Hey guys I was wondering whether you could help me. I have recently upgraded from an Athlon 64 3200+ to a Athlon 64 4200+ X2 Dual Core.

I then realised that there was a problem. My computer just randomly cuts off - as in the power supply just goes. Even in games, It has happened in GRAW & BF2.

I have tried to install the drivers, but sadly it makes the situation worse. I get the following message accompanied by the "Blue screen of death"

- IRQ_DRIVER_NOT_EQUAL_OR_EQUIVALENT (I dont have the error code)

I have only just bought the thing, so you can imagine how annoyed I am. It is so irritating. My specs are:

Mobo: Asus KA8N SLi Deluxe
AMD Athlon 64 4200+ X2 Dual core
2 x Corsair 3200 1gb
160gb Barracuda HD RAID
2 x 7800GTX SLi =)
Ageia PhsyX card (256mb)

Everything was working fine, until I upgraded. Any suggestions would be sweet
Please reply, ASAP.

Thanks,

Dr. Cool

Need to get the error code before troubleshooting. Just get the error code by right clicking on my computer then left click on manage and then look at your event viewer, I would say under system scroll down. There should be a red x and a error code. Just google that error code and it might give you more information. If not then you might want to try to reset your BIOS. Or Restore you settings in your BIOS. That might help.

Jim R

Try resetting your bios, by clearing the cmos jumper and that will revert it back to the factory defualt settings. If you get a blue screen then obv it's a hardware conflict somewhere possibly between the new processor and the bios settings you currently where using when you had your athlon 64 3200+ in there. If that doesn't work then you may have to do a frimware update for your Bios.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ OC 2.7ghz
2GB Dual Channel DDR 3200
Nvidia 7800GT
SATA II 2x 200gig 7200rpm 16mb cache RAID-0
Gigabyte Nforce 4 SLI

Am I wrong in thinking that an X2 4200+ is only marginally better than a 3200+ (depending on application, of course)? And that neither CPU is really powerful enough for 2 x 7800GTX SLi? Or does the Ageia PhysX card take the load off the CPU so that there's no bottleneck?

"Or does the Ageia PhysX card take the load off the CPU so that there's no bottleneck?"

¡Exactimundo, mi amigo astuto!

A major part of a PhysX card's objective is to shoulder most of the basic physics routines, thereby moving the hitherto CPU task to a discrete PPU letting the CPU do more with stuff like AI.

@ Blood-wingz

You seem to be very detailed with your power hungry rig concerning this power issue, but you still left out the OBVIOUS & critical part - the Power Supply Unit.

Can you provide its full details?

Computer Components

Right okay, sounds kool. Thanks for all your suggestions - I'll give it a go later on today. To be honest Jam, I have noticed a big improvement in loading applications and playing games. Did you know that there is a 70% increase , in performance in the X2.

You can handle nearly twice the load of a 3200+ and as for the SLi system, it works fine. Worked perfectly fine when using the 3200+. The PhysX card takes a small load off of the CPU & the graphics cards - well worth the money, for future releases. Those fortunate enough to have one, will tell you how sweet they are - just look at the game Cellfactor.

GRAW (v1.10) is also a recent game that does not explicitly asks for a PPU but renders effects more realistically with one installed.

Computer Components

"Did you know that there is a 70% increase , in performance in the X2"

In certain applications that's true, which is why I added the comment above (in parentheses). For instance, there is only a marginal difference between the 4200+/dual & 3200+/single in games like DOOM3 & FarCry:

http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.html?modelx=33&model1=236&chart=69&model2=247

http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.html?modelx=33&model1=236&chart=68&model2=247

However, in mulit-tasking or apps where the dual core is taken advantage of, there is a huge difference:

http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.html?modelx=33&model1=236&chart=75&model2=247

http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.html?modelx=33&model1=236&chart=74&model2=247

ok, this is directed at jam and has nothing to do with the question. ive been looking over the forums and anyone who seems to upgrade to an x2 from a single core gets a responce from u pretty much saying their stupid. my question is are x2s really that freggin evil? and r u on a mission to stop the world from going dual core?(it seems like it)i admit single core mite b a bit better for gaming, but if someone wants dual core and they do more than just game, then theyre gonna buy one. you will b sorry in the future that u didnt upgrade when all new games demand dual core. and there is nothing but an INCREASE in performance between a 3700 and 4400 x2, what this guy did waz the rite thing. X2 ROCKS!!!

