Help! New system won't play games!

[melomania]

I just built my buddy a new gaming rig for 1k. Here are the specs first:

MSI K9N Platinum Socket AM@ NVIDIA nForce 570 Ultra MCP ATX AMD Mobo
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Windsor 2000mhz HT Socket AM2 Dual Core CPU
OCZ Gold 2x1gb 240-Pin DDR2 800 PC2 6400
NEC 16x DVD Burner
HIS Hightec Radeon X800XL IceQII 256mb GDDR3 PCI-e Vid Card
Samsung SpinPoint P Series 160gb 7200rpm HD
Thermaltake Mambo Case
Thermaltake 430watt PSU

I installed Windows XP Pro and SP2. For some reason I got about 2 BSOD's before I could get it finally installed all the way through.

I launched Guild Wars and I change the graphics to high. It is fine for a few seconds then it crashes saying there was a hardware error.

I also tried HL2 and I lasts for a few seconds and gives me a memory reference error.

I have the bios settings at the recommended defaults.

Is it the memory? Vid card?

 

[Standpoint]

Sounds like the vid card or driver issue, but the only way to test would be to put another pci-e card into his machine(maybe yours?) and see if you get errors.

Edit: It may also be drivers. remember that AM2 is relatively new, and the drivers have not necessarily matured for the mobo, vid card, etc. The fact that you got BSODs during XP install though seems to point to a hardware problem, though.

 

[Dark Prodigy]

Definately some issues here... Memory would be my frist troubleshooting effort. Installation troubles can be/ usually due to memory issues. Try swapping memory in you know work fine already, even if its its less, or you could simply try 1 memory module at a time. If you do not have that, then try running memtest. You can also try the same thing with your video card, find one you know already works and try it. Also make sure you have current drivers for EVERYTHING and Windows has been properly updated.

If all else fails, you might want to start your build again with as little parts as possible to rule out certain devices. Look on the bright side, troubleshooting builds computer knowledge rather quickly =)