Problem...

F

Fitz

Geek Trainee
Hi,

Let me start with an apology as when I'm brand new to forums I usually get all etiquette completely wrong.

I have a new computer (my technical lingo isnt all that great). It doesnt work correctly... the problem is it spontaneously freezes when doing anything from downloading a simple file to running a game this can happen anywhere between 30 minutes to 2 hours of use. When it freezes the sound "jitters" too.

Not sure what spec I should put but here I go:

Mobo: nForce 650i SLI ASUS P5N-E SLI DUAL PCI-Express
CPU : INTEL Core2Quad Q6600 1066Mhz FSB/8MB L2 Cache
4 x Kentsfield Cores @ 2.4Ghz = 9.6Ghz
RAM : 4GB DDR2 800Mhz PC6400 Unbuffered, Non-Ecc, 64*8
HD : MAXTOR 500GB Serial ATA 2.0 With 16MB Cache
PSU : 600 watt Winpower
GPU : 2 x nVidia 8500GT 512MB Both SLI PCI-E Cards With 16 Stream Processors 16X PCI-E, DirectX10 & Pixel Shader 4
OS : Windows XP Pro SP2

I have fully updated all drivers and BIOS and am positive they are all correct and fully compatible I have also ran hardware stability and compatability checks which all come up fine. Temperature is also normal.

If anyone can help me understand my problem and solve it I would be really grateful. Let me know if you need anymore tech specs and I will try to find them out.

Cheers.
 
So the problem isn't application specific..?

Will the machine freeze as soon as you begin your game/download or some time after?

Is it a total freeze up or does it slow down and judder?
 
1. No the problem isnt application specific.

2. The machine can freeze up anytime although it has not frozen upon begining a dowload only during. I have experienced it anywhere between 15 minutes and two hours into a download, game, or seemingly anything else but i get the feeling it can happen anytime.

3. It is a total freeze up - only the sound judders for example if i was playing a game and in it a game voice said say : "Your under attack" and the system froze during the start of "under" the sound would go "un-un-un-un-un-un" and so on. ;)
 
Okay I downloaded the software and ran as per instructions and the machine froze up in the same manner as my crashes. What does this tell me please? :)
 
I also have just noticed the last two times the computer has frozen up that there are glitches on the monitor when it freezes they are square, multi-coloured and appear at the top of the screen . Hope this indicates to someone the nature of my problem.
 
Sorry its taken so long for me to reply again...

The Memtest showed no probelms after a number of hours repeating tests :eek:

After looking into my hardware details windows XP (32bit) tells me i have 3.5gb RAM - confused I decide to remove one by one to find the "faulty" stick thats reads 512mb.

After doing this I take another look online to find 32bit XP frequently reads reduced RAM when a computer has 4gb.

Yet strangely enough the computer runs 500% better at 3gb than 4gb the freeze occuring far, far less frequently and severely.

I now have no idea whats going on :dry:

Im considering removing one of the remaining sticks so I have one in DIMM A1 & DIMM B1. I have read this is more stable than leaving one un-sync stick in DIMM A2?

Any more suggestions please?
 
Seems a strange problem to me. Given the newness of your sys and sheer size of your PSU, i would be leaning towards a mobo problem. :(
How new exactly is your sys?
 
The system is brand new - two weeks old.

The motherboard could be the problem but I have run diagnostics on all my hardware including the motherboard and came up with nothing.

As far as I know all the hardware, software, OS, drivers & BIOS check out fine so the reason I have trouble identifying the problem is it doesnt seem to exist... except it does. :doh:

I will try to keep you posted if I resolve the problem, in the meantime let me know if anyone comes up with something please :) Oh also I have made a correction to the PSU so let me know if you think it could still be a problem?
 
15 Quid for a PSU. Any PSU that costs so little has to be a contender for the issue your having.

Ive had similar freezing like you have experienced but mine is application specific and happens when i play either World of Warcraft or Battlefield 2.
Iv'e got it down to a toss up between my ageing graphics card or my PSU (which incidentally i only paid £20 for).

Having had a quick look over the rest of your specs, im gonna put it down to the PSU. You have alot of power eating components and frankly i don't think your 15 quid 600w winpower PSU is up to the task. When purchasing a new rig, the psu is a vital component. Any psu that comes with a case (there are exceptions) should be replaced with a decent psu: Enermax, OCZ, Hiper.

What could be happening is that when the CPU/GPU etc, are under load, the psu isn't capable of supplying enough power to all the components so it cuts off the supply to the graphics card. Although we see the monitor as a vital component, the computer sees it as a peripheral part and when under load if it doesn't get the power it needs for graphics it simply turns them off. The PC still runs, there is just no picture.
 
The problem was your OS.

32 bit OS can operate with systems not larger than 3GB of RAM while 64 bit OS supports more than 4GB of RAM. Your RAM seems to be allright, just there were incompatibility issues with your RAM and OS :)
 
32 bit OS can operate with systems not larger than 3GB of RAM while 64 bit OS supports more than 4GB of RAM. Your RAM seems to be allright, just there were incompatibility issues with your RAM and OS
Click to expand...

this seems to be right which explains why the performance has increased so much but the freeze still occurs interestingly enough in world of warcraft.

Ive had similar freezing like you have experienced but mine is application specific and happens when i play either World of Warcraft or Battlefield 2.
Click to expand...
 
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