Hello,
I built this system one year ago and recently had the PSU, GPU and one of the optical drives go bad (bad things come in threes huh?). I replaced the PSU, since I was really happy with the first and had heard nothing but good things about it, I assume it was just a defective unit (so far so good on the new one...had it for ~2weeks). I upgraded the video card from and Asus 8800 GTX to an EVGA GTX 280 (I was unhappy with the long list of driver issues and various problems associated with the 8800 chipset and decided it was time for an upgrade) I also replaced the 2nd optical drive and installed a new heatsink to replace the old, stock heatsink (massive improvement in CPU temps). Now however, that I have everything put back together, and my HD running on a fresh format/reinstall I am running into massive problems again, and I don't know what to do. I'm not a total computer idiot (3rd home build) but I do tend to fall behind in the lingo (among other shortcomings), so please take it a bit slow with me .
System specs:
Asus Striker Extreme MoBo
Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0 GHz CPU
Antec 850W PSU
EVGA GTX 280 GeForce
Zalman 9800NT heatsink/fan
Seagate Barracuda 750 GB HD
4x1GB OCZ Platinum 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM 800 (PC2 6400) 2.1V (4-5-4-15)
Currently running Windows XP Pro (32bit)--I have vista Ultimate 64, but currently have it uninstalled in an attempt to solve problems.
Basically, to summarize my problems, they seem to be based around the graphics. Whenever i try to play FarCry 2 i get a BSoD with an error referring to "NV4_disp". I am pretty sure this is the file name of my video driver (which is the latest approved driver from nVidia 178.24). I also get massive corruption of my screen after 15-60seconds of playing World of Warcraft and have to close the program. I am currently at a complete loss and have no idea how to move forward and get a functioning machine again. From reading various online frums, I have read that the Striker Extreme may have compatibility issues with many graphics cards when playing 3-D games (this doesnt seem to make sense to me for a "gaming" mobo, but I am beginning to think it may be correct). Does this have something to do w/ 680i? (I am unsure what exactly that means). If you have any suggestions, PLEASE help me out...I am getting desperate. If, in fact, the route forward is to replace the finicky, and often slammed, Striker Extreme, please provide me with a suggestion as to a board that will work with the listed components (and might even have a 2nd PCI-express slot), I am not exactly limited on what I can drop for a new mobo (within reason).
On a sidenote: I ran Furmark 3-D earlier with no errors, scored a ~6600 on the benchmark and maintained a GPU temp of 72deg C. This would lead me to believe that the Video card is not defective and the problem lies elsewhere (not sure here, just a bit more info).
Also: not sure if this is relevant, but the RAM is rated at 2.1V, but my BIOS won't let me change the voltage sent to it to anything other than 1.88V. I can't remember for sure, but I think I may have had it upped to 2.1V when I completed the build last year, but I am unsure. Any help here? Is this even an issue (let alone related to the grander set of problems I am experiencing?).
Thanks for any help, and I apologize for the long post.
Voltage
I built this system one year ago and recently had the PSU, GPU and one of the optical drives go bad (bad things come in threes huh?). I replaced the PSU, since I was really happy with the first and had heard nothing but good things about it, I assume it was just a defective unit (so far so good on the new one...had it for ~2weeks). I upgraded the video card from and Asus 8800 GTX to an EVGA GTX 280 (I was unhappy with the long list of driver issues and various problems associated with the 8800 chipset and decided it was time for an upgrade) I also replaced the 2nd optical drive and installed a new heatsink to replace the old, stock heatsink (massive improvement in CPU temps). Now however, that I have everything put back together, and my HD running on a fresh format/reinstall I am running into massive problems again, and I don't know what to do. I'm not a total computer idiot (3rd home build) but I do tend to fall behind in the lingo (among other shortcomings), so please take it a bit slow with me .
System specs:
Asus Striker Extreme MoBo
Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0 GHz CPU
Antec 850W PSU
EVGA GTX 280 GeForce
Zalman 9800NT heatsink/fan
Seagate Barracuda 750 GB HD
4x1GB OCZ Platinum 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM 800 (PC2 6400) 2.1V (4-5-4-15)
Currently running Windows XP Pro (32bit)--I have vista Ultimate 64, but currently have it uninstalled in an attempt to solve problems.
Basically, to summarize my problems, they seem to be based around the graphics. Whenever i try to play FarCry 2 i get a BSoD with an error referring to "NV4_disp". I am pretty sure this is the file name of my video driver (which is the latest approved driver from nVidia 178.24). I also get massive corruption of my screen after 15-60seconds of playing World of Warcraft and have to close the program. I am currently at a complete loss and have no idea how to move forward and get a functioning machine again. From reading various online frums, I have read that the Striker Extreme may have compatibility issues with many graphics cards when playing 3-D games (this doesnt seem to make sense to me for a "gaming" mobo, but I am beginning to think it may be correct). Does this have something to do w/ 680i? (I am unsure what exactly that means). If you have any suggestions, PLEASE help me out...I am getting desperate. If, in fact, the route forward is to replace the finicky, and often slammed, Striker Extreme, please provide me with a suggestion as to a board that will work with the listed components (and might even have a 2nd PCI-express slot), I am not exactly limited on what I can drop for a new mobo (within reason).
On a sidenote: I ran Furmark 3-D earlier with no errors, scored a ~6600 on the benchmark and maintained a GPU temp of 72deg C. This would lead me to believe that the Video card is not defective and the problem lies elsewhere (not sure here, just a bit more info).
Also: not sure if this is relevant, but the RAM is rated at 2.1V, but my BIOS won't let me change the voltage sent to it to anything other than 1.88V. I can't remember for sure, but I think I may have had it upped to 2.1V when I completed the build last year, but I am unsure. Any help here? Is this even an issue (let alone related to the grander set of problems I am experiencing?).
Thanks for any help, and I apologize for the long post.
Voltage