Lockups in games - RAM?

[steiner666]

in BF2 when i play on the big 64 player maps i get lockups when i fly over the map in an aircraft. the screen turns to colorful vertical bars which foreces me to restart my computer. I jsut upgraded my graphics card, but i dont think thats the problem. I got a x800xt and it locked up, got a replacement and it did, but they were both refurbished so i figured that might be th e problem so i got an x850xt pe retail and now its doing it, although not in the smaller maps and in lesser 3d applications. I ran a memcheck program on restart and it detected no errors. I have a 1gb rosewill pc3200 stick. My PSU is a really cheap 450w that came with my case and only has 18amps on a single 12v rail so i'm thinking that might be it, but i'm not sure which it is.

[Vitality]

Could be graphic driver problem. Have u tried any other drivers?

[Fresh Daemon]

I ran a memcheck program on restart and it detected no errors.

What memcheck program, for how long, and which tests?

My PSU is a really cheap 450w that came with my case and only has 18amps on a single 12v rail so i'm thinking that might be it

You think right, young Jedi. Get a DMM, I bet you anything you like that 12v line sags like a when you combine heavy CPU, GPU and RAM load - and guess what BF2 does?

[nn_step]

Simple it goes down faster than a $2 hooker..
Get a better PSU and you can keep your ram, but feel free to upgrade that too...

[steiner666]

i cant rember what the program was called exactly, i think it was like Memcheck86 or something along those lines, anyways it didnt detect any errors. I ordered an Antec with dual 12vs so hopefully theres more steady power now, and even though my GPUs temps were well withing reasonable limits i ordered an AC Silencer 5 rev. 2 to make it quieter and hopefully a bit cooler. Stuff should get here monday, hope it fixes the problem.

[Fresh Daemon]

i cant rember what the program was called exactly, i think it was like Memcheck86 or something along those lines, anyways it didnt detect any errors.

For how long? I can often run one pass of Memtest86 with flying colours, but if I leave it overnight, my screen is covered in red errors by morning.

I ordered an Antec with dual 12vs so hopefully theres more steady power now

I think that will make a big difference. "Really cheap PSU" means "Really big problem", especially when you're overclocking.

[steiner666]

"Really cheap PSU" means "Really big problem", especially when you're overclocking.

That it does my friend. Got the new PSU and everything runs great now. No lockups at all in games, although the first flyby in the 64 player BF2 maps still lags, which i assume just means i need to invest in another gig of RAM *sigh*

[Fresh Daemon]

That it does my friend. Got the new PSU and everything runs great now.

I'm glad to hear it, thanks for posting back and letting us know!

although the first flyby in the 64 player BF2 maps still lags, which i assume just means i need to invest in another gig of RAM *sigh*

It never ends. I got 2GB RAM and now I'm eyeing up a second 7800GTX for SLI. I was OK until blasted FEAR and Chronicles of Riddick with soft shadows came out, damn their oily hides.

[steiner666]

good and bad news. been running the new PSU for a while now and I haven't had any games causing the signal to the monitor (i assume the graphics card itself) to be shut off, however my problems in BF2 persist, and the screen keeps turning to the vertical bars after playing it for a while while.
Most of the time this only happens when i am flying around in a jet. When i had my 9800pr 256mb AGP and I found the max display settings it could run at, i never had any problems. but then i upgraded to an x800xt and it started giving me these problems (along with others) so i exchanged it for another - still the same, and eventually got this x850xt pe and it does it too, although not as frequently. If i set up the settings to high but to wher ei still get a good framerate things run fine until i start flying or sometimes am just fightin on foot and some vehicles are moving around... or just whenever. I tried setting the settings low and after playing a while i didnt get a lock up, but when i put it on a medium setting it still does it. So anyways i've tested some stuff and figured out that it probably isnt a problem with my card since 3 cards in a row have had this probem, and i have a AC Silencer installed and the temps have never gone above 60/50 even when overclocked.
Its probably not my PSU cause the voltages have been really steady with this one.
And i'm still doubting its my ram.. although it might be
Ok now we come to my question out of all this rambling, is it my processor or my motherboard or could it maybe be a setting in my motherboard? I'm hoping to upgrade soon but right now i'm running a P4 Northwood 2.8ghz (400mhz FSB.. Haha, weak i know) 512 L2 cache (which idles aroun 45 and max load bout 53-55). I'm running Phoenix - Award BIOS and i'm thinking maybe if these a problem with the motherboard it would be in the AGP settings or something? I have it set to 8x and i've tinkered around with some of the settings but cant figure anything out... I know the easiest thing to do would be to just upgrade but that wont be for another month or so and i'd really like to be able to play BF2 (especcially w/ my new Saitek joysick) without lockups till then. Sorry bout the book of a post!