Neverwinter Nights Issues

[GatorUOPG]

Hello, I am a new guy, but I have been reading what you fellas have to say, and I must add that I trust your opinions. Well here are my problems.

Single Player, Multiplayer, and even the toolset all crash anywhere from 20 seconds to 15 minutes after startup. I experience no stuttering. In fact before the lockup even happens the game is running great!! but then BAM, it shuts down. Here is what I have attempted to do to solve this issue:

-VooDoo 5500 (Was Initially Installed and not part of the problem, NWN does not support VooDoo)
-Installed XTASY GeForce4 MX 440 64MB DDR Memory (Replaced the VooDoo, had the same problem that I have now)
-Ran ScanDisk
-Ran Virus Scan
-Ran System Defrag
-Formatted HD
-Re-Installed WIN XP
-Played with Video Settings and Monitor Freq.
-Attempted Playing with Sound Turned Off
-Installed GeForce 3 (Presently Installed)
-Updated Video Drivers (Several Times to ensure I got it right.)
-Updated Sound Card Drivers
-Updated DirectX Drivers
-Updated Motherboard Drivers
-Checked Virtual Memory
-Performed "Sandra" System Scan
-Flashed System BIOS with current update.
-Installed a 3rd Case Fan
-Noticed Video Card was sharing the same IRQ as Network Card. Moved NIC around and reinstalled so it setup on differnt IRQ.
-Noticed out of my 3 RAM DIMMS, 1 was a 100Mhz and 2 were 133Mhz. I removed 100Mhz to ensure no conflicts.
-On ToolSet Lockups I finally received a Blue Screen Error Message describing the issue, reads as follows.... "File nv4_disp..... Device Driver got stuck in an infinite loop. This usually indicates a problem with the device itself or with the device driver programming the H/W incorrectly." of course that file is one of my Video Drivers.
-Have Rebooted Machine Many Times
-Total Man Hours Spent: 30 Hours
-Total Money Spent: Game- $59.99 Video Card(s)- $245 (1 card will be returned)

Last time I checked the sytem requirements didnt say I had to go through all of that. I have included everything that I have done or checked. Most items I probably did at least twice. I also tried using a newer Video Driver that hasnt been offically released yet. All drivers I did not use were deleted from my computer.

Heres my system Information:

SiSoftware Sandra
Computer System
Processor(s)
Model : AMD Athlon(tm) Processor
Speed : 798MHz
Model Number : 798 (estimated)
Performance Rating : PR1061 (estimated)
L2 On-board Cache : 512kB synchronous write-back
Mainboard and BIOS
Bus(es) : ISA AGP PCI USB SMBus/i2c
MP Support : No
System BIOS : American Megatrends Inc. 62710
Mainboard : FIC SD11
System Chipset : Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) AMD-751 (Irongate) CPU to PCI Bridge
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 100MHz (200MHz data rate)
Installed Memory : 512MB SDRAM
Memory Bus Speed : 1x 100MHz (100MHz data rate)
Video System
Monitor/Panel : Plug and Play Monitor
Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce3
Physical Storage Devices
Removable Drive : Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive : Maxtor 33073U4
CD-ROM/DVD : SONY CD-RW CRX140E
Logical Storage Devices
1.44MB 3.5" (A:) : N/A
Hard Disk (C:) : 28.6GB (22.7GB, 79% Free) (NTFS)
CD-ROM/DVD (D:) : 578MB (0MB, 0% Free) (CDFS)
Peripherals
Serial/Parallel Port(s) : 1 COM / 1 LPT
USB Controller/Hub : VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
Keyboard : PC/AT PS/2 Keyboard (84-Key)
Mouse : Microsoft USB IntelliMouse Explorer (IntelliPoint)
Human Interface : Microsoft USB IntelliMouse Explorer
MultiMedia Device(s)
Device : Creative SB Live! Value (WDM)
Device : Creative SBLive! Gameport
Printers and Faxes
Model : Lexmark Z11 Color Jetprinter
Operating System(s)
Windows System : Microsoft Windows XP Home Ver 5.01.2600
Network Adapter(s)
Networking Installed : Yes
Adapter : NETGEAR FA311 Fast Ethernet Adapter

