Continuous Crashing (Graphics?)

first off there is already a ticket into support and I'll be calling them later, yes I should go there first.

However I've already tried to get their help and it seemed unsatisfactory last time so I'm going to ask here as well.

System Specs:
AMD Athlon 64x2 6000+
Asus M2N SLI E
4GB DDR2 Memory
Radeon HD 6870
500GB Hard Drive
600W Power supply
Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)

I had game crashing issues about a month ago, got some help from support, found out that my graphics card was overheating, opened up my box and realized that over the summer while I wasn't playing my Graphics card fan had filled with dust. After a cleaning it worked ~better. Still some crashes and after reading the error codes the NCsoft people were sure it was a Graphics issue. I also got the BSOD on occasion with the error 0x~50. So I broke down and got a Radeon HD 6870 to try and resolve the problem. (my previous graphics card was a nvidia 240 GT). This has not only not resolved the problem it has in fact made it impossible for me to play for more than 10 minutes without a crash, even at lowest possible graphics settings. My graphics card is not even close to overheating. I'm using the 12.1 drivers for the graphics card, but when the game crashes I'm getting the same error message as I did before (the game error is 0xc~50). Also, I BSOD'd with the same 0x~50 error. This seems to be a graphics related issue, but doesn't make sense that two totally different cards from a different class and a different manufacturer could be having the exact same problem. it seems like it might be something else going on. Any input would be appreciated. I'll post the CoH helper info below.

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---System information gathered by CoH Helper version 0.2.0.2---

DxDiag gathered at February 9, 2012 11:02 (-05:00)
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.110622-1506)
System Manufacturer: System manufacturer
System Model: System Product Name
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Central Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+ (2 CPUs), ~3.0GHz
Memory: 4096MB
.Net Memory Report: 2768MB out of 4094MB available
Page File: 6574MB (1612MB currently in use)
C Drive: (WDC WD5000AAJB-00UHA0 ATA Device) 103081MB out of 476837MB (21%) free
I Drive: (YHOP 6JKTU34P2ZGT SCSI CdRom Device) zero-size drive
D Drive: (HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-H62N ATA Device) zero-size drive
F Drive: (MagicISO Virtual DVD-ROM0000) zero-size drive
Windows directory location: C:\Windows
DirectX: DirectX 11
DirectX Diag version: 6.01.7601.17514 (64-bit version)

Display Notes: No problems found.
Sound Notes: No problems found.
Input Notes: No problems found.

Monitor:
Monitor's Max Resolution: (blank)
Video Device Name: AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series
Manufacturer / Chip: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. / ATI display adapter (0x6738)
Video Memory: 2803 MB
Driver Version: 8.930.0.0
Driver Date: 12/5/2011 10:16:00 PM
Driver Language: English

Sound Device Description: Speakers (C-Media PCI Audio Device)
Driver File: cmudax3.sys
Driver Version: 5.12.0001.0008
Driver Date: 1/14/2010 6:54:24 PM


WMI Information
Motherboard Manufacturer: ASUSTeK Computer INC.
Motherboard Model: (empty)
Motherboard Product: M2N-E SLI
Motherboard Version: 1.XX
BIOS Manufacturer: Phoenix Technologies, LTD
BIOS Name: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
BIOS Version: Nvidia - 42302e31
BIOS Release: 20100916000000.000000+000


Registry Information for Current User
Resolution: 1680x1050
3D Resolution: 1680x1050 (Not using renderscale)
Full Screen: Yes
Maximized: No
Screen Position: 0, 0
Refresh Rate: 0Hz
Vertical Sync Enabled: Yes


Physics Quality: High
Maximum Particles: 25920
Max Particle Fill? 10.000
Physics Card Enabled: No


Anti-aliasing: Off
Anisotropic Filtering: 4x
Texture LOD Bias: Smooth
Water Effects: Medium quality
Bloom: 1.000 (turned on)
Depth of Field Enabled: Yes
Desaturation Effects (Sepia) Enabled: Yes
Shader Detail: High


