HL2 stuttering, freezing, and crashing on the first screen!

[FishyMonkey]

When I try to play HL2, it starts to freeze and stutter on the screen that has New Game, Load Game etc. I couldn't find anything in the FAQS or on any boards, and I'm stumped and REALLY wanna play this game. Please help!

 

[Sid Burn]

well, most people say that its a RAM problem... but the game is working completely fine to me eventhough I have a 512MB SDRAM only.

 

[FishyMonkey]

Is there a certain kind of RAM that causes crashes? I have Kingston 512MB pc3200 ValueRam...

And now, I got rid of the 3D background, but it does the same thing when I start a new game! Oh yea, I kept the same RAM as before on my old machine that played the demo perfectly! I justupgraded today.