Game Freezes, and Artifacts - Page 2

tiger025 · 05-19-2005, 06:01 PM

Since I already had the windows ram tester made into a bootable cd, i Just used that. and it seems to have turned up "errors". Im not sure if you know what these mean, but here are the results after it ran overnight.

Also The IQRL thing only happened once, so I wouln't be too worried about that.

And how do i get into the event viewer?

**Sarkast** · 05-19-2005, 07:29 PM

The Event viewer is under:

START, Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Event Viewer, System or Application could have the info you are looking for.

Now to the mem tester. Errors arent good. This is more than likely the reason why you had that error - and the problem is eventually you will have other problems in games or other applications that use a lot of RAM again. You could see BSODs, crashes, freezes or corrupt data.
You should really track the source of the errors down - test one stick at a time. I still recommend memtest86 as it seems to find errors more reliably than MS memtest. However - 110 is a LOT so you have a serious problem with the RAM.

tiger025 · 05-19-2005, 11:28 PM

I may test it, but i think ill probably just get some new ram. My mobo has fsb of 800mhz, so I think that means I should not get ram higher than ddr400 (PC3200). So what is some good ram off newegg? I think id rather get 2x512MB ram this time instead of the 4x256 setup I have now. I'd hope to pay $150 or less i guess. I mean I dont need the stuff for overclocking, just pretty good stuff.

**Sarkast** · 05-20-2005, 11:09 AM

Yes the 2x 512 setup is a lot better.

Here is my suggestion:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145450

Defenitely in your price range and its CL2 RAM so nice and fast, lifetime warranty too. If you are not into overclocking then you dont need anything faster than DDR400. You can use faster RAM cause it runs at slower speeds but why if you dont need to.

tiger025 · 05-20-2005, 12:58 PM

Thanks, Ive ordered that ram. Also if I run more tests and find out that 2 of my 4 256MB sticks are actually ok, then I can use them with the new ram right? As I have 4 slots now, I could have 1.5GB of ram.

**Sarkast** · 05-20-2005, 01:24 PM

Yes theoretically you could but its not advisable. I'll try to explain why:

First it depends a little on the type of RAM you have and your motherboard. Sometimes mixing RAM doesnt work out too well (especially in dual channel mode).

Then the thing is your current RAM has more than likely slower timings - could be CL2.5 (something like 2.5-4-4-8) or even CL3 (if it was very "affordable" value RAM.
Now when you'd mix the RAM the new fast CL2 modules would be forced to run at the slower timings of the old RAM. The difference between CL3 and CL2 is quite considerable (up to 30% performance difference). And seeing that performance gain by using more than 1GB of RAM is usually not that big (depending on the application) you will lose more if you make your new RAM really slow than you can gain by going from 1Gb to 1.5.

Of course you can always run some benchmarks and games after you have it so you see what i mean.

If i was you i'd test the old RAM stick by stick (or in pairs of 2) - and if one is bad then sell the other 3. (or 2 - however many turn out to be ok)

tiger025 · 06-04-2005, 01:07 AM

Well I have the 2x512 RAM in, and Its been working fine for a like 2 weeks or so, but now i notice that after a few hours of play the game lags a lot, and then just today I got the first artifacts since getting the new RAM/PSU,

So do you think something could be wrong with the Mobo, or with my GFX card? Is there some kind of test I can run?

tiger025 · 06-07-2005, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tiger025

Well I have the 2x512 RAM in, and Its been working fine for a like 2 weeks or so, but now i notice that after a few hours of play the game lags a lot, and then just today I got the first artifacts since getting the new RAM/PSU,

So do you think something could be wrong with the Mobo, or with my GFX card? Is there some kind of test I can run?

Well if this helps, heres some screen shots of what is happening. Ussually after a long, many hours, of playing this happens:

It lags really bad like that, and then after a few minutes the screen just goes like this most of the time:

Does anyone have any ideas?

tiger025 · 06-11-2005, 10:31 PM

I keep getting these dam artifacts

Should I just get a new video card or what?

**Sarkast** · 06-12-2005, 08:41 AM

At this point its really really hard to say if its the video card or motherboard. There were similar cases here and they turned out one or the other. Unfortunalety there arent really any tests or programs you can run to pinpoint the problem. If you can take out the card and try it in a different PC.

I also couldnt view the screenshots - sorry.

05-19-2005, 07:29 PM	#22 (permalink)
Sarkast TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: NY Posts: 2,715 OS: WinXP	The Event viewer is under: START, Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Event Viewer, System or Application could have the info you are looking for. Now to the mem tester. Errors arent good. This is more than likely the reason why you had that error - and the problem is eventually you will have other problems in games or other applications that use a lot of RAM again. You could see BSODs, crashes, freezes or corrupt data. You should really track the source of the errors down - test one stick at a time. I still recommend memtest86 as it seems to find errors more reliably than MS memtest. However - 110 is a LOT so you have a serious problem with the RAM. __________________ P4 2.4@2.9 / XP-90 / Albatron PX865PE Pro V2.0 / Kingston Hyper-X 512MB Dual Channel CL2-2-2-5 / Geforce4 MX440x8 64MB / WD80GB 7200RPM 8MB / Thermaltake 420W PSU --> SEE IT ALL GLOW <-- MBM5 - SpeedFan - PSU Calculator - MemTest86 - ThrottleWatch

