Help installing an X2 4400+

[titaniumx3]

Hi ,

Please do bare with me as I'm quite the noob when it comes to CPUs so its best if I explain everything thoroughly.

I just got myself a used S939 A64 X2 4400+ (2.2ghz) as a replacement for my aging A64 3500+. I decided it would be best to just try the CPU out without any system format so I set the 3500+ back to stock settings and popped in the 4400+. All went well untill I started getting BSoDs and odd freezes; I tried installing the AMD drivers and the dual core optimisation utility but it had little effect.

I then tried to run Prime95 and within two minutes I got a rounding error. So I decided to go back into the BIOS and ensure everything, including the RAM settings were at stock whilst also setting the cpu voltage to 1.4v manually. Booted back into windows and ran Orthos as I read somewhere that this is best for dual core CPUs. So far its been on for 20 minutes with no errors or system instability; temperatures are around 48C under load (though I think I may need to re-apply the thermal paste and put my case back together to get a better reading).

My only problem right now is that according to the official specs the processor is supposed to run at ~1.35v at stock speeds. Does this mean my CPU is faulty or is something else causing it? Drivers/BIOS updates?

Here are the rest of my specs:

Asus A8N-E Motherboard
2GB Geil PC3200 (3-4-4-8)
X1900XT
X-Fi Xtreme Music
Hiper 580w PSU (non-modular version)
Running Windows XP SP2

Any advice on what I should do to resolve this will be greatly appreciated!

 

[titaniumx3]

Well I managed to run Orthos for about 45mins and I suddenly got a BSoD, sigh . I'm now in the process of formatting and re-installing windows. My question is, when should I install the CPU driver and dual core optimiser? i.e. before or after the chipset/graphics drivers? What about service pack 2?

 

[labrat]

The CPU driver/dual core optimizer is for the power saving/CPU throttling features and may help with some gaming issues. I don't use it with my X2 3800+.

The first thing I'd try is going into the BIOS and "Loading the Fail-Safe settings" or whatever the appropriate term is. I know you said you put the settings back to normal but sometimes I found it just helps to do this step when changing CPU.

cheers

 

[jaykay]

you probally need to flash the latest bios asus have for your motherboard

 

[titaniumx3]

Thanks, I'll try flashing the BIOS but according to the Asus website, it seems there is only one BIOS revision that is newer than mine and the change log for it says nothing about cpu compatibility issues. I'll try it nonetheless.

At the moment I'm just wondering if I've damaged the CPU in anyway during installation or if I've been sold a faulty CPU . I also have no clue about how a faulty CPU would behave since virtually every CPU I've ever installed has worked perfectly; wouldn't it just not boot at all if the CPU was faulty?

Well fingers crossed it was just a windows problem. I'm currently running windows update and installing the system drivers after which I'll leave orthos running for as long as possible. Lol, all this just to play Supreme Commander.

 

[hp7909]

Try this & this. Sorted me out after similar issues

 

[titaniumx3]

Thanks, I'll try those. Also would you mind sharing the details of the problems you had? Did you end up formatting your computer?

 

[hp7909]

{snip}Did you end up formatting your computer?

Yes. But that was before I discovered the updates above

Also, got the AMD Driver & latest Dual-Core Optimizer (from AMD) installed