It looks like I may have found the problem at the root of all this. I removed my heatsink, gently removed the silicone grease, and with a magnifing glass discovered a hairline fracture on the AMD CPU. (great opportunity for fabulouscoops to pitch the benefits of Pentiums) Why couldn't it have been a cheap piece. I remember the fan being a pain in the *** to put on and am actually suprised it ran seven months without a problem. It took a game like Far Cry to show the weakness, I guess. I've ordered a new CPU (ouch) and am brousing for a fan/heatsink that dosn't put 1000 PSI onto the chip. A cooler is too many $$ at this time. As far as HD tach, (by memory) the far right tab shows a list of the tests run. About the fourth one down shows "Spin up test". It shows failed and at the bottom of that window it shows failed. I tried it on another drive and it passed. Otherwise, the drive has a pretty good benchmark rating on SiSoft Sandra. I am going to test the drive again on one of my other computers.

Nice detective work but a sad result. Have you looked into getting the defective CPU replaced? If you used an AMD heatsink and did not overclock they might be inclined to replace it.

Lol on the Pentium plug. I am not a self proclaimed Intel fanboy. DocSeal gave me the guru title for knowledge about Intel processors which I gained doing research for my last build. I have used Intel CPUs in all my home computers because they are versatile and my previous career was at the highest scientific level which required powerful multitasking computers. AMD processors are tailor-made for gaming only PCs. I just can't see having a gaming only box while I could have a multidimensional computer with very little sacrifice in gaming speed.

Good pitch! I've used Intel processors in the past for some of my systems but I wish they would be a little more competitively priced. I've read good things about Hyperthreading. Maybe my next system I'll use Intel. Newegg, Zipzoomfly, and I'm sure most others state basically "you break it you buy it, no returns". They have a disclaimer emphatically stating the brittle nature of these CPU's and the risks with mounting heatsinks. They are not responsible for fractures chips. Where I bought this CPU, they required me to buy the fan that they supplied or they would not honor their warranty. I won't buy there again in the future. I guess there exists some sort of copper shim that can be placed between the heatsink and the processor to prevent excessive pressure on the core but I've never seen one advertised.

Re. hairline fracture... AHA! Figures.

CPU shims ARE available, but my advice would be NOT to use copper ones, since they're electrically conductive AND heat conductive! NON-conductive shims are best, since you CAN'T accidentally FRY your CPU if the shim isn't mounted correctly!

Try here (and read the "FAQ for CPU Shim" sections at the bottom of the page). Alternatively, use your favourite search engine to search the web for "cpu shim", which will give you LOADS of results.

Hope this helps.

Success! Replaced the CPU with mica shim and new HSF. Prime95 runs with flying colors and my temp stabilizes at 52c. I wanted to thank all you fellow pc techs for the great advise and links to the diagnostic programs, they were all invaluable and my trouble shooting skills have been improved because of them. Now I can get back to fragging mercenaries instead of working on my hardware. The HD still fails spin up test with HDTune but passes with the Samsung diag Hutil. I'm looking into that but it dosn't seem to seriously effect anything at this point. Thanks again, guys.

So ya bought a new CPU? Details, man, details!
Same model +3200 Barton?
What HSF did ya get?
For that matter, what HSF did ya have before?

Glad to hear your up and running!

Great if expensive news my friend...
Your diagnostics with the help of our friends is a lesson to all!
I was watching this closely but could add nothing! lol
Like Pak says, more details pls!

CuZ

I bought the same CPU as before, the AMD Athlon XP 3200+. It came with a HSF but it was not very good so I bought a Thermaltake Silent Boost and lapped it. I didn't apply Arctic Silver because I already had a tube of Cooler Master High Performance thermal compound. I am not sloppy with the stuff but Arctic Silver's ability to conduct concerns me, probably not justifiably so since many people use it with great success. The old HSF that came with the original CPU was a Dynatron C41. It actually was a pretty decent heatsink with a smooth copper core. I probably was not being careful enough when I put it on which caused the fracture. I also didn't have the shim, which helps. I've been upgrading and trouble shooting my own PC's since the IBM PCXT/DOS days and used to fix minicomputers professionally but this one threw me, probably since everything else seemed to run good except for Far Cry. This is the first time I've had to go to the forums for help. I also lacked the excellent diagnostic routines that were refered to me by the various posters. It helps to have the right tools. You know, we use to have to call the hardware or software producers on the telephone to have them send the latest drivers to us on floppy disk. The internet has really streamlined this hobby.

@scheval

Great to hear you got your problem sorted at last!

Using Arctic Silver:-

1. Apply a SMALL amount to the area of your HSF that will contact the CPU die, use your finger inside a plastic bag to work it into the HSF imperfections, then gently wipe the excess off with a DRY lint-free cloth, leaving ONLY a haze behind.

