serious error bsod?

[rei]

got a dual core x2 3800+ w/ freezer 64 cpu hsf, 40degrees idle 50 load
2gb (4x512mb ocz pc3200) ddr-ram
seasonic s12-430 psu
msi radeon x800xl
msi rs480m2-il

all running stock
windows xp2, sometimes, it randomly and inexplicably (not even under heavy load) it'll shutdown or bluescreens where it's just blue (no identifiable driver crashes etc like nv4disp or anything) without any white text

event viewer comes back after i power off machine and power off saying 'system has recovered from a serious error'

anyone know what usually causes these 'serious errors'?

i have a spare s939 a64 3000+ to test with but do i need to reformat/reinstall windows? (i was told upgrading a dual core x2 chip onto single core cpu required reinstalling so it would show both cores in taskman...do i have to do the same if swapping in single core again?

 

[Kogan]

Your cpu temps look good, so if you're not overclocking the CPU, that's probably not the problem (unless the cpu is defective). Random lockups usually have a lot to do with RAM, and I see you have 4x512mb, which is not a great combination for a64 cpus.

Try to do some stress testing with prime95 and/or memtest and see what you get. If memtest or prime95 blend fails after a few hours, it may be a memory problem. Try looser timings or higher voltage for your memory - also try removing 2 or 3 of the dimms temporarily to see if it makes a difference.

Don't know anything about swapping an a64 for your x2.. It's not a huge difference as far as windows drivers go, so it should work without problems, but then again, I've never done that before

 

[Steeplerot]

I know it sounds gimpy but try 166(333 ddr) speeds..might be a ram compatibility problem at 200(400 ddr) across all 4 chips on that mobo...

If that does work Kogan's advise may be the best....try different timings etc..

I went nuts with a gigabyte board with this problem. Finally had to try different brand of RAM and it worked perfect *shrugs*

 

[marks70]

Hmm, you've got an ATI-based chipset motherboard, so you're venturing into new territory. Not the easiest thing to do, but I would try a different motherboard and see what happens (of course you would have to format and reinstall Windows).