Well, trying to keep a long story short.

ABIT KD7-E
AMD Athlon XP-M (2800)
WinXP Pro
Latest BIOS version installed
Corsair 512 DDR 333 (2.0) w/heat spreader XMS 2700 memory
SoundBlaster Audigy2 ZS
ATI 9600XT (All-In-Wonder)

The long and short is that when I install any updated driver from ATI, the sound and video in some games is adversely affected. Some severely, some slightly. This does not happen with the stock drivers that came with the card, but the full features of the card are not accessed under XP without the updated drivers. Some games (like HalfLife2) need the updated drivers to deliver the full visual effect of the game.

I've been back and forth with ATI over this. They have no answers. I have done everything possible to rule out other problems (including clean reinstalls just to test driver conflicts). I've come to the conclusion that something is amis with how my ATI card reacts to the chipset of my ABIT motherboard.

From what I'm seeing, this is not an isolated matter with the AIW 9600XT. Right now, I can just muddle by on my stock drivers until ATI ever fixes the problem and hope newer games will play well enough without a driver update, spend the money on a different motherboard to resolve the problem, or get another video card.

Frankly, I'm inclined to muddle by since in a year or so, if trends stay the same, I'm likely to build a new system anyhow for gaming and why spend money now when I'll eventually spend it later?

In any case, if there is a known fix for this type of conflict, I could really use some education (or a working link). I suppose I will avoid anything with the VIA chipset in any future purchase. I like ATI, but frankly, Nvidia is looking better after the lack of helpful assistance from ATI. Honestly, my laptop runs an Nvidia mobile and runs games better than my "gaming" computer.

Thanks for the help.