New Computer Freezes Up

[djmartes]

Just bought a new pc with the following specs:
AMD Athlon 64 3000+
Gigabyte K8N Pro Mobo (Nforce 3 150 chipset)
1024 MB DDR (2x512)
Nvidia FX 5600 256 MB
Onboard 5.1 Sound
Onboard gigabit lan
Viewsonic E70f+sb monitor

Anyway, my problem is that the pc freezes up while playing certain games. BF1942, BFVietnam, Neverwinter Nights, and Rise of Nations are a few of the games I have trouble with. Sometimes I can play for hours, other times only a few minutes. The computer will completely lock up until powered down. Some games run fine such as Lord of the Rings ROTK, Prince of Persia, and anything on Steam/Half-life. The pc has also locked up while playing streaming video through Winamp.
I have tried playing games off a clean reboot (Only essential services, and no startup programs.) I have reseated the video card and have tried several possible fixes by modifying registry settings (can't remember which ones now). I do have all current drivers for video and sound.
Anyone got anymore ideas? Thought I'd throw it out to all of you before spending hours on the phone with tech support. I know you guys can help.

[roley]

You might want to try getting onto Windows update and looking for a fix that pertains to video sequences in games etc...refers to PC locking up...

Download that and all the other fixes...and it might fix it.

Also, note that nvidia have been producing bad ATA Controller drivers that conflict with certain CD and DVD drives etc

I am not saying that is specifically the issue...but it means that their drivers are a bit on the incompatible side at the moment...so consider some changes there.

Rohan

What are your temps like?

You might try running w/ the side(s) off to see if it reboots. If it doesn't, then you know it's poor airflow. Adding a couple of case fans, intake and exhaust should fix you up.

Also, make sure your PSU fan is working as well.

[djmartes]

roley,
I have been to the Windows Update, Nvidia, and Gigabyte sites to search for fixes or for any known problems that were similar. Found one registry setting change for a similar problem at the Windows site, but it did not help.

EvilRick,
Temps are 38C idle and 42-45C under full load. I also have a full tower case with 3 intake fans in front/side and 3 fans blowing out the back of the case. Temps were taken with the monitoring program that came with the mobo so I'm not sure how accurate it is. Anyway, it seems to run fairly cool, seems to be no heat build-up when I open the side of the case.

I did run a burn-in test today which simultaneously checked 3-D graphics, 2-D graphics, sound, RAM, and video playback. No errors reported. Also ran Memtest on both sticks of RAM which also returned no errors.

By the way, thank you both for taking the time to reply.

I noticed you installed the latest nVidia graphics drivers.

Few quick questions:

- You have installed the latest nForce motherboard chipset drivers ?

- Have you re-installed Microsoft DirectX?

- Have you installed the latest sound drivers?

Robert Richmond

[djmartes]

I did re-install DirectX 9.0 and the latest audio drivers, but have not looked into the nforce chipset drivers. Good idea, I'll check into the chipset drivers. Now I have a question. Where do I check to see which version of chipset driver I have? Oh, and where do I find the latest version to download. I went to Nvidia's site, selected "platform/nforce drivers", "unified driver", and "windows xp". Is this the chipset driver?