[Flakker]

Hey guys-new around these parts.

The wife gave me the thumbs up so i built this rig this weekend:

ASUS M4a78T-E
Phenom II X4 3.2 Ghz
4096MB g.Skill DDR3 1333
onboard ATI 3300- 256MB SidePort
OCZ 700W PSU
onboard sound
Linksys wireless NIC
WD 500G Green
HP DVD-R

It was an upgrade from an athlon xp 2.2Ghz and 2GB ram, and WOW its fast. Even with the built in video (sideport memeory, 256MB) i got crysis around 30 frame with middle of the road settings.

So all of my other games run great, BioShock, Sins of a solar empire, Homeworld 2, everything steam related. But not Bf 2142. Or BF2. Or BF2:SF.

There both installed and patched up, but when i got to launch them, I get a black screen, a flash back to the desktop (at a reduced resolution) and a flash to black and thats it. PC has to be reset or manually powered off. No alt-tab, no Ctrl alt del, nada. it was just 2142 at first, so i thought ill see if BF2 loads. exact same results. tried running them fresh install (no patches) same result. Driving me nuts! I know the graphics chip isnt anything to get excited about, but i bought a crossfire mobo (not an SLI one like I had intended) and i know nothing about ATI, xfire, etc...and im still doing research on vid cards. If it can run crysis...seems like BF series should be no issue. Ive tried disabling lots of start up items, virus software-nothing.

Any ideas?
Oh, and acn anyone recommend a good free minimalist firewall?

-Brandon