2 months ago I recently built a new PC (spec at the end of this post).
After one dodgy ABIT mobo I got the system working really well and XP Pro is near enough 100% stable. It does work really well for most of what I want, aside from a few issues with a couple of bits of software which did not occur on my old 478 P4 setup. Frankly they are driving me nuts as I see no reason why these glitches should be there. I spent alot of cash getting this system on the go and I am prepared to devote the time (and a little extra cash if need be) to fix them.
Frustrating Glitch #1: Half Life 2 and its spin-offs have become a nightmare to play and seem to be particularly unstable when I am running a Java bittorrent client (Azureus) with any version of JRE in the background. This didn't happen with my old machine with the exact same software setup so why should it be happening now? I had been saving playing HL2 Episode 1 for the new PC but I refuse to play it now because it could freeze anytime, ruining my enjoyment. I see no reason why I shouldn't be able to play HL2 on such an advanced machine. I tried removing Java then playing HL2 and it is more stable but eventually does crash a bit further on
Frustrating Glitch #2: A small one but this glitch involves WMP11 and Media Player Classic which often crash (I can recreate a crash) when I try loading DivX AVI files quickly or access an MP3 file after a gaming session. Again, my older and inferior machine didn't do this so why should this new advanced one do it? It happens often enough to be irritating.
I'm out of idea guys and would sincerely appreciate any tips or advice.
All my software and drivers are 100% up to date, XP has got everything it can from Windows Update etc. I have tried multiple combinations of Nvidia drivers too, no joy. Latest BIOS for the P5B-E? Had it for ages.
So far, I've narrowed down my options to:
1. Replace the motherboard, try a new chipset? 975 or Nforce?
2. Change the RAM, do I have crap RAM? I ran memtest and it seemed ok.
3. Is my C2D chip somehow defective? (Very annoyed if so)
4. Modify my current chipset? Up the Vcore, RAM voltage or something?
Naturally I'm praying for number 4!
Cheers lads!
Main System Spec:
Cooler Master Centurion Silver Case
Cooler Master 12v Back Vent Fan
ASUS P5B-E Motherboard (0706 BIOS)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 2.4ghz (SpeedStep Technology off)
Zalman 9500CU-LED + SpeedFan 4.31 (can keep CPU fan at 50% inside XP)
2gb (2x1gb) Corsair XMS2-6400C4 TwinX CAS 4-4-4-12 RAM
Leadtek Geforce 6800 GT 256mb PCIe (81.85 Forceware)
Maxtor 300gb SATA II Hard Drive (C: )
Seagate 400gb SATA II Hard Drive (D: )
Plextor PX-716A ATA33 DVD-RW Drive (1.10 BIOS - E: )
SoundBlaster Audigy 4
OCZ 520w Modstream PSU
Windows XP Professional SP2
After one dodgy ABIT mobo I got the system working really well and XP Pro is near enough 100% stable. It does work really well for most of what I want, aside from a few issues with a couple of bits of software which did not occur on my old 478 P4 setup. Frankly they are driving me nuts as I see no reason why these glitches should be there. I spent alot of cash getting this system on the go and I am prepared to devote the time (and a little extra cash if need be) to fix them.
Frustrating Glitch #1: Half Life 2 and its spin-offs have become a nightmare to play and seem to be particularly unstable when I am running a Java bittorrent client (Azureus) with any version of JRE in the background. This didn't happen with my old machine with the exact same software setup so why should it be happening now? I had been saving playing HL2 Episode 1 for the new PC but I refuse to play it now because it could freeze anytime, ruining my enjoyment. I see no reason why I shouldn't be able to play HL2 on such an advanced machine. I tried removing Java then playing HL2 and it is more stable but eventually does crash a bit further on
Frustrating Glitch #2: A small one but this glitch involves WMP11 and Media Player Classic which often crash (I can recreate a crash) when I try loading DivX AVI files quickly or access an MP3 file after a gaming session. Again, my older and inferior machine didn't do this so why should this new advanced one do it? It happens often enough to be irritating.
I'm out of idea guys
and would sincerely appreciate any tips or advice.All my software and drivers are 100% up to date, XP has got everything it can from Windows Update etc. I have tried multiple combinations of Nvidia drivers too, no joy. Latest BIOS for the P5B-E? Had it for ages.
So far, I've narrowed down my options to:
1. Replace the motherboard, try a new chipset? 975 or Nforce?
2. Change the RAM, do I have crap RAM? I ran memtest and it seemed ok.
3. Is my C2D chip somehow defective? (Very annoyed if so)
4. Modify my current chipset? Up the Vcore, RAM voltage or something?
Naturally I'm praying for number 4!
Cheers lads!
Main System Spec:
Cooler Master Centurion Silver Case
Cooler Master 12v Back Vent Fan
ASUS P5B-E Motherboard (0706 BIOS)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 2.4ghz (SpeedStep Technology off)
Zalman 9500CU-LED + SpeedFan 4.31 (can keep CPU fan at 50% inside XP)
2gb (2x1gb) Corsair XMS2-6400C4 TwinX CAS 4-4-4-12 RAM
Leadtek Geforce 6800 GT 256mb PCIe (81.85 Forceware)
Maxtor 300gb SATA II Hard Drive (C: )
Seagate 400gb SATA II Hard Drive (D: )
Plextor PX-716A ATA33 DVD-RW Drive (1.10 BIOS - E: )
SoundBlaster Audigy 4
OCZ 520w Modstream PSU
Windows XP Professional SP2
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