ATX power connectors

Just where did that info come from? You promised to watch the boot precess and let us know what the bios says, but I can't find that info. The 1400+ is supposed to run at 1.2Ghz, but came in two versions: 200 or 266 FSB. Actually it seems to have been a mobile processor (for notebooks). And it seems to have been a T-bird.

 

I guess the BIOS I saw previously was for the old mobo, because it doesn't show anything anymore.

It doesn't look like it's an XP 1700+, because they are supposed to run at 1.47 GHz, which this one does not.

From what I recall, it looks a lot like this one, but I don't remember the black rubber discs on there.

 

Think you're right! Wouldn't bother it any more. It's running fine, so "wait and see" is my suggestion.

 

Okay, so the CPU is fine...how would I configure the video card in the BIOS?

 

Don't believe that's necessary, except maybe to tell bios to look forAGP or PCI card, but it usually finds it anyway. Installing drivers is all you have to do.

 

Okay, but that doesn't offer any suggestion on how to fix the problem of it shutting off in the middle of the game...

We have finally confirmed that the CPU should be okay, but what's the problem then. It still shuts off.

She wants to buy a newer and quicker CPU, since hers is getting on, and she's looking at this one.

Will that work with this board? Will a PSU upgrade help?

 

Have you reduced the settings for the graphics in the game? In the main (Sims2) game screen, go to Options, choose Graphics/Performance options. Turn Shadows "Off ", if it is available. Set Sim/object detail to "Low ". Set UI Transprancy to "Off ". Set Lighting to "Medium" or "Low ". Set texture to "Medium" or "Low ". Set Graphics to "Medium" or "Low ". Set Reflections to "Off ". Set Smooth Edges to "Less ". Object Hiding...your guess! .

See how long the game runs. The graphics card may be slowly overheating.

Matt
PS If you have a PCI card next to the graphics card, change the PCI card to another slot if there is one available. It will give more room for cooling of the graphics card. (Also see Rockster's suggestion about adding a PCI slot fan cooling system)

 

Will that work with this board?
No. any athlon XP should work, but the 64 requires a different mobo.

 

Hi sparrow, it looks like the information at the top of that page is an advertisement for AMD 64. The details specify a "Barton Socket A" which should be compatible. Maybe you or rockster can confirm this.

What fun!
Matt

 

Try to play a different game, see if have the same problem, at least this will eliminate hardware or software

 

mattman

As always, you are correct. The xp should work with his board. But it's too expensive. See here.

 

My link is in Canadian dollars, and the store is less than 2 hours away from where I live. So shipping and lack of duty makes my link cheaper than newegg in the end.

Edit, sorry, I live in Canada, so shipping from the States gets expensive.

 

sparrow, definitely not always...sometimes is hard enough . I found it just as confusing.

Idle Mind, RE: Sims2
I harped on reducing the settings a bit, although I think this is important. If those settings reduce the load on the video card, it should point to whether that is the problem or other areas that rockster and sparrow have pointed out.

Because it runs Far Cry OK would point to a problem with the game itself or the setup for the game. I tried setting it up on a old install of Win98se and got error messages (can't remember them exactly), I have since installed it on a fresh install of Win98se and have had zero problems.

Some games rely more heavily on different componets of the video card and their drivers. Look at the readme.txt in the Support folder on disk 1, also check the support links at the EA games website. They specify a high reliance on drivers.

Want to get serious?
I would start from the beginning. Uninstall and reinstall the VIA motherboard drivers (go to Asus website for the version that they recommend for the motherboard, it might be a transfer to VIA). Uninstall and reinstall the graphics drivers (go to the graphics card manufacturer's website and see which version they recommend, it might be a transfer to ATI). Video drivers are best completely uninstalled before reinstalling (and any other video drivers that may have been installed in the past). Windows will very happily say that the drivers are "working ", that's fine for the OS that was built a few years ago and only wants to throw some pretty pictures on the screen. Modern video games will push the graphics card and drivers as hard as they can. Finally, without luck, uninstall and reinstall the game (again, if you followed rockster's advice). Reinstalling the game to it's original location should keep all "saves" safe, although I think Sims2 keeps them in My Documents anyway.

I just wonder, my Asus motherboard had problems "rebooting ", when I told it to reboot after installing a new program, it would "crash" at restarting. I was left with a blank screen, power on and nothing else. Sound familiar? I wonder if Windows is rebooting because of a problem? Win XP has a default setting of rebooting when it strikes a system problem. There should be a log file that lists the problem/s. If one of the Win XP people is around, they should be able to tell you how to find it, or you could search on "reboot" in the WinXP forum. You can also disable it so that you get a blue screen error instead of reboot. Maybe worth investigating.

Matt

 

Me too and I'd still profess that this is not a 1100 MHz processor. Noted with interest this weekend that three new builds all showed 11x100 in initial setup screen when first entering BIOS. Processors used - 3200+ Barton, 2500+ Barton, 2600+ Sempron.

 

Interesting, Rockster2U, Next time you build one run amdcpuinfo to see if it reports what the current situation is or what the cpu really is?

 

My system is an Athlon64 system, and the multipliers read 10x200, without me changing them in any way (Athlon64 3000+ with ASUS K8V SE DLX).

For the game mattman, everything is on low already. She has the most recent drivers as well. I will try a complete driver overhaul anyway, as you suggest.

My roommate has now let me know that the same problem happened when she tried to install Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. So it's not just the Sims.

Also, a fresh install of the VIA and video drivers (ATI Catalyst 5.3), as well as the SATA, Marvell Gigabit and SoundMAX drivers didn't help. The same problem occurs.

Oh yes, and I'm not sure whether or not this makes a difference, or whether I've mentioned it, but the PSU needs to be reset by switching it off or unplugging it.

 

Okay, replacing the processor seems to have fixed the problem. Aside from greatly increasing her system's performance, the 3000+ also does not crash when she is playing.

I seem to have ID'd the old CPU as a 1700. On a black label, it says this:

Plus, it looks identical to one I found on the net (well, one someone is selling on eBay).

 

And now a new problem arises. When windows is loading, it stops at one of the splash screens, and says the time is incorrect. She has set the time multiple times, but it resets back to Januray 1, 2005, 12:00 am. Any ideas?

 

Thank you. I appreciate your follow-up. Willing to bet you'd encounter the same SIMS2 problem with your new processor if it were improperly set at 11x100.

re:time - Set it in your BIOS and post back if continuing problem.

 

Yeah, sorry. I actually tried that the following morning after thinking about it (setting time in BIOS that is), and it worked fine.

Everything is working smoothly (too smoothly in fact, hers is quicker than mine now in some ways) now. Thanks for all your help and time. It's much appreciated.

My system:
Athlon 64 3000+
1024 MB PC3200 RAM (I think the latencies are different in each stick, and it's causing a lag).
ASUS K8V SE Deluxe motherboard
80 GB Maxtor SATA drive, 7200 RPM
Sapphire X800 Pro 256 MB Video card