2405FPW + BF1942/FlatOut = Not So Much.

Fester_Silently · Nov 17, 2005, 12:09 AM

(Here's to hoping this is the right forum to post this in)

Guys,

I just finished assembling my uber-Rig (and its twin), only to find out that my two STAPLE games do not work with my new monitor! They both suffer the same problems: the games and menus will load, but once in game/in engine...hard lock/freeze up!

These two games are Battlefield 1942 and FlatOut.

BF1942 is not natively supported, so I'll skip it for now, but...I've tried both the European version (patched up to 1.1) as well as the American version (1.2, yes?) of FlatOut, both of which work fine on my "junior" rig, but do not work AT ALL on the new "pimp" rig...the only major difference being the monitors. Rig 2 has got my old NEC 2141SB CRT; Rig 1 has a new Dell 2405FPW, and will not run FlatOut (either version) in ANY resolution: 4:3; 16:10; 16:9, despite the game having (seeming) native support for all. The rig with the NEC CRT will run FlatOut/BF1942 at any (4:3) resolution all day long.

My system(s) specs are as follows:

RIG 1
AMD64 4400+/Zalman CNPS 9500
Asus A8N SLI Premium/1009 BIOS
2 x 1GB G.Skill PC3200@2-3-2-5
2 x XFX 7800GTX
X-Fi Fatal1ty
PC Power & Cooling 1000w
Dell 2405FPW 24" LCD
Win XP Pro + Service Pack 2
Latest official chipset & video drivers
everything at stock speed/voltage

RIG 2
AMD64 3700+/Zalman CNPS 9500
DFI SLI-DR/623-3 BIOS
2 x 1GB G.Skill PC3200@2-3-2-5
2 x eVGA 7800GTX
Audigy 2 ZS
PC Power and Cooling 1000w
NEC 2141SB 21" CRT
Win XP Pro + Service Pack 2
Latest official chipset & video drivers
everything at stock speed/voltage

Help!

Yours,
Fester Silently

P.S.

...I have searched a few different sites, but every thread I've found just mentions that the game (FlatOut) supports widescreen natively (which it does) and/or that it looks great and runs fine in widescreen resolution (it *does* look good; unfortunately, it only looks good for a second before it freezes up on me!).

Perhaps I should elucidate (my apologies): I have been a lurker for a few months now (since deciding upon the 2405fpw as a future purchase) in different places like TigerDave's site and WideScreenGamingForum and I've checked out threads/solutions regarding all the games I play/have played and might throw in again (for widescreen gazing purposes!), so I've been reading up on this stuff for a fair bit.

The BF1942 http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum...ght=bf1942#6461 threads all mention getting it to go widescreen, which I *can* do, the problem is keeping it from freezing/locking up once I get into (the properly rendered) widescreen game.

The same goes for Flatout http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum...t=flatout#10494 - I can spin the game up (although the in-engine menu stutters like a bitch) in proper widescreen resolution, but once I get to the actual game, it locks up almost instantly! (It does the same at ANY resolution: 16:10; 16:9; 4:3)

I've also tried disabling SLI (which makes no sense anyway, as the SLI works fine with these games on the NEC CRT rig), but no joy.

So.

P.P.S.

I also oughtta mention that all the games I was already playing before I bought the new monitor/pair of cards, all still play fine on both rigs, save for the two I mentioned. The following games play fine on EITHER rig: FEAR; Age of Empires 3; Empire Earth 2; Battlefield 2; Ghost Recon; Generals & Zero Hour; Unreal Tournament 2004 + all mods; Guild Wars.

So, it's not like one rig is less stable than the other - I ran 'em both through 24 hours of Prime 95, Super Pi and 3dMark05, both ran without a hitch.

Concerned and Confused,
Fester

**dj_stick** · Nov 17, 2005, 12:35 AM

sounds like a videocard/driver problem to me - the monitor should affect in game menus or cause freezes

Fester_Silently · Nov 17, 2005, 01:12 AM

Thanks for the reply, mate.

But it's *not* a video driver isuue: I've tried three-four different sets of (video) drivers on each rig and the two games (BF1942 & FlatOut) work smooth as silk on the NEC CRT rig. Same GPUs, same chipsets, different monitors.

Fester

daedal · Nov 18, 2005, 12:07 PM

Nice rig! Have you tried running your games on your old monitor and see if it would launch? A monitor shouldn't really affect anything other than games launching in a Widescreen ratio by detecting your monitor type. Did Windows properly pick up the Dell, or does it just say "Default Monitor" or something similar?

