How to make my system stable?

This is an odd one. It's definitely not CPU or RAM. It's presumably not the GFX, as it happened with a previous card. It's probably not the PSU, as it's a decent unit and you don't actually get any crashes.

It could potentially be the motherboard, but Furmark runs fine, which makes it less likely. I'm leaning towards a software issue. Do you have any spare hard drives lying around that could be used for a test re-install of XP?

Does this problem happen in all games, or just some?
 
This problem happens in only some games: Medieval Total War II and Company of Heroes. But I don't play many other games anyway.

Yesterday I removed one of the RAM sticks: result - MTW2 froze mid battle. I had to hard reboot. This is a different symptom than normal. I therefore swapped the RAM sticks - same result in same battle. So I'm not sure if this is a hardware problem or something to do with that battle. Today I have put both RAM sticks back in, but I am using different channels. Up to now I have always used channels 1 & 3, now I'm using channels 2 & 4 (both Dual Channel). So we'll see how it goes. I will probably run memtest again.

If this fails to fix the problem I will try unplugging one of the two SATA hard disks I've got (could be due to power drain?).

I am also thinking about reinstalling Windows. My hard disk is partitioned into 4 which I am regretting as my system partition (C) is always short of space, so I could take this opportunity of re-installing XP with a single partition for everything. I might upgrade to Vista instead of re-installing XP. That way I won't be going through the pain of re-installing just on the off-chance that it will fix this problem - I will actually be achieving something useful (single partition/Vista upgrade).

I assume a Vista upgrade will install onto a re-formatted partition as long as I have the XP CD to hand to verify that this is an upgrade and not a new install?

If this problem is due to a faulty component I would be quite happy to cough up more dough to fix it, but at the moment I just don't know what to replace.
 
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Changing the DIMM channels made no difference, and memtest still came up with 0 errors.

So I then unplugged my second SATA hard disk, and strangely enough the flickering has not occurred again (but I still need more testing). I have got two identical Seagate Barracuda 250 GB SATA drives. One has the O/S, apps, documents on it, the other I just use for back up etc.

If the drive is the source of the problem, would this be due to power drain? I have an Enermax Liberty 500W PSU. Would a 600W PSU be better?
 
The PSU should be fine, as it's easily capable of handling that spec. But it could be dodgy... have you got a digital multimeter which you could use to check the 12V isn't dropping too low when you're gaming?
 
If removing the other hard drive does fix the problem, then although the PSU should be fine, although as Mattus says, it could be dodgy. Your system doesn't show any problems outside games does it? If you replace your graphics card, you could try nvidia this time to see if it removes the problems. Installing Vista I very much doubt will fix your video issues, infact due to Aero, they may show up in desktop so I wouldn't do that until you remove the problems you are having. Try a new psu (600W+) and see what happens as from what I've read through your problems and attempted fixes that's what may well be wrong imo.
 
I thought I would give an update on where I am with this. I have two sata hard disk drives, and the motherboard has 6 SATA connectors--in 3 pairs. Previously, when I had the flickering problem, I had the 2 drive cables in the same pair of connectors. Now I have moved the second drive cable to a different pair of connectors, and strangely my system seems a lot more stable, and I don't get the flickering. I can't really explain why this should make a difference, and I am not totally convinced that this is the real cause of the problem and that it won't come back. But hey--don't knock it if it seems to be working!
 
Strange annoying problem you have there.

You describe the problrm as "flickering", a loose sata connector would cause stuttering and freezing not flickering.
The OS would loose the HD then get it back again and would be freeziing up.

Flickering could be caused by dirty power.
This could be a weak PSU or a bad connection.

Check your ATX power connections the 20/24 and the 4/8 plugs.
Remove them from the MB and check to see if any of the contacts are burned.
Should be easy to spot the plastic will be brown.

Also check any Molex or SATA power plugs incase they have bad connections.
Dont overlook the 3 pin connectors to any fans you might have either.

If you have Voltmeter measure the 12v rail while you are gaming.
 
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Dsteviedee said:
Have you tried increasing the PCI-E bus frequency in the bios?

Seem to remember that 1950 pros liked this running higher (101-105).
Click to expand...

Yes, I tried that--made no difference. Also I was wrong to think it was to do with my hard disk. After I plugged my second SATA drive into a different connector on the motherboard, the in-game graphics flickering disappeared for several days, so I thought I had fixed the problem. But recently the flickering has come back.

Anyway, I have now finished playing MTW2; I am thinking of upgrading the graphics card anyway to Geforce 9800 so I will see if that makes a difference.
 
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