Tom's Guide | Tom's Hardware | Tom's Games
 |
 |
 |
Hey all, heres my problem (bear with me):
I recently purchased an AMD XP 3000 with 512 ram, a Geforce FX 5200, a 120gb hard disk, etc.
The problem is this: whenever I launch quake 3 arena, it will allow me to play for between 1 - 15 minutes before quake 3 crashes (usually a freeze requiring a forced restart).
Now I have tried almost everything: installed Nvidia drivers from very old to very new, same problem (or modified problem, ie the game will totally freeze meaning a forced restart, or the game will freeze and i can get out of it, thus forcing quake to "generate errors"). Its not the graphics card because I have tried an old Geforce2 GTS in the machine, and the same problem occurs.
Something else is strange. In my old P3/866 with 512 ram, the geforce2 GTS performed badly giving me an FPS of between 10-40. Now with the Geforce2 GTS in the new machine, i get rates of over 250 FPS, but as i have said, the game will crash for reasons beyond me.
I have also tried reinstalling quake several times, and the same thing will happen.
Anyone got any answers? Thanks in advance.
Install the latest agp miniport drivers. The reason why your Geforce 2 GTS performed better is because your CPU Processor & Motherboard is very fast.
Please tell me the specs. of your CPU next time
0 
well, i installed the latest AGP drivers from SiS (my chipset), and i found that when i run quake 3, it crashes with a STOP error, saying:
DRIVER_IRQL - something
dumping physical memory.
this is a pain in the behind now!
0
I have reinstalled my OS, and I have also tried turning down the clock and memory settings (thus underclocking the card) in the Nvidia options window, and quake will still freeze/crash.
im running out of ideas. maybe i have faulty ram? if thats the case, wouldnt windows freeze up also?
0
Another update:
I have installed XP on another partition and tried the UT 2004 demo, and it too will freeze, or crash generating an error (which i sent to activision). Anyway... the problem isnt quake 3 or, the OS, or drivers (cause ive tested like 7 different versions), which leads me to believe i have some hardware fault, like RAM. It cant be a gfx card fault cause as ive said, i tested my old (v stable) Geforce2 gts with it, and that too crashes in the new machine.
I should probably run a complete ram test and see how my ram is.
0
Im gunna list more clearly my setup also:
Windows 2000/XP
AMD XP 3000+ FSB 333
SiS 748 Chipset
ASrock K7S8XE Mother Board
512 MB RAM
Floppy/CD-RW+DVD-ROM
Geforce FX 5200 & Geforce 2 GTS
120 gb, 80gb, and 40gb Hard Drives
Integrated SiS soundcard.
Integrated SiS LAN
DirectX 8.1 (at the moment)
Latest Ncidia Drivers (53.03)
0
I ran the RAM test for almost 5 hrs and no errors came up.
I've trie putting a fan into the open case, no change.
I've tried updating SIS AGP drivers, no change.
I've tried changing the AGP Aperture, no change.
I've tried removing my sound card, no change.
I've made sure there are no IRQ conflicts.
I've tried more than 1 game, suggesting its a hardware problem.
I've tried 7 sets of Nvidia drivers.
I've tried 2 different Geforce cards.
I've tried different settings in the BIOS.
I've tried various installations of directx.
I've tried win2k and win XP.
I've tried virii checking.
So, whats left?..
300 watt power isnt enough? bah, all i want to do is game for longer than 10 mins!
0
right, i think ive solved it (was playing for 1 hr 40 mins).
basically, i underclocked the cpu.
my AMD XP 3000+ (197x11) is now an:
AMD XP 2600+ (180x11).No crashes. I think the people who sold me the machine overclocked it.
anyhow, im done ;)
0
u need a better cooling device for ur cpu.open the cover and put a window fan on it see how it works.
0
Hi tregfx,
I have the same problems with nearly the same machine. How did you underclocked it? Where can I do that (I'm a novice in such matters).
Thanks !
0
When your computer starts up, you need to enter the BIOS and then go to CPU Frequency...
you can then turn that down by about 10 mhz, and all should be fine (if thats where the problem lies)
p.s, its not cooling because i have tried pointing a house fan into the case with no change.
0
I have a new system and Quake III arena crashes for me too. I've given up on it because my other games play fine. First I thought it is the Direct-X 9 which causing it, but it is not. I have a 450-Watt power supply and an AMD Athlon-XP 2800+ CPU with a Barton core, running at 333-Fsb and 5120-Mb of PC-3200 Hynix RAM, DDR 400-MHz. All this installed on an ASUS A7V8XX board. My DVDs play fine and as I have mentioned before, other games play well. I have the latest possible BIOS for the motherboard and the latest possible driver for my NVIDIA FX-5200 Forsa card which is a 128-Mb DDR AGP 8X. Please email me if you came up with a solution other than underclock my CPU. I will not underclock my CPU for one sorry ass game. It is a 2800+ and it is supposed to run on 2.08-GHz. My system never crashes or freezes other than when playing Q3A!
0  |
 |
 |
This post is quite old and has been locked from receiving new replies. Please create a new posting instead.
| Ads by Google |
