AMD X2 3800+ and Games Crashing

[masop]

I am unable to play Battle for Middle-Earth, as I get a game.dat crash once I start up a game. It makes it to the menu, then I select skirmish or campaign, etc. It hits 100% on the load and then crashes out. I'm unable to get it to work using the affinity option in task manager, turning off the 2nd core for the game process. There isn't jack in the ea forums either for dual core processors and known issues. Any input? Should I have gone with a single core or an intel core 2 duo instead? I've never heard of this issue until today. I tried loading the amd x2 utility which is supposed to resolve a sync issue but that has no effect. I am able to play BFME 2 without problems. Perhaps the game isn't dual core aware? I haven't tried my other games yet but plan on doing so soon. Thanks.

-- MaSoP

 

[doglips]

Give us spec's of your rig.....A little help?

 

[jackluo923]

When you tried using the affinity utility, try setting everything on core 1 and the game itself on core 0. It should give a little bit more processing power to the game. Also, look for a dual core patch for that game if you can find one. And don't forget, you can also overclock the CPU. It's a known fact taht 3800+ x2 can OC a lot and you should not waste the opportunity. Follow the stickies on the Cpu overclocking forumz section and you're good to go.

 

[masop]

Give us spec's of your rig.....A little help?

My bad. That was a spur of the moment, last minute post. Here are my specs:

Asus M2N-E nForce 570 Ultra Motherboard
AMD X2 3800+ (65W) AM2 Processor
OCZ 2GB Kit DDR2 PC2-6400 Platinum Revision 2 Dual Channel Memory
Asus Radeon X1950 Pro CrossFire 256MB PCI-Express Video Card
Ultra XVS Modular 700W Power Supply
Windows XP Pro SP2 w/Latest Patches and Chipset/Video Drivers


Those are the core components. Need the remaining items? Thanks for the input.

-- MaSoP

 

[einheriar]

Is it the only game that crashes or are there others?

 

[TheRodent]

Sounds a bit odd. Why are you so sure the problem arises from the processor and not one of the vast array of typical issues for games. Eg directX, video drivers, faulty RAM, sound compatibility, ...

I have not heard of many cases where dual core processors lead to compatibility issues so far?

 

[masop]

have you done a game re-install?

have you tried using one stick of ram only.

do you have any background apps such as AV or other that may be running?

Due to the long azz time it takes to install the game, i have not tried a re-install. It played perfectly before the upgrade. I have only tried bfme and bfme2 so far. I have a few other games I can check out including nfs carbon and oblivion which would be a great test. I maxed out the video settings for bfme2 and it played just fine, but for some reason bfme has issues. I'll check out the other games later tonight and see how they react. I haven't tried pulling out one stick of memory, as it would just slow down my box. Background apps? I have a/v like everyone else but it has never affected game play before, until the upgrade. I'll post a reply later. Thanks for the reply.

-- MaSoP

 

[masop]

Sounds a bit odd. Why are you so sure the problem arises from the processor and not one of the vast array of typical issues for games. Eg directX, video drivers, faulty RAM, sound compatibility, ...

I have not heard of many cases where dual core processors lead to compatibility issues so far?

Because I had no issues until the upgrade. It played perfectly on my old hardware a few days ago. I've heard dual core processors aren't the best for games, especially the x2 series. I don't know why. What I find interesting is everything is going dual core, so with that in mind developers are going to be forced to program future games with multi-core support otherwise the gaming industry will go to shit, lol. Thanks for the input.

-- MaSoP

 

[ALANMAN]

It's been my experience that when going from single core to dual core you must reinstall Windows.

 

[TheRodent]

I have seen some posts elsewhere online that suggest that the most recent drivers from AMD can fix some issues with games. (while others suggest they are at fault).

do you currently have cpu drivers installed?

'AMD Athlon™ 64/FX Processor Driver for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 Version (x86 and x64 exe) 1.3.2.16'

this page has links to a driver and a fix for games with RTDSC issues.
http://www.pinkjoint.com/index.php/archives/software/games/x3-reunion-crashes-all-the-goddamn-time/

 

[masop]

It's been my experience that when going from single core to dual core you must reinstall Windows.

I disabled most of the startup items and some services and used microsoft sysprep to avoid having to re-load xp and 120+ apps. Everything functions as before except the one game. BFME is from 2004 so it likely isn't dual core aware. I played command & conquer tiberium wars kane editon. I maxed out the settings to ultra high quality with AA and it looks amazing. It runs real smooth too. Between that and BFME II playing fine in max video settings, I think I'll try a reload of BFME and see if it addresses the issue. Thanks for the input.


-- MaSoP

 

[masop]

I have seen some posts elsewhere online that suggest that the most recent drivers from AMD can fix some issues with games. (while others suggest they are at fault).

do you currently have cpu drivers installed?

'AMD Athlon™ 64/FX Processor Driver for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 Version (x86 and x64 exe) 1.3.2.16'

this page has links to a driver and a fix for games with RTDSC issues.
http://www.pinkjoint.com/index.php/archives/software/games/x3-reunion-crashes-all-the-goddamn-time/

Yes, I installed that latest driver as of june 30th. I checked out the link. Thanks for the info. I'm hoping a re-load of the game will take care of the problem. Thanks.

-- MaSoP

 

[dewaltracing]

It's been my experience that when going from single core to dual core you must reinstall Windows.

I did not have to reinstall when I went to dual core and have to say you are the first person I have heard saying they had to. To the OP. Get driver cleaner, download all the latest drivers for your motherboard and video card, the AMD driver, and the AMD dual core optimizer. Then run driver cleaner and remove all Nvidia and Ati drivers. Restart your pc and reinstall the fresh drivers. Your problem sounds like it is most likely driver related and it is possible somehow one of them got corrupted.

 

[Hawkeye22]

You may not need to reinstall the OS, but you need to make sure the HAL got updated. If you check "computer" in the device manager it will most likely read "ACPI MultiProcessor PC". If it doesn't, then most likely windows is using the incorrect HAL.

 

[masop]

You may not need to reinstall the OS, but you need to make sure the HAL got updated. If you check "computer" in the device manager it will most likely read "ACPI MultiProcessor PC". If it doesn't, then most likely windows is using the incorrect HAL.

The HAL is one of the first things I checked after I got back into windows. It changed from ACPI Uniprocessor PC to ACPI Multiprocessor PC. I actually found out what was causing the game to crap out. It was a corrupt game profile. I renamed the folder and it re-created a new one and it plays fine now. I didn't think that would of been the fix but it worked. Thanks.

-- MaSoP

 

[ALANMAN]

Glad you got it sorted. With computers you never always know. There are so many things that can go wrong and sometimes the most unexpected, overlooked, and simplest things can be the solution.

Happy 4th

 

[chameleon101]

You are running an ASUS motherboard, i have always seemed to have issue's with ASUS board's, update your bios, i have a A8R32MVP deluxe board and games ran like crap till a decent bios was released now all run sweet as.

 

[ALANMAN]

I actually found out what was causing the game to crap out. It was a corrupt game profile.

Read much, ChAmeleoN101?

 

[masop]

I actually found out what was causing the game to crap out. It was a corrupt game profile.

Read much, ChAmeleoN101?

Hehe. My only complaint now is my choice of memory didn't exactly match what the board supports, so it is running in CL5 instead of CL4 mode. Oh well. Not likely anything I'd notice anyways.

-- MaSoP