May I sell my AMD and get a Pentium ?

Hi all,

As some people here know, I've been having lots of problems with some well known software, specially capture sw's like ATI TV and WinDVR.

These programms, among many others, keep crashing on my PC all the time, and I have indeed reformated twice and instaled very few sw, still with crashes. I don't use cracked sw.

I run Win XP Pro with SP1, AiW 8500DV and Sounblaster Platinum card, A7N8X Deluxe MB, AMD 2.4, 2 IDE HD's (no raid),

At this stage, while I believe that some sw's are really buggy, not well written, I have to admit that there might something wrong with my system, cause it's unlikely these sw's run OK for thousands of people and not only for me cause I am not a "lucky guy"....

All I can think is about a hardware conflict cause, as I said, I reformated twice and still have problems. For example, with only ATI TV instaled in my system, it crashes, while LordSmurf and many others tell me that, on their machines, it runs P-E-R-F-E-C-T-L-Y;

Another example,, WinDVR3 scheduler worked properly for just 2 days, since Friday its scheduler doesn't work anymore.

Another curious example, I instaled Power VCR3, a very new sw, and if I try to use its scheduler function it just crashes at expected time, the sw doesn't even launch !!!

I have upgraded BIOS twice.

This is the 4th PC I built, and the first AMD one, and I remember I never had these kind of problems with any of my previous 3 based Pentium computers - while I have to admit I never tried to make with them the hard stuff I've been trying now.

The question is : may I sell out my AMD + MB + memory card, drop extra money and get a similar Pentium 4 system ?

Opinions are very welcome;

Thanks,

Andre

[redwudz]

I'm not sure if you want advice or sympathy. I can tell you I use AMD processors in my last 5 systems and have had no problems. (That's a lie. There is always some minor problem. Never mattered what kind of system I had.) There are several ways to attack the problems you are having. Some of them are obvious, and it appears you have looked into some of them. (Bios upgraded, reinstall, etc.) Truth is a modern computer is a highly complex system and if it were perfected there would only be one machine on the market. AMD has no more or less problems than any other processor. They are cheaper than Intel, so they have quite a following. Sorting out the kind of problems you are having takes a step by step process. You start out by assuming your MB is OK. Then test your memory; A problem here will cause all kinds of strange results. I have had varied problems related to damaged memory modules. Power supply(Unlikely, but possible.), Drives (not usual).

Do I have an answer? Hell, no. Spend a little more time and if the cause is lost; Trash the MB and processor and go with a different one.

[Jester700]

My systems always seem to have slight niggling problems, too. The only time I really suspected the CPU it *was* the CPU - when I took it apart I found that it was chipped! I must have done that installing a heatsink (AMDs are more fragile, ya know).

But now I have an occasional video glitch that I think is my vid card. And occasionally my mobo loses its mind & I have to reset CMOS before it'll boot. This is one in a couple dozen boots, and I usually leave the system on. I'll replace the CMOS battery one of these days.

Sorry for babbling. If you DO go Intel, get an Intel chipset, too. I think most compatibility issues stem from there.

[wulf109]

I would switch to Windows 98 before investing in a new system unless the 4GB file barrier is a problem.

[Piccoro]

There are no problems with your main hardware (unless it's new and defective but then take it back!).
Your problems seem to be after you have put the hardware together and start installing OS/Drivers/Programs...somewhere in the setup/install proccess.
Maybe IRQ conflicts that can be solved by moving a PCI card to a different slot.
All CPUs are compatible as they are all standard (x86).
Find your problem and everything should work great.
If you don't know a lot about a PC's components don't just "throw your PC out the window" because it isnt working right or blame some part when you dont know how it works.
Have someone that knows PCs look at it. Someone you know or take it in to a good PC shop.
Do some testing on your own. Switch your video card. Uninstall video drivers and install the ones for the test gfx card. Switch the sound card.
Is there DDR Ram in slot 1? Know if your Bios settings are correct and no conflicts? ATI drivers installed correctly?

Thanks very much for all tips, please keep posting opinions !

I might try changing the PCI slot of the audio card, or the Memory slot, etc;

Thanks,

Andre

Is there DDR Ram in slot 1?

Yes, should I keep it there or change it ?

Thanks !

[Piccoro]

Asus' nforce2 boards require slot 1 to be in use for 128bit.
If you use slot 1+2 or slot 1+3 for dual channel memory you are fine.
If slot 1 is empty it just goes to 64bit instead. Thats all I believe.

[RabidDog]

dump the soundblaster card and all its software, there is a pretty good chance it is the root of all your problems. Re-install your OS without the soundcard in, so no drivers or any record of its irqs. They are known to be problematic and have buggy software.