AMD 64 X2 6000 3.0GHz video game problems

[bigglesworth1]

Greetings everybody

I recently installed a new AMD Windsor processor that works great except for a couple of things. First of all when I play Counter Strike Source, the games crashes periodically or the screen goes black. Also, I get bad fps in Flight Simulator 2004, it seems that the game skips forward. I installed the dual core optimizers and still have problems, please help.

 

[coret]

1) Can you list the rest of your system's components as well please.

2a) When you changed processor did you reinstall windows?

2b) You installed the dual core optimiser, but when you bring up the performance tab in task manager are there two graphs?

3) What cooling do you have on the CPU and what temperature is your CPU running at?

 

[bigglesworth1]

1. I have a GA-MA69GM-S2H mother board. I have 4 gigs of OCZ RAM. I have an ATI X1950 Pro 512 MB graphics card. Also I have a Sound Blaster Audigy sound card. Finally I have a 500 watt power supply.

2. I did not reinstall windows.

3. Yes, there were two graphs when I checked the performance tab.

4. My system is cooled by the processor's fan and another fan that came with my pc when I first bought it. My pc is currently running at 46 C.

 

[coret]

Currently I'm leaning towards windows being the culprit and needing a reinstall - quite often it doesn't update properly without one when you change CPU.

Second possibility is you don't have the CPU cooler mounted properly. That's assuming the 46c is an idle temperature (and I would be quite surprised if it's a load temperature, as the 6000 draws a lot of power and makes a lot of heat).

 

[firetatoo]

i have a 6000+ and experience none of the problems you say.
my cpu idles at about 35c.
i also suggest you reinstall windows.
ir maybe a memory problem.

 

[coret]

Considering it was working fine before, it shouldn't be a memory problem...

But then, memory has been the most common hardware problem I've experienced (RAM + Graphics memory)

 

[bigglesworth1]

I forgot to mention, that I did not put any thermal paste on the CPU, can this be the problem?

 

[coret]

Yes ... no thermal gunk = bad heat transfer = higher CPU temps = instability.

 

[bigglesworth1]

Well I better go buy some, I'm hoping that this is the culprit. I don't want to reformat XP at all. I have everything working the way I want it to (except the video games issues). My computer is blazing fast, so fast that blazing is an understatement. Everything loads in a snap, internet pages load in an instant, literally this machine is perfect except for the bloody video game issues...

 

[bigglesworth1]

Theres something I didn't try yet: I will reinstall my games and see if that's the problem. Everything else is working perfectly except for my games, hopefully this will work.

 

[monst0r]

honestly, you're going to need to reinstall windows if you want the fix, no way around it, if you change the amount of cores in a system, windows needs a reinstall.

 

[derek2006]

The thing is overheating. I didn't even know that it was possible to run a CPU without thermal paste without it even shutting down during bootup because of it overheating.

 

[bigglesworth1]

Well I'm about to reinstall Windows, I'll tell you guys the news when everything is done installing. Once again, thank you all for trying to help me out here. peace

 

[Rhinofart]

What are you guys talking about? He would only need to re-install windows if he went from a single core processor to a multi-core processor. The HAL for multi-cores is the same regardless of how many processors are in the system (OS dependant, so if it's XP he can have up to 4 cores) If it's games only that are the problem, I would be looking more towards Direct X, and Driver issues. And for the love of technology man, get some thermal compound on that puppy. My OCed 6400+ Black Edition has peak temps of only about 43c, and idles in the low 30s. I'm on watercooling mind you, but my Opteron 175 running under the same hood was only maxing out at about 39C under full load.

 

[martyjs]

I agree with earlier posts, it's overheating. It's summer over hear in Aussie and even in a house with room temps between 26 to 30c my X2 6000 + idles between 32c to 36c.

 

[altazi]

Don't the CPUs come with instructions that mention the use of some kind of thermal compound? Jeezus.

