2Tired2Tango
Tech Monkey
Reading through this, given where we are, it should not surprise you that you are getting primarily hardware type answers. But in truth I think it's probably a timing issue... (i.e. drivers)
1) Go into Control Panel-> Administrative Tools -> Task Scheduler.
Shut down everything you don't absolutely need to do your day to day computer tasks. Especially disable Microsoft's spyware, background diagnostics, full time virus scans, etc.
2) Set Automatic Updates to manual, so that you have to go and get them.
Old technician's adage: "If it ain't broke... don't fix it". I NEVER use automatic updates and I've run a single installation of win2000 from 1999 to 2006, replacing it with a single installation of XP from 2006 to early this year... Now I expect to run a single installation of Win7 x64 for another 5 years. I install service packs, pick and choose my updates and always get drivers from the manufacturer's website... I've never yet had a problem.
3) Remove/disable ALL virus scanner software... that's right ALL of it.
Think about it... when's the last time it actually did anything? Most home users probably get one virus threat a year but run 3 and 4 background scanners that do nothing but wast CPU time for the other 364 days. If you suspect a virus on your computer, scan it manually. A good manual scanner is HERE
4) Get hold of the DPC Latency checker and run it.
This tool will tell you if your system is multitasking smoothly. Any large spikes on the graph (over about 500us) should be considered problematic and you should read the page for detail about how to track them down (the checker just checks, it doesn't diagnose).
5) Keep a real close eye on your system temperatures CPU, GPU, ChipSet etc. any marginal overheating could be causing "micro-stutters" where the device's thermal protections are kicking in for a few microseconds causing a system lockup. Cooler is better and often when overclocking you will find yourself wanting a full-out liquid cooling system to keep things sane. I can attest with highest confidence that the "stock" coolers supplied by AMD are not going to be anwhere near good enough for consistent overclocking.
6) Go into your BIOS and look for a setting named "PCI Latency" or similar.
This setting controls how long a PCI device can hold the I/O buss before the system shuts it down. You want to find the lowest setting that gives reliable operation. (Not all MBs have this feature, but if it's there, it may simply be set too high.)
Hope this helps...
1) Go into Control Panel-> Administrative Tools -> Task Scheduler.
Shut down everything you don't absolutely need to do your day to day computer tasks. Especially disable Microsoft's spyware, background diagnostics, full time virus scans, etc.
2) Set Automatic Updates to manual, so that you have to go and get them.
Old technician's adage: "If it ain't broke... don't fix it". I NEVER use automatic updates and I've run a single installation of win2000 from 1999 to 2006, replacing it with a single installation of XP from 2006 to early this year... Now I expect to run a single installation of Win7 x64 for another 5 years. I install service packs, pick and choose my updates and always get drivers from the manufacturer's website... I've never yet had a problem.
3) Remove/disable ALL virus scanner software... that's right ALL of it.
Think about it... when's the last time it actually did anything? Most home users probably get one virus threat a year but run 3 and 4 background scanners that do nothing but wast CPU time for the other 364 days. If you suspect a virus on your computer, scan it manually. A good manual scanner is HERE
4) Get hold of the DPC Latency checker and run it.
This tool will tell you if your system is multitasking smoothly. Any large spikes on the graph (over about 500us) should be considered problematic and you should read the page for detail about how to track them down (the checker just checks, it doesn't diagnose).
5) Keep a real close eye on your system temperatures CPU, GPU, ChipSet etc. any marginal overheating could be causing "micro-stutters" where the device's thermal protections are kicking in for a few microseconds causing a system lockup. Cooler is better and often when overclocking you will find yourself wanting a full-out liquid cooling system to keep things sane. I can attest with highest confidence that the "stock" coolers supplied by AMD are not going to be anwhere near good enough for consistent overclocking.
6) Go into your BIOS and look for a setting named "PCI Latency" or similar.
This setting controls how long a PCI device can hold the I/O buss before the system shuts it down. You want to find the lowest setting that gives reliable operation. (Not all MBs have this feature, but if it's there, it may simply be set too high.)
Hope this helps...
