4870X2 issues on WinXP SP3

[Stern]

I built my new rig last night, installed WinXP Pro, installed the service packs and all updates, installed my normal programs like AV and Firewall. I also installed the Catalyst 8.1 Drivers and CCC.

I tried Splinter Cell Double Agent, cranked up all the settings and started a new game. Ran like a hot knife through butter, although I was getting some weird sound glitches, like when I'd turn and it switched from left to right ear it would cut out very briefly.

Then after about 15 mins play my computer restarted. I checked for minidump file, and sure enough, windows had encountered a BSOD and automatically restarted. I checked the minidump file and ati3duag.dll had been involved in the error.

I then tried TF2, and it took forever to start up. And when I alt+tabbed to desktop it didn't show the desktop at all, I had to use force restart to get out of TF2, which was just stuck on a black screen. Then I ran it again, this time it ran ok, but it seemed awfully slow. And when I moused over the menu in TF2, the first time that it generated the little clicking sound when a menu item is highlighted, it took about a second to load it (if you know what I mean...).

The rest of my system is:

P5Q Deluxe
E8600
G.Skill 4GB DDR2-1000 (I know Windows only sees 3GB of it)
Corsair 750TX

Any help here would be hugely appreciated. I just paid a lot for my system and I would really like it to work!

 

[BFG10K]

Do you have the latest chipset drivers and BIOS for your motherboard?

 

[myocardia]

I hope you mean that you installed the Cat 8.10 drivers. BSOD's are usually caused by system RAM, especially with new buids by people who don't have alot of experience. You'll need to change these settings in your BIOS, assuming you aren't overclocking your CPU:

Row Refresh Cycle Time: at least 55

then farther down the same page

DRAM Voltage: 2.0v, which will give you an actual value of ~1.96v. You may need to go as high as 2.05v, though, if you're trying to run your RAM @ 1000 DDR, but most likely not.


After making those changes, save them, and you should be stable.

 

[Stern]

Yeah I'm using Catalyst 8.10. I'm going to do a new post on the motherboard forum since if this is a motherboard BIOS settings issue then this is the wrong forum for it. If it turns out not to be that, I'll come back over here! Thanks for the help!

 

[aatf510]

Originally posted by: Stern
I built my new rig last night, installed WinXP Pro, installed the service packs and all updates, installed my normal programs like AV and Firewall. I also installed the Catalyst 8.1 Drivers and CCC.

I tried Splinter Cell Double Agent, cranked up all the settings and started a new game. Ran like a hot knife through butter, although I was getting some weird sound glitches, like when I'd turn and it switched from left to right ear it would cut out very briefly.

Then after about 15 mins play my computer restarted. I checked for minidump file, and sure enough, windows had encountered a BSOD and automatically restarted. I checked the minidump file and ati3duag.dll had been involved in the error.

I then tried TF2, and it took forever to start up. And when I alt+tabbed to desktop it didn't show the desktop at all, I had to use force restart to get out of TF2, which was just stuck on a black screen. Then I ran it again, this time it ran ok, but it seemed awfully slow. And when I moused over the menu in TF2, the first time that it generated the little clicking sound when a menu item is highlighted, it took about a second to load it (if you know what I mean...).

The rest of my system is:

P5Q Deluxe
E8600
G.Skill 4GB DDR2-1000 (I know Windows only sees 3GB of it)
Corsair 750TX

Any help here would be hugely appreciated. I just paid a lot for my system and I would really like it to work!

Just to give you an idea.
I have similar config in my system.
P5Q Pro
E8400
OCZ 4GB DDR2-1000
Seasonic 650w

I also run XP Pro SP3 and Catalyst 8.10, and TF2 runs great on my machine.

 

[MichaelD]

Assuming your system memory is OK and you're not running some insane CPU overclock, your problem sounds software related. I'm having no problems at all and my install is about two weeks old.

I'm running the Gaming Rig in my sig, XP SP3 CAT8.10's and latest MB drivers. Are you also running the latest (Aug 08) DirectX?

Also, sometimes when you install a game, it automatically installs whatever version of DX it has on the CD/DVD. Sometimes it won't give you a chance to say "NO I don't want to do that" and installs whatever version it has (maybe it's three years old!) over whatever you have.

Whenever I install an "old game" if it runs that autoinstall DX crap, I ALWAYS reinstall the latest DX on top of it and reboot. Good insurance and no probs yet. DX affects everything about a game. Sound and video.

 

[Stern]

I received my Windows Vista Ultimate disc yesterday, so I formatted and installed and only used the newest drivers and everything seems to be a lot smoother now. I also upped my DRAM voltage. Not tried out a game yet but I will this evening after work! Thanks for all the help so far guys!

Also MichaelD, when you say you install the latest version of DirectX, is there an online installer from Microsoft that automatically finds the latest version and downloads and installs it for you? Or is there a redist version I can get? I prefer having stuff offline.