware Test (D key on startup from original DVD.) Could be a GPU issue.

 

[Marcucco]

There's no excess fan noise, (but it is running) and the exhaust doesn't seem warmer then normal.
There's also nothing in the log about an over-temp situation, it's like somebody pulled the plug.

It's an intel duo 20" iMac running 10.4.11.

I'm not sure the hardware test would help since it only happens when I'm gaming.
I know it sounds implausible, but I'm 100% certain.
I've specifically avoided playing CoD for days to see if it would happen in any other situation.
It has only ever happened when I'm gaming.
It doesn't happen at the startup of the game or at the the beginning or end of a match, it's at random points anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes into the game so I'm not sure it's the game itself.
I'm leaning toward it being a PunkBuster issue.

 

[Beerfloat]

3D games do tend to stress your computer harder than most other applications, really flexing your CPU, GPU and memory. From the sounds of it I'm leaning toward marginal memory or a thermal issue with CPU or GPU.

I'd try run some other 3D games/demos and see if the same problem happens. I'm still rather new on the Mac side of things but if you have Boot Camp I'd definitely recommend running Prime95 and Furmark for about 2 hours each, some of the premier stress tests around. Many systems that appear fully functional otherwise will trip up with either of those 2.

 

[Sweep'n Streets]

Your computer is overheating, and it's shutting down as a way to protect itself. Hope you're still under warranty...

 

[crazzyeddie]

Overheating. Definitely.