An installation done on an unstable system is crap. Put Arctic Silver 5 (or better) on your CPU and reinstall the HSF assembly; follow the instructions CAREFULLY. Then run memtest86 and make SURE the system CPU/memory is stable for at least several hours. Next, reinstall the OS from scratch, make sure you have the latest drivers, and run prime95 torture tests for a day. This way, you can be SURE that you don't have any thermal problems with your system. Only after you have done all of the above should be begin to reload your apps & data.

 

[ahslan]

holy crap! cant believe ur running an X2 6000+ without any thermal compound...its practically like not having a heatsink on...cant believe ur computer lasts so long without restarting...

 

[yay]

Lol...... Thats what we are here for, help others learn about pc's.

 

[endyen]

Uh, guys? He is probably using a stock hsf. It comes with TIM pre-installed.
Since he installed the dual core optimizer firmware, I'm guessing he went single core to dual core. While windoze is probably the problem, those dual core files have been known to cause problems.

 

[APieceOfCheese]

I'm going to assume cs:s and flight sim 2004 are old enough to not be dual core optimized? Some older games have trouble running on two cores, something to do with the switching between cores or something like that... Start your game, open the task manager, right click on the game -> set affinity, uncheck one of the cores.
I had the same problem with lego star wars 1 + 2 as well as some other games...random black screens, frame stuttering, crashes. You have to set the application to only run on one core.

That still doesn't give you an excuse to run without thermal paste, though.

 

[coret]

I'm going to assume cs:s and flight sim 2004 are old enough to not be dual core optimized? Some older games have trouble running on two cores, something to do with the switching between cores or something like that... Start your game, open the task manager, right click on the game -> set affinity, uncheck one of the cores.
I had the same problem with lego star wars 1 + 2 as well as some other games...random black screens, frame stuttering, crashes. You have to set the application to only run on one core.

That still doesn't give you an excuse to run without thermal paste, though.

The source engine used to have that problem about 3 years ago ... but they fixed it about 2 years ago

 

[jerseygamer]

I forgot to mention, that I did not put any thermal paste on the CPU, can this be the problem?

LOL? Are you kidding? Turn that thing off untill you paste that puppy. You are lucky you didnt fry it already.

 

[bigglesworth1]

My game still crashes even though I reformatted I don't know what to do...

 

[turboflame]

My game still crashes even though I reformatted I don't know what to do...

Paste the cpu

 

[Mathos]

Hmmm if he's using the HSF that came with the 6000+ it should be ok. Though it sounds more like he doesn't have any airflow in the case. If 46c is the ambient system temp, then god knows how high the cpu temp is going under load. What kind of fan layout does your case have for airflow? Or what make/Model of case is it?

I don't know if the 6000+ and the Phenom processors come with the same hsf unit or not. The one that came with my 9600BE was the one with all thin aluminum fins, copper base, and copper heatpipes. The thermal paste on that appeared to have the same look and consistency as what comes with the Zerotherm Nirvana HSF unit, which as far as I can tell is just a small tube of ZeroTherm ZT100 thermal grease. That wouldn't suprise me because Apack/Zerotherm is also an OEM HSF supplier company. With that unit you should likely be seeing idle temp around 30-32c, and load temp around 40-45c at least thats my experience with it. But that is if it's installed properly.

If it was like the HSF unit that came with the 65w Windsor X2 4200+ I had, then that would be an all aluminum heatsink with thick fins. Fine for a 65w proc that rarely draws over 51w under full load, but not for an x2 6000+ that probably runs closer to 110w full load.

If it's possible, I'd put a couple more fans in the case for airflow, and if you really want to, get a better cpu cooler. Zalman 9700, ZeroTherm Nirvana 120, and BTF 90, Thermalright Ultra 120 is good as well, and grab some arctic silver 5 or Arctic Cooler MX-2 thermal compound.

And another question I dont think has been asked. When you upgraded to the 6000+ did you clear your cmos bios settings and redo them afterwards? That can also be an issue if your bios is still trying to use the settings from the older processor.