GeForce 4 grief

BanZai · 07-07-2003, 06:44 AM

Just installed a GeForce 4 Ti 4200 after i found that old classics like GTA 3 and Max Payne would crash habitually after 30 seconds in on my 420 MX, only to find that to my horror, It still happens! Mind you in those 30 seconds before I'm thrown back to windows or in GTA 3's case the computer resets, the graphics look really nice.

Tried all the standard stuff, reinstalling the drivers, getting the XP service patch to update ddraw.dll & d3d8.dll, installed DirectX 9. But still my computer ain't wearing it...

Tested with Quake III and Medal of Honour, they run like a dream, however Warcraft III won't get past the options menu before it crashes.

Anyone have any ideas? I'm running an AMD Duron 1200 with 128 ram. A ram upgrade is certainly do-able if that's what it takes, but after having spent $250 on the Ti 4200 I don't wanna regret not just picking up a Playstation 2 instead.

Any suggestions for this predicament would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

zeus · 07-07-2003, 07:00 AM

I know with Quake 3 alot of the processing is done through the CPU and not the GPU, but Medal of Honour and GTA3 are quite heavy games on your comp all round.

Im surprised Medal of Honour doesnt crash too...... I think its your ram. The Duron will hold up, I used to play GTA3 on a 633 celeron, but I did have 640mbs of RAM.
Im guessing you have pc2100, 512mbs only costs.... lol just looking then, I cant find a place that sells pc2100! but pc2700 only costs about £40. So that'll be about $40 in the US.

Is the game a backup? There could be something wrong with your registry. An image of it should work as normal though.

Sniper · 07-07-2003, 09:56 AM

yeh, it could be because of the ram, as you seemed to have tried every thing? I also have a Duron @ 1.1Ghz with Geforce Ti4200 but have 384MB Ram, I have played the games you have tried and work fine

Big B · 07-07-2003, 11:03 AM

You may want to try some different drivers for the video card. Sometimes some games have problems with certain drivers.

Sniper · 07-07-2003, 12:33 PM

I suggested that you try the ones from the NVIDIA site http://www.nvidia.com/

BanZai · 07-07-2003, 03:58 PM

Thanks for the feedback. Could indeed be the ram...Found that with the offending games (GTA3,Warcraft 3,Max Payne,Master RallyYE) they would lock after about 30 seconds or so of onscreen 3d activity (not just on 2d menus) - might suggest that my ram is progressively "filling" untill it overloads and the system locks up?

So a ram upgrade isn't out of the question, here in Australia prices start at around $65 for 128mb and get better value as megabytage increases.

Then again, months ago when I was using a rickety old TNT 2 32mb, Max Payne ran fine and GTA 3 would run - unbearably slowly - without any signs of crashing.

So could be a software problem... damn, what a pain in the a$$
:o

zeus · 07-07-2003, 04:31 PM

Your TNT2 would have used up less RAM because the card itself is doing less work.
Also, your Ti4200 is running at 4x AGP (I persume), having all that bandwidth flying aroud wouldnt help matters I dont think.

Thats my guess anyway

BanZai · 08-07-2003, 12:07 PM

Tried latest drivers (Detonator) but to no avail... even messed around with bios settings: power management, AGP apeture etc. still nothing...

Will try a ram upgrade next I s'pose. Tho, did get a tip-off from a friend that experienced a similar problem. Apparently for him it was fixed when he went back to running Win 98 instead of XP.

Big B · 08-07-2003, 12:37 PM

If you're running a Via-based motherboard, like one with a KT266/A or KT333 (or older) you really don't need to install the Via 4-in-1 drivers. If you have consider uninstalling them.

zeus · 08-07-2003, 12:58 PM

Again, that sounds like a ram problem if your short of it.
Windows 9x needs less to operate steadily than xp.

Windows 98 se needs a minimum of 64mb to run, but Windows xp needs minimum of 128mbs.

