orthos tested both your ram and your cpu. you could leave it overnight for a more thorough test but I would have imagined it would fall over sooner. You could download memtest Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool burn to cd and test the ram in dos. if you do decide these routes and both come back clear it would appear to me your main hardware is good leaving GFX and HDD I believe you said you tested the Power Supply Unit?

If all of this started because of your new graphics board, perhaps there is a problem with the graphics board.

Just an idea...

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Klaatu Barada Nikto

Yeah I thought that might be the case so I returned it the same day, and got another one so it rules the card out I guess.Yes I purchased a new power supply and installed it. It has more wattage then the last one (now a 550W). As for the memory test I'll give that a shot next.

If you do the mem test, recommend you run it for 24 hours at least.

If I remember correctly, there is no problem using your computer while your running the mem test. I would not do any other testing while the mem test is running.

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Klaatu Barada Nikto

memtest 86 runs in dos so you can not use your pc.

You can use this version of Memtest that runs in Windows, that may be what Gandalf was referring to:
MemTest: RAM reliability tester for Windows

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2 things i`ve just thought of, could be that the CPU is a bit of a bottleneck in your system, as the GFX card is so powerful the CPU could be struggling to keep up, also i believe that the "source" engine uses the system more

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ive used memtest 86 for years and have been happy with it . Orthos blends both a cpu test and a ram test. I do not think its either of these as orthos was run for over an hour without a problem. I agree the cpu could easily be upgraded to an X2 and I did say so earlier(post 44 ) the cpu running at 100 % is high load and does not leave anything for anything else so a dual core would take any possible bottle neck away

I've used Memtest86 as well, it is an excellent program, I was just posting that one to show there is a Memtest program that can be run in Windows

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I noticed in an earlier post that you mentioned Geek Squad... do not bother with them...I have seen no good comments on their service.
You'd be better off with a local mom and pop shop.

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