And my Video Card Specifics:

SiSoftware Sandra
Video Adapter
Model : NVIDIA GeForce3
Total Memory : 63MB (63MB Video) (127MB AGP)
Texture Memory : 191MB
Supports DIME Texturing : Yes
VGA Compatible : No
Current Video Mode
Video Mode : 1024x768 16M+ TrueColour (32-bit)
Refresh Rate : 75Hz
Virtual Desktop Size : 1024x768
Video Driver
Model ID : nv4_mini.sys
Version : 6.13.10.2942
Supported Windows Version : 4.00
Video Acceleration : Yes, All Functions
Screen Saver Active : No
Low Power Saving Active : No
Power Off Saving Active : No
Video i2c Controller 1
Model : nVidia Riva GFX DDC1 i2c
Bus Speed : 50kHz
Video i2c Controller 2
Model : nVidia Riva GFX DDC2 i2c
Bus Speed : 50kHz
Video BIOS
Release Date : 04/02/01
Version : 3.20.00.10.02
Enhanced Video Settings
Animation Effects Enabled : No
Full Windows Drag Enabled : No
Font Smoothing Enabled : No
HighContrast Feature On : No
Screen Reader Active : No
Video Mode Characteristics
Physical Screen Width : 320 mm, 13 in
Physical Screen Height : 240 mm, 9 in
Recommended Monitor Size : 20 in
Horizontal/Vertical Resolution : 96x96 dpi
Colour Bits/Planes : 32 / 1 bit(s) per pixel
Brushes : 4294967295
Pens : 4294967295
Device Colours : 4294967295
Pixel Width/Height/Diagonal : 36 / 36 / 51
Video Driver Clipping Capabilities
Can Clip Output to Rectangle : Yes
Can Clip Output to Region : No
Video Driver Raster Capabilities
Supports Banding : No
Supports Fonts Larger than 64K : Yes
Can Transfer Bitmaps : Yes
Supports Bitmaps Larger than 64K : Yes
Supports Device Bitmaps : No
Supports DIBs : Yes
DIBs on Device Surface : Yes
Flood Fills : Yes
Supports Windows 2.x : Yes
Stretch/Compress Bitmaps : Yes
Stretch/Compress DIBs : Yes
Supports Scaling : No
Palette-Based Device : No
Saves Bitmap Locally : No
Video Driver Curve Capabilities
Can Draw Circles : Yes
Can Draw Ellipses : Yes
Can Draw Pie Wedges : Yes
Can Draw Chord Arcs : Yes
Can Draw Wide Borders : Yes
Can Draw Styled Borders : Yes
Can Draw Wide, Styled Borders : Yes
Can Draw Rounded Rectangles : Yes
Can Draw Interiors : Yes
Video Driver Line Capabilities
Can Draw Polylines : Yes
Can Draw Styled Lines : Yes
Can Draw Wide Lines : Yes
Can Draw Wide, Styled Lines : Yes
Can Draw Markers : Yes
Can Draw Polymarkers : Yes
Can Draw Interiors : Yes
Video Driver Polygonal Capabilities
Can Draw Alternate-fill Polygons : Yes
Can Draw Winding-fill Polygons : Yes
Can Draw Rectangles : Yes
Can Draw Scan Lines : Yes
Can Draw Wide Borders : Yes
Can Draw Styled Borders : Yes
Can Draw Wide, Styled Borders : Yes
Can Draw Interiors : Yes
Video Driver Text Capabilities
Supports Stroke Clip Precision : Yes
Supports Stroke Output Precision : Yes
Supports Character Output Precision : Yes
Supports 90° Character Rotation : No
Supports Any Angle Character Rotation : No
Supports Independent X-Y Scaling : No
Supports Doubled Character for Scaling : No
Supports Integer Multiples for Scaling : No
Any Multiples for Exact Scaling : No
Can Draw Double-Weighted Characters : No
Can Italicize : No
Can Underline : Yes
Can Draw Strikeouts : Yes
Can Draw Raster Fonts : Yes
Can Draw Vector Fonts : Yes
Cannot Scroll Using BitBlt : No

Any help I could get would be MUCH appreciated!