World Texture Level: High
Character Texture Level: High
World Detail Level (Vis_Scale): 1.000
Entity Detail Level: 1.000
Shadows Enabled: No
Shadow Mode: Stencil shadows
Shadow Map Shader: Unknown (0)
Environmental Reflections: Low quality
Advanced Occlusion Settings: Yes
Ambient Occlusion: High performance
Occlusion Strength: Off
Blur: Fast
Ambient Resolution: High performance


Gamma Correction: 1.000
Geometry Buffers (VBOs) Enabled: Yes
Suppression of FX When Camera Close Enabled: No
Close Suppression Range: 3.000
Show Advertisements: Yes

Audio Mode: Compatiblity
3D Audio: No
FX Sound Volume: 0.145
Music Sound Volume: 0.000

Show Advanced Graphics Options: Yes
Overall Graphics Quality: 0.750
Reverse Mouse Buttons: No
Save Login Username: Yes
Transfer Rate: Unknown bytes/second
Current Game Version: ?
Installation Directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\NCsoft\City of Heroes

Mod files in the Data directory
.\texture_library\MAPS\city has 2 files
.\texture_library\MAPS\Midnight_Squad has 1 file
.\texture_library\MAPS\NewPlayerTutorial has 1 file
.\texture_library\MAPS\Safeguard has 9 files
.\texture_library\MAPS\sewers has 44 files
.\texture_library\MAPS\static has 40 files
.\texture_library\P_MAPS has 2 files
.\texture_library\V_MAPS\City has 2 files
.\texture_library\V_MAPS\Outdoor_Missions has 9 files
.\texture_library\V_MAPS\Static has 16 files

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Nvidia guy myself, but you might wanna start here,
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showt...=278655&page=3

Radeon safe driver list thread.

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I suppose your using a driver cleaner on changes? Did you try running in safe mode, and or, turning down all the eye candy? Did you get any error messages in the windows "event viewer" that might help you isolate the issue?

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Well for starters the 12.1 drivers have been rock solid for me.

Please note to many tech folk saying "600W Power Supply" means about as much as telling us your car runs on gas. Who made the power supply and model number.

If you are getting the same error after changing the video card the problem isn't with the video card. There are lots of things that can be tried. Have you tried a new clean install of City of Heroes? Have you tried a clean install of Windows?

What sorts of temps are you getting on your CPU? The 6000+ was notorious for being a really hot chip.

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H: Blaster 50, Defender 50, Tank 50, Scrapper 50, Controller 50, PB 50, WS 50
V: Brute 50, Corruptor 50, MM 50, Dominator 50, Stalker 50, AW 50, AS 50
Top 4: Controller, Brute, Scrapper, Corruptor
Bottom 4: (Peacebringer) way below everything else, Mastermind, Dominator, Blaster
CoH in WQHD

The power supply is something I always suspect when very odd crashes start occurring. The fact that you completely replaced your graphics card without resolving the problem makes the power supply even more of a suspect. However, there are still lots of other little things to consider.

Have you overclocked anything? Replaced the RAM? Use an uninterruptible power supply that might be throttling the power throughput just enough to cause problems under heavy load? It sounds crazy, but I've had it happen to me. If you've changed any hardware before the problems began, the motherboard could have been damaged, which can also cause weird and unpredictable crashes.

Are you having trouble with any application other than CoH?

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Basically, its up to the OP to give us more info. At this point I am not going to pull out my Karnak hat.

Can't help without enough data.

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H: Blaster 50, Defender 50, Tank 50, Scrapper 50, Controller 50, PB 50, WS 50
V: Brute 50, Corruptor 50, MM 50, Dominator 50, Stalker 50, AW 50, AS 50
Top 4: Controller, Brute, Scrapper, Corruptor
Bottom 4: (Peacebringer) way below everything else, Mastermind, Dominator, Blaster
CoH in WQHD