X850XT and A8N problems - please help!

[obliter8]

Hello! Long-time site visitor, first-time poster! I dont think this is a duplicate of anything posted previously so please read on...

Anyway, ive just bought a new bunch of upgrade parts, and built my system:

AMD64 3500+ Winchester 939 pin with Thermalright XP-120 HSF
Asus A8N PCI-E mobo (not deluxe) Bios 1.1001
1024Mb DDR400 RAM (not dual channel)
Connect3D Radeon X850XT w/ 5.2 Cats
SBLive! Audigy Soundcard
DiamondMax 160Gb 7200RPM 8Mb SATA HDD
LG DVD Drive
Antec 480W Neopower ATX 2.0 PSU

Specifically, the mobo, CPU and GFX are new, everything else is up to a year old with no previous problems. Clean install XP SP2 after reformat.

The problem:

The performance is great when I'm in a game but the graphics are causing me no end of problems. Whenever I play a newly installed game for the first time, the screen will just remain black and often hangs the whole system. Either this or the normal picture will appear, but will be split into rows of alternating lines about 3mm high, each line
offset against the other. The screen now takes ages to change display modes (i.e. the monitor clicking when it changes from 2D to 3D) and no game works with vsync at all.

All the system drivers are the most up to date I can find, but if anyone can give me a source for nforce4 chipset drivers more recent than those on the Asus webby I'd be grateful.

Please, for my sanity, any ideas?

 

[Ackmed]

I have almost the same hardware as you. A8N-SLI, X850XT/PE, 3500+ Whinchester, Audigy 2 ZS, etc.

I dont have any of the problems that you have, though. The only game I get a black screen on when starting it up, is BF:V. It lasts for like 3 seconds, then I get the normal menu screen. It happened with my 6800GT as well, so I just assumed it was shoddy coding, like a game bug. All other games play fine, with none of the problems you have detailed. Do you have .net installed if you have the CCC drivers? Is you PSU native PCI-E with the 6-pin plug, or do you use an adapter? Since it is a clean install, and if you installed everything correctly, I dont know what it can be. :/

 

[obliter8]

thx for reply. I use the control panel, I dont like the CCC so no, I dont have .net. The PSU has a native 6-pin connection to the card.

aaargh!