05-20-2005, 11:09 AM	#24 (permalink)
Sarkast TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: NY Posts: 2,715 OS: WinXP	Yes the 2x 512 setup is a lot better. Here is my suggestion: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145450 Defenitely in your price range and its CL2 RAM so nice and fast, lifetime warranty too. If you are not into overclocking then you dont need anything faster than DDR400. You can use faster RAM cause it runs at slower speeds but why if you dont need to. __________________ P4 2.4@2.9 / XP-90 / Albatron PX865PE Pro V2.0 / Kingston Hyper-X 512MB Dual Channel CL2-2-2-5 / Geforce4 MX440x8 64MB / WD80GB 7200RPM 8MB / Thermaltake 420W PSU --> SEE IT ALL GLOW <-- MBM5 - SpeedFan - PSU Calculator - MemTest86 - ThrottleWatch

05-20-2005, 01:24 PM	#26 (permalink)
Sarkast TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: NY Posts: 2,715 OS: WinXP	Yes theoretically you could but its not advisable. I'll try to explain why: First it depends a little on the type of RAM you have and your motherboard. Sometimes mixing RAM doesnt work out too well (especially in dual channel mode). Then the thing is your current RAM has more than likely slower timings - could be CL2.5 (something like 2.5-4-4-8) or even CL3 (if it was very "affordable" value RAM. Now when you'd mix the RAM the new fast CL2 modules would be forced to run at the slower timings of the old RAM. The difference between CL3 and CL2 is quite considerable (up to 30% performance difference). And seeing that performance gain by using more than 1GB of RAM is usually not that big (depending on the application) you will lose more if you make your new RAM really slow than you can gain by going from 1Gb to 1.5. Of course you can always run some benchmarks and games after you have it so you see what i mean. If i was you i'd test the old RAM stick by stick (or in pairs of 2) - and if one is bad then sell the other 3. (or 2 - however many turn out to be ok) __________________ P4 2.4@2.9 / XP-90 / Albatron PX865PE Pro V2.0 / Kingston Hyper-X 512MB Dual Channel CL2-2-2-5 / Geforce4 MX440x8 64MB / WD80GB 7200RPM 8MB / Thermaltake 420W PSU --> SEE IT ALL GLOW <-- MBM5 - SpeedFan - PSU Calculator - MemTest86 - ThrottleWatch

06-12-2005, 08:41 AM	#30 (permalink)
Sarkast TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: NY Posts: 2,715 OS: WinXP	At this point its really really hard to say if its the video card or motherboard. There were similar cases here and they turned out one or the other. Unfortunalety there arent really any tests or programs you can run to pinpoint the problem. If you can take out the card and try it in a different PC. I also couldnt view the screenshots - sorry. __________________ P4 2.4@2.9 / XP-90 / Albatron PX865PE Pro V2.0 / Kingston Hyper-X 512MB Dual Channel CL2-2-2-5 / Geforce4 MX440x8 64MB / WD80GB 7200RPM 8MB / Thermaltake 420W PSU --> SEE IT ALL GLOW <-- MBM5 - SpeedFan - PSU Calculator - MemTest86 - ThrottleWatch

05-19-2005, 06:01 PM	#21 (permalink)
tiger025 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 174 OS: Winxp SP2 My System	Since I already had the windows ram tester made into a bootable cd, i Just used that. and it seems to have turned up "errors". Im not sure if you know what these mean, but here are the results after it ran overnight. Also The IQRL thing only happened once, so I wouln't be too worried about that. And how do i get into the event viewer?

05-19-2005, 11:28 PM	#23 (permalink)
tiger025 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 174 OS: Winxp SP2 My System	I may test it, but i think ill probably just get some new ram. My mobo has fsb of 800mhz, so I think that means I should not get ram higher than ddr400 (PC3200). So what is some good ram off newegg? I think id rather get 2x512MB ram this time instead of the 4x256 setup I have now. I'd hope to pay $150 or less i guess. I mean I dont need the stuff for overclocking, just pretty good stuff.

05-20-2005, 12:58 PM	#25 (permalink)
tiger025 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 174 OS: Winxp SP2 My System	Thanks, Ive ordered that ram. Also if I run more tests and find out that 2 of my 4 256MB sticks are actually ok, then I can use them with the new ram right? As I have 4 slots now, I could have 1.5GB of ram.

06-04-2005, 01:07 AM	#27 (permalink)
tiger025 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 174 OS: Winxp SP2 My System	Well I have the 2x512 RAM in, and Its been working fine for a like 2 weeks or so, but now i notice that after a few hours of play the game lags a lot, and then just today I got the first artifacts since getting the new RAM/PSU, So do you think something could be wrong with the Mobo, or with my GFX card? Is there some kind of test I can run?

06-11-2005, 10:31 PM	#29 (permalink)
tiger025 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 174 OS: Winxp SP2 My System	I keep getting these dam artifacts Should I just get a new video card or what?