Amd X2 4400+ @2.4ghz
3Gig Corsair
Msi-Ms-7184 mobo
ATI Radeon x850xt pciXpress 256mb
Antec Trupower 430watt
Creative soundblaster pci
200Gb seagate IDE 7200rpm
250Gb Samsung SATA

@ Napster

I think you've greatly misconstrued jams numerous responses on this X2 CPU's hence the cruel intent allegation.

I doubt he has anything to gain if AMD moves LESS or more X2's or even any of their product line for that matter & I'm sure same goes for Intel. This is a computing forum and while everyone is entitled to their opinion fact or fiction, jam is not one of the contributors that will give out a ficticious advice.

Take it or leave it & many thanks to the internet and inexpensive web access, there are various folks that come to this forum for help with their $2000.00 "Mailstation", pointing out a more economic platform to such users while helping them out should not be seen as derision.

If you put everything into perspective when comparing computing back in the days with computing today, the truth is - we are actually doing LESS with more horses & don't assume that I have a problem with that picture because I really don't....................LOL

Computer Components

"you will b sorry in the future that u didnt upgrade when all new games demand dual core. and there is nothing but an INCREASE in performance between a 3700 and 4400 x2, what this guy did waz the rite thing. X2 ROCKS!!!"

And how's that working for you????

@ Napster

I have nothing to gain (or lose) by stating the things I do. And believe me, I'm not some poor young sap that can't afford to upgrade or build a new PC, nor am I jealous when I see someone who has a system with maxed out specs. I could build a top of the line FX w/4GB RAM & dual 7900GTX SLi & it would barely put a dent in my wallet, but I choose not to because I don't need that kinda power for the stuff I do. I'm not a gamer & have NEVER said otherwise. When dual core becomes an actual necessity, I will get one, but the truth is, very few of us actually need one right now. You can feed me all the crap you want about "future-proofing" & whatever else you wanna say to justify your build, but unless you're truly a hardcore multi-tasker, your argument won't hold water. There currently are only a handful of games that take advantage of dual core...certainly not enough to justify spending $500 for a CPU upgrade, especially if you're upgrading from something like a 3700+. And FYI, in games that are NOT optimized for dual core, the 3700+ San Diego beats the X2 4400+ Toledo by a fair margin.

touch'e

Amd X2 4400+ @2.4ghz
3Gig Corsair
Msi-Ms-7184 mobo
ATI Radeon x850xt pciXpress 256mb
Antec Trupower 430watt
Creative soundblaster pci
200Gb seagate IDE 7200rpm
250Gb Samsung SATA

You're whole assumtion with jam was way off.

He will be sorry in the future by not having an X2?

Oh yes, every little thing is going to X2. I guess Jam better run out and buy an X2 because he won't be able to even run anti-virus software with out it!

You're funny.

Napster your X2 is 6 months away from being outdated. X2's are not the future and soon enough they will be the thing of the past because AMD and Intel are both going to quad-cores in 2007. Doh! Guess you better hurry and run out and buy one of those now asap, because they are going to be the future. Hurry man!!!!!!

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ OC 2.7ghz
2GB Dual Channel DDR 3200
Nvidia 7800GT
SATA II 2x 200gig 7200rpm 16mb cache RAID-0
Gigabyte Nforce 4 SLI

Interesting prob. What PSU do you use? that pc must need about 600w at least? SLI+DUAL CORE+PHYSX= LOTS of power... a physx card needs a lot of power if im not wrong.