James writes, "I am currently having an issue with gaming. While I am playing, my screen will go black then back to the gaming screen, but my pc is frozen and the screen is distorted. It has the screen from the game, but the view is distorted. I was wondering, before I go out and spend money, is it a HD issue, Video Card issue, or a Processor issue? I think those 3 are the problems. Any advice would help."

I'm a little confused about your question. Do you mean that your graphics get distorted? i.e. you see the game screen, but there are weird color triangles, some strange blotches of color, or mixed up graphics?

If that's the case, the culprit is more than likely your video card, and it's usually due to overheating. You might want to check that your video card heatsink and fan are attached securely, and that the RAM chips on the video card are covered by heatsinks. Also, make sure there isn't a dust blanket covering your video card or blocking the air exhaust on your computer (I had that happen to me, it drove me nuts when my brand new video card was also overheating).

To make sure that it's an overheating issue, try downloading and using Winfox.

It should show your GPU temperature. Try running it while you're gaming, and switch back to the program (alt+tab) during the game. If it's showing something in the 90+ range, you're probably overheating your card.

Do you have a question you need answered? E-mail me! lordkat@gmail.com

Click here to check out How to Build a Gaming Computer for Under $1000.

Be safe,

Jason