Hello all
I have recently built a new custom system and everything is in working order until i run a program with high demands. The system will lock up and the only way to get out appears to be a hard reset (button on the comp).

System Spec

Asus A8N-SLI SE
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+
2 gig crucial RAM
Hiper Type R 580W modular PSU
Nvidia Geforce 8600 GTS

The only programs i have tested this on is BF 2142, Lord of the rings BFME 2 and i tried 3Dmark06 in addition, the same problem occurs each time. Now you will blame the graphics card but i can assure you that it is not the source of the problem, reason being is that i have bought another graphics card and to my disgust this has not alleviated the problem.

Looking on the vast web it appears it may be something to do with XP and Dual Core CPU's as well as various other issues regarding game coding, however i have applied the fixes from microsoft for compatibility with Dual Cores, installed the driver from AMD for my CPU, updated mobo drivers, updated and rolled back graphics drivers... i'm running out of tests to perform.

Temperatures are running at normal levels which leaves me to suspect two things. Either the PSU or the mobo.. has anyone got any light to shed on this one or know any good diagnostic software that you can recommend.

Rixy

Have you overclocked your CPU? Perhaps instability there. Or otherwise, it's a driver error somewhere. I've had freezing from 3Dmark05 and bf2142 before. I fixed the 3dmark05 freezing by lowering my overclocked gfx and cpu. The bf2142 problem was because of sound card issues, Audigy 2 & its EAX software. My solution there was uninstalling and selling the game tho lol.

Ha ha... my graphics came overclocked from the manufacturer... could you just remind me how to lower the clock speed on GPU's... its a geforce 8600 GTS

Well if your graphics came overclocked, it 'shouldnt' be a problem, as they are stress tested. However you can try to underclock it. just remember your original settings before you change it. you can look up rivatuner on google

ello mate.. tried that as well... i then used a stress test on components to see if it was a certain issue.. it appears to lock up when i do the test on the PCI-E Bus... i'm thinking a possible fault with the Mobo? i still have to stress test the GPU to see if it could be that, but if its going through the PCI-E bus its gonna lockup again?

resolution found... i previously tried my 2nd PCI -E port and there was no difference... however... i swapped to the 2nd port again tonight and the problem has stopped... it was a faulty PCI-E port.... thanks for your help mate

your welcome. gl hf ka dd haha