System unstable with agp drivers.

[MarkFS]

Im in need of some expert help here as im getting really burned out trying to figure out what is wrong with my comp, when I have so little knowledge about it :/

My specs:

AMD64 FX-53 (38C idle, 46c-48c load)
Asus A8V Deluxe rev.1 (VIA K8T800Pro chipset) (bios 1003) (28C idle-36c-38c load)
Aopen Geforce 6800 Ultra (60c idle - 70c-75c load)
Soundblaster Audigy2 ZS
1 GB Crucial ballistix DDR 400

Setup 1: Clean windows XP pro installation SP1, VIA 4in1 hyperion 4.53 (latest) Forceware 61.77 (also tried Aopens 66.30).

Setup 2: Clean windows xp pro installation SP2 (using SP2's agp driver instead of VIA's 4in1) Forceware 66.81 (also tried with Forceware 61.77 and Aopens 66.30)

My problem:

My system seems to be very unstable running anything but PCI x0 (everytime some kind of agp driver is installed).

I can't complete a 3DMark05 benchmark without trying a good 10 times, sometimes I get soft lockups where im able to tab out of the benchmark, sometimes its a hard lockup and I have to reboot, and sometimes I get a windows error telling me to reboot.

In counterstrike I encounter the same kind of lockup, usually happens when sound is being played while lots of action is going on, when the lockup happens, the sound will repeat itself over and over again, most of the times this can be fixed by tabbing out of the game and back in, if im unlucky, reset button is the way to go.

I recall having had this same problem a year or 2 back with another VIA chipset, and im currently considering the option of buying another motherboard if im not able to get the problem fixed sometime soon.

If more information about my system is needed to help me, please reply here.

If anyone is able to help me, id really appreciate it - thanks in advance.

 

[Crashman]

I'd love to think it's the chipset, but in this case the first thing I'd recommend is increasing RAM voltage to 2.7v. If that doesn't cure the problem, I'd load MBM5 with logging turned on and set to 5 seconds 60 intervals to keep track of the voltages during operation.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[MarkFS]

Thanks for your reply crashman.

I went to check what the RAM voltage was at and it was set to auto (options are Auto, 2.6,2.7 and 2.8) - Now im no expert, but I wonder why you think the RAM voltage is the problem?
The system runs stable at PCI x0, its only after installing agp drivers the system gets unstable, how is that related to my RAM voltage?

Anyways, If you could tell me what MBM5 is and where I can download it, ill do that and see if it comes up with something.

Also, should I update my bios from 1003 to 1006, or should I wait till the system is more stable?

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Crashman]

AGP cards get direct memory access. Low Latency RAM often requires slightly raised voltages, depending on the board and chipset.

MBM5 is known as Motherboard Monitor 5, it's a program that displays system monitor information such as line voltage, core voltage, and temperature sensor readings. It has the ability to record those readings at set intervals, making it easy to keep a history of things such as temperature and voltage fluctuation.

The BIOS update might fix your problems if they're BIOS problems. I'd look into that in forums that specialize in your brand of board.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[MarkFS]

BIOS update didn't fix the problem :/ I also tried with 2.7voltage on my memory, still no go

Anyways,im headed to bed now, nothing more I can do atm.

Thanks again for your help crashman.
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by MarkFS on 10/03/04 04:46 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Crashman]

Of course it's safe, the stuff is rated at 2.8v +/- 0.3v!!!

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[MarkFS]

I guess its time to try a new mb, unless anyone got another idea to what the problem could be - any recommendations?

 

[pat]

yes..better try something else than Asus...

-Always put the blame on you first, then on the hardware !!!

 

[Black_Cat]

...and Via.

You've tried and failed. The lesson here is, never try again. -- Homer Simpson.

 

[MarkFS]

Ok, update on my problem.

I had 3 devices on the same IRQ, my firewire that I wasn't using and my Gfx card, I fixed that by disabling the firewire in bios and managed to complete 3dmark05 without crashing, meanwhile, I recorded the voltage usages and my 12v dropped below 11.4 more then ones, and my 3.3v dropped to 3.28 ones.

I tried running the 3dmark05 again to see if my system was stable or if I just happend to be very lucky, sadly the system locked up on me, forcing me to reboot.

During reboot, windows did a chkdisk, corrected a few errors and deleted a few files. When windows started up, I got a msg saying a file containing data about the registry was restored by a log or a copy, and now im writing on these forums again to see if I can get some help

Update:

I managed to complete the benchmark 4 times in a row now. How did I do that? Well, I installed Aopens 66.31 drivers again so I could manually set my clock freq. It runs 400/1100(2D) and 425/1100(3D) at stock settings - I set the 3D to 399/1100 and I completed the bench without problems - I then set it to default clock freq and rebooted, first test run - system locks up within 30 seconds.

Now im gonna record voltage usage on my underclocked system and then on default settings and see if there is a difference.

Update:

Just recorded volt again and everything except my 12v is pretty stable, 12v starts at 11,369 and drops to 11,308 after 30 secs, and remains stable at 11,308 for the rest of the test (5-6 mins).


<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by MarkFS on 10/04/04 04:54 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[MarkFS]

I finally managed to locate the problem - 2D and 3D speeds have to be the same, else the system will freeze on me. My system is running very smooth at 425-2D/425-3D

Thanks all.

 

[