You are running on the borderline for your ram, pretty well all your applications will be running on the page file only. This will cause a slight loss in stability.

You mentioned before about your ram 'filling up' Its kinda works like that yeah, only your system is pretty well full before your start filling it up!
It uses a defined amount of your hdd. The speed differance between your ram and hdd is massive, hard drives are much much slower.

You will see huge improvements with more ram

BanZai · 10-07-2003, 04:21 AM

Got the professional diagnosis from some techs in the warehouse 'round the corner.

Pretty much confirmed that not only my lack of ram but also the fact that I'm using old stuff (sd ram, old motherboard) would cause problems, inlcuding a possible conflict between the new ram on the ti 4200 and the old ram in my system.

So to fix the problem, basicly need more ram, might as well pick up 512mb, which would also need a new motherboard and while I'm at it might as well upgrade the CPU too.

Moral of the story: check if ur old kit's compatable before u lash out on a new graphics card... people operating PIII/P4 systems should have little to worry about.

Thanks for all the feedback guys

07-07-2003, 06:44 AM	#1 (permalink) Top
BanZai Geek Trainee Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 7 Status: Offline	GeForce 4 grief Just installed a GeForce 4 Ti 4200 after i found that old classics like GTA 3 and Max Payne would crash habitually after 30 seconds in on my 420 MX, only to find that to my horror, It still happens! Mind you in those 30 seconds before I'm thrown back to windows or in GTA 3's case the computer resets, the graphics look really nice. Tried all the standard stuff, reinstalling the drivers, getting the XP service patch to update ddraw.dll & d3d8.dll, installed DirectX 9. But still my computer ain't wearing it... Tested with Quake III and Medal of Honour, they run like a dream, however Warcraft III won't get past the options menu before it crashes. Anyone have any ideas? I'm running an AMD Duron 1200 with 128 ram. A ram upgrade is certainly do-able if that's what it takes, but after having spent $250 on the Ti 4200 I don't wanna regret not just picking up a Playstation 2 instead. Any suggestions for this predicament would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

07-07-2003, 09:56 AM	#3 (permalink) Top
Sniper Administrator Join Date: Oct 2001 Age: 24 Male Posts: 4,420 Times Helpful: 116 My Mood: Bored Status: Offline My Computer	yeh, it could be because of the ram, as you seemed to have tried every thing? I also have a Duron @ 1.1Ghz with Geforce Ti4200 but have 384MB Ram, I have played the games you have tried and work fine __________________ Zone 365 \| F@H Team \| Team Stats \| Use The Thank You System \| My Groups: Manchester United \| Apple

07-07-2003, 11:03 AM	#4 (permalink) Top
Big B HWF Godfather Join Date: Dec 2001 Age: 28 Male Posts: 9,636 Times Helpful: 585 My Mood: Devilish Status: Online My Computer	You may want to try some different drivers for the video card. Sometimes some games have problems with certain drivers. __________________ Hardware Forums\|HWF Rules\|My DVD's\|PSU FAQ\|HWF Folding Team\|2CPU

07-07-2003, 12:33 PM	#5 (permalink) Top
Sniper Administrator Join Date: Oct 2001 Age: 24 Male Posts: 4,420 Times Helpful: 116 My Mood: Bored Status: Offline My Computer	I suggested that you try the ones from the NVIDIA site http://www.nvidia.com/ __________________ Zone 365 \| F@H Team \| Team Stats \| Use The Thank You System \| My Groups: Manchester United \| Apple

08-07-2003, 12:37 PM	#9 (permalink) Top
Big B HWF Godfather Join Date: Dec 2001 Age: 28 Male Posts: 9,636 Times Helpful: 585 My Mood: Devilish Status: Online My Computer	If you're running a Via-based motherboard, like one with a KT266/A or KT333 (or older) you really don't need to install the Via 4-in-1 drivers. If you have consider uninstalling them. __________________ Hardware Forums\|HWF Rules\|My DVD's\|PSU FAQ\|HWF Folding Team\|2CPU