[Nuclear Krusader]

Hello, GatorUOPG, and welcome to PC Mech!

Does this lockups happen only in NN or in other games as well?

[GatorUOPG]

So far only in this game only. I have played other high intense graphics games on thsi computer with my old VooDoo. namely Dark Age of Camelot and Dungeon Siege. I need to install another game thats intense and see how it performs as well. I will try that.

[wolfie]

hi
have you tried any of the updates?

welcome!!

wolfie

[Furius92]

You mean game updates, for NN, right? Does anyone you know have an ATI card that you could try out?

[GatorUOPG]

Yes I have updated the game with the current updates, and no I dont know anyone that has an ATI. I have decided to go ahead with a system upgrade, and what better way to do it than by telling the wife "But Honey, I will be able to run NWN!" I did tune down my GF, some folks over at BioWare were having success with that. And honestly, I did get some improvement, but I eventually crashed nonetheless. But my comouter is 2 years old, maybe its telling me something hehe.

[GatorUOPG]

And btw I apprecaite everyones kindness here, bunch of nice folks. Make it feel all homely. :D This isnt the Hardward board, but here is what I have decided to upgrade to:

Motherboard: SHUTTLE AK31A AMD K7 VIA APOLLO KT266A DDR SOCKET A ATX MOTHERBOARD
Processor: AMD ATHLON XP 1800+/266 FSB PROCESSOR CPU - OEM 1800+/ 1.53GHz
DDR: KINGSTON KVR266X64C25/256 256MB 32x64 PC2100 DDR RAM
HD: MAXTOR 40GB 7200RPM Model # 6L040J2 -D740X OEM, DRIVE ONLY
Burner: Lite On 40X12X48 CDRW Model: LTR40125S-Full OEM
CDROM: ASUS CD-S520 52X CD-ROM DRIVE
COOLER MASTER DP5-6I11A CPU HEAT SINK AND FAN

TOTAL COST $389.00

All parts found at newegg.

[Furius92]

Yep, are you planning on simply upgrading or building a new computer? Either way, tell us, in a new thread how much you're allowed to spend (usually decided by the wife ;)) and what you'll be using it for, although I suspect it will be for gaming. If you are building a new PC, please decide on AMD or Intel for yourself, otherwise you may end up with a useless thread of "Doesn't matter," "Flip a coin," replies and you won't get suggestions on the other parts. Hope we can help you out

Edit:

Ah well, I seem to have typed too slowly.

All great choices, except one thing. You might as well drop the Asus CD-ROM in favor of a Pioneer, Lite-On or Toshiba 16x DVD-ROM. It'll cost like $20 more and will be good to have, as soon as companies start releasing DVD versions of their software.

DVDs are just so much more versatile and better, it's the difference between PC2100 and PC133, the cost is about the same, but one is so much better. And I think Coolermaster HSF units are rather marginal cooling for Athlon XPs, I might be wrong though. You might want to take a look at something from GlobalWin, but stay away from ThermalTake Orbs!

[Nuclear Krusader]

I'd grab an MSI mobo instead. Shuttles are good ones, but MSI is one of the top brands. If you get the MSI K7T333 ARU you'll get support for the new 2700 DDR memory, RAID and USB 2.0.

[GatorUOPG]

I started this topic fellas, I didnt want to get to OT on this specific forum.

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=245787#post245787