**dj_stick** · Nov 18, 2005, 08:09 PM

that's a good point daedal - if it just shows default monitor - try going to the manufacturer's website to grab the latest drivers

Nov 17, 2005, 01:12 AM	Thread Starter #3
Fester_Silently HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Southern California Posts: 51 Rep Power: 0	dj_stick Thanks for the reply, mate. But it's not a video driver isuue: I've tried three-four different sets of (video) drivers on each rig and the two games (BF1942 & FlatOut) work smooth as silk on the NEC CRT rig. Same GPUs, same chipsets, different monitors. Fester __________________ Hey - it's a pimpi lappy! Toshiba Qosmio Q870 Core i7 720qm 2 x 4GBs PC10666 500GB Hitachi@7200rpm nVidia GTS 360m Matshita UJ-141ES BluRay/DVD burner Win7x64

Nov 18, 2005, 12:07 PM	#4
daedal Uber Coffee Drinker Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Gatineau, Quebec Posts: 2,250 Rep Power: 0	Nice rig! Have you tried running your games on your old monitor and see if it would launch? A monitor shouldn't really affect anything other than games launching in a Widescreen ratio by detecting your monitor type. Did Windows properly pick up the Dell, or does it just say "Default Monitor" or something similar? __________________

Nov 17, 2005, 12:09 AM	#1
Fester_Silently HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Southern California Posts: 51 Rep Power: 0	2405FPW + BF1942/FlatOut = Not So Much. (Here's to hoping this is the right forum to post this in) Guys, I just finished assembling my uber-Rig (and its twin), only to find out that my two STAPLE games do not work with my new monitor! They both suffer the same problems: the games and menus will load, but once in game/in engine...hard lock/freeze up! These two games are Battlefield 1942 and FlatOut. BF1942 is not natively supported, so I'll skip it for now, but...I've tried both the European version (patched up to 1.1) as well as the American version (1.2, yes?) of FlatOut, both of which work fine on my "junior" rig, but do not work AT ALL on the new "pimp" rig...the only major difference being the monitors. Rig 2 has got my old NEC 2141SB CRT; Rig 1 has a new Dell 2405FPW, and will not run FlatOut (either version) in ANY resolution: 4:3; 16:10; 16:9, despite the game having (seeming) native support for all. The rig with the NEC CRT will run FlatOut/BF1942 at any (4:3) resolution all day long. My system(s) specs are as follows: RIG 1 AMD64 4400+/Zalman CNPS 9500 Asus A8N SLI Premium/1009 BIOS 2 x 1GB G.Skill PC3200@2-3-2-5 2 x XFX 7800GTX X-Fi Fatal1ty PC Power & Cooling 1000w Dell 2405FPW 24" LCD Win XP Pro + Service Pack 2 Latest official chipset & video drivers everything at stock speed/voltage RIG 2 AMD64 3700+/Zalman CNPS 9500 DFI SLI-DR/623-3 BIOS 2 x 1GB G.Skill PC3200@2-3-2-5 2 x eVGA 7800GTX Audigy 2 ZS PC Power and Cooling 1000w NEC 2141SB 21" CRT Win XP Pro + Service Pack 2 Latest official chipset & video drivers everything at stock speed/voltage Help! Yours, Fester Silently P.S. ...I have searched a few different sites, but every thread I've found just mentions that the game (FlatOut) supports widescreen natively (which it does) and/or that it looks great and runs fine in widescreen resolution (it does look good; unfortunately, it only looks good for a second before it freezes up on me!). Perhaps I should elucidate (my apologies): I have been a lurker for a few months now (since deciding upon the 2405fpw as a future purchase) in different places like TigerDave's site and WideScreenGamingForum and I've checked out threads/solutions regarding all the games I play/have played and might throw in again (for widescreen gazing purposes!), so I've been reading up on this stuff for a fair bit. The BF1942 http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum...ght=bf1942#6461 threads all mention getting it to go widescreen, which I can do, the problem is keeping it from freezing/locking up once I get into (the properly rendered) widescreen game. The same goes for Flatout http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum...t=flatout#10494 - I can spin the game up (although the in-engine menu stutters like a bitch) in proper widescreen resolution, but once I get to the actual game, it locks up almost instantly! (It does the same at ANY resolution: 16:10; 16:9; 4:3) I've also tried disabling SLI (which makes no sense anyway, as the SLI works fine with these games on the NEC CRT rig), but no joy. So. P.P.S. I also oughtta mention that all the games I was already playing before I bought the new monitor/pair of cards, all still play fine on both rigs, save for the two I mentioned. The following games play fine on EITHER rig: FEAR; Age of Empires 3; Empire Earth 2; Battlefield 2; Ghost Recon; Generals & Zero Hour; Unreal Tournament 2004 + all mods; Guild Wars. So, it's not like one rig is less stable than the other - I ran 'em both through 24 hours of Prime 95, Super Pi and 3dMark05, both ran without a hitch. Concerned and Confused, Fester __________________ Hey - it's a pimpi lappy! Toshiba Qosmio Q870 Core i7 720qm 2 x 4GBs PC10666 500GB Hitachi@7200rpm nVidia GTS 360m Matshita UJ-141ES BluRay/DVD burner Win7x64 Last edited by Fester_Silently; Nov 17, 2005 at 12:19 AM.