2. Apply a VERY SMALL amount to the TOP of your CPU die, then use a razor blade to spread it into a VERY THIN layer and remove any excess.

3. Carefully fit your HSF, twisting it as little as possible during mounting.

For FULL details, please refer to the usage instructions on the Arctic Silver website.

Don't worry! LOL! I've had over 15 years experience in the PC trade and faults can STILL throw me "off the scent"!

The HARDEST thing about being a PC Engineer is that you CAN'T JUST be a "pure hardware" engineer! You HAVE to be a "software engineer" as well in order to differentiate between hardware and software faults! In fact, determining whether a fault is caused by hardware or software is often the HARDEST part of the job! Sometimes an underlying hardware fault can CAUSE software faults (knock-on effects). Other times, software faults can lead you to THINK they're caused by an underlying hardware fault when in fact they're NOT! And it becomes EVEN more difficult when the fault is an intermittent one!

Quoting from my "Wildlife Spotters Manual for Engineers":-

Species name: Intermittens Faultus.
Classification: Pest species.
Distinguishing features: Unknown/uncertain.
Habitat: Customer premises.
Feeding habits: Customer temperament/sanity.
Known predators: Engineers.
Survival strategy: A highly developed sense of s*ds law allows this elusive pest to sense the approach of an Engineer and immediately go to ground!
Spotting tips: Persistent beating about the bush MAY flush this creature out of hiding!

Yep! It's a thankless profession, folks!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: H8Ball (PC Engineer),

H8Ball,
To make matters even more difficult, the software and hardware improvements progress and evolve very rapidly. It's almost a full time job just keeping up with the latest pc technology. At least I only have be familiar with my own systems and not have to walk into a customer premise and be expected to know immediately what their trouble is without ever having seen their computer before. I'm sure it must be a thankless job... I have read the application data for the Arctic Silver, I'm sure I could apply it without too much hassle, I just didn't want to waste what I already had just for a few degrees cooler operation.
fabulouscoops,
I downloaded a trial version of Active SMART which monitors the SMART data from hard drives. It also shows that the Spin Up Time passes for my hard drive. HD Tune must not be correct in its anaysis of the SMART data from this drive.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: scheval,

Tell me about it! It costs a FORTUNE to study for and pass the exams to qualify as MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer), and once you've got it, it DOESN'T last long!

EVERY time Microsoft release a new OS, they ALSO release a NEW set of MSCE exams to go with it and RETIRE the old exams, which leaves you with the ongoing process of constantly studying and saving up RE-certify, which can be VERY expensive!

Fortunately, MY company prefers seasoned Engineers with YEARS of practical experience, so I'm IN a job but thankfully OUT of the MCSE "money trap"!

Arctic Silver seems VERY expensive (my Arctic Silver 3 was £10 for a 3 gram tube), but the SMALL amount you need per application means it goes a LONG way! I reckon there's enough in a 3 gram tube to do, oh, up to 40 CPU's!

I do "preventative maintenance" on my PC every six months (full strip down, clean and rebuild). I've had my Arctic Silver 3 for just over 3 years now, and I've used it about 8 times. I'm estimating that I'll get another 30 or so uses out of it, which means I have enough to last up to 15 years! LOL!

Tip: For hard drive monitoring, it's best to use whatever drive diagnostics software is available (usually as a free download) from your drive manufacturers web site. Unlike third-party software, it's designed FOR the specific drive model it's being used on, so you can usually TRUST its results to be accurate.

To those with notifications on who use this as a classic case for advice, I have edited the title and made the post a sticky so check your saved link hasnt changed!
CuZ

Yippee! My first sticky!

All hail CuZ!

quote:

Originally posted by H8Ball (PC Engineer):
"My first sticky!"

Bloody Prima donna!
I thought it was an excellent team effort

And that has to be your shortest post of all time!
Hmmm...
That gives me and idea...

Prima Donna? Cheeky! No, actually I'm a Prima Doner, since I love kebabs!

Shortest post, eh? Heh. I guess mine DO tend to end up being essays... LOL!

Re. your idea... Well? Don't leave us hanging! Enlighten us!

You already know my Idea...
You were so concerned you PM'd me you Geordie Muppet!

FOZZEEEEE BEEEEAAAAARRRRR!

hi guys, very good thread

i am having lockup problems as well in far cry, but nothing else, i also built my own amd machine, the game locked up twice requiring a hard boot midgame, and twice in loading sequences requiring only a stab at CRTL+ALT+DEL to get out

and weird enough, the multiplayer runs flawless, it only crashes in single player

this kind of makes me fear for my cpu

i will get prime95 ASAP and run it, is there anything you guys think might solve this?

Uhhgh, I have the exact same set up and the exact same problems.

We even thought it was the PSU for while.

This thread makes me cry.

Hey

I wonder where you can find the CD-KEY.
Can somebody tell me plz?