07-07-2003, 07:00 AM	#2 (permalink) Top
zeus out of date Join Date: May 2003 Age: 27 Male Posts: 1,643 Times Helpful: 105 My Mood: Twisted Status: Offline My Computer	I know with Quake 3 alot of the processing is done through the CPU and not the GPU, but Medal of Honour and GTA3 are quite heavy games on your comp all round. Im surprised Medal of Honour doesnt crash too...... I think its your ram. The Duron will hold up, I used to play GTA3 on a 633 celeron, but I did have 640mbs of RAM. Im guessing you have pc2100, 512mbs only costs.... lol just looking then, I cant find a place that sells pc2100! but pc2700 only costs about £40. So that'll be about $40 in the US. Is the game a backup? There could be something wrong with your registry. An image of it should work as normal though.

07-07-2003, 03:58 PM	#6 (permalink) Top
BanZai Geek Trainee Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 7 Status: Offline	Thanks for the feedback. Could indeed be the ram...Found that with the offending games (GTA3,Warcraft 3,Max Payne,Master RallyYE) they would lock after about 30 seconds or so of onscreen 3d activity (not just on 2d menus) - might suggest that my ram is progressively "filling" untill it overloads and the system locks up? So a ram upgrade isn't out of the question, here in Australia prices start at around $65 for 128mb and get better value as megabytage increases. Then again, months ago when I was using a rickety old TNT 2 32mb, Max Payne ran fine and GTA 3 would run - unbearably slowly - without any signs of crashing. So could be a software problem... damn, what a pain in the a$$ :o

07-07-2003, 04:31 PM	#7 (permalink) Top
zeus out of date Join Date: May 2003 Age: 27 Male Posts: 1,643 Times Helpful: 105 My Mood: Twisted Status: Offline My Computer	Your TNT2 would have used up less RAM because the card itself is doing less work. Also, your Ti4200 is running at 4x AGP (I persume), having all that bandwidth flying aroud wouldnt help matters I dont think. Thats my guess anyway

08-07-2003, 12:07 PM	#8 (permalink) Top
BanZai Geek Trainee Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 7 Status: Offline	Tried latest drivers (Detonator) but to no avail... even messed around with bios settings: power management, AGP apeture etc. still nothing... Will try a ram upgrade next I s'pose. Tho, did get a tip-off from a friend that experienced a similar problem. Apparently for him it was fixed when he went back to running Win 98 instead of XP.

08-07-2003, 12:58 PM	#10 (permalink) Top
zeus out of date Join Date: May 2003 Age: 27 Male Posts: 1,643 Times Helpful: 105 My Mood: Twisted Status: Offline My Computer	Again, that sounds like a ram problem if your short of it. Windows 9x needs less to operate steadily than xp. Windows 98 se needs a minimum of 64mb to run, but Windows xp needs minimum of 128mbs. You are running on the borderline for your ram, pretty well all your applications will be running on the page file only. This will cause a slight loss in stability. You mentioned before about your ram 'filling up' Its kinda works like that yeah, only your system is pretty well full before your start filling it up! It uses a defined amount of your hdd. The speed differance between your ram and hdd is massive, hard drives are much much slower. You will see huge improvements with more ram

10-07-2003, 04:21 AM	#11 (permalink) Top
BanZai Geek Trainee Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 7 Status: Offline	Got the professional diagnosis from some techs in the warehouse 'round the corner. Pretty much confirmed that not only my lack of ram but also the fact that I'm using old stuff (sd ram, old motherboard) would cause problems, inlcuding a possible conflict between the new ram on the ti 4200 and the old ram in my system. So to fix the problem, basicly need more ram, might as well pick up 512mb, which would also need a new motherboard and while I'm at it might as well upgrade the CPU too. Moral of the story: check if ur old kit's compatable before u lash out on a new graphics card... people operating PIII/P4 systems should have little to worry about. Thanks for all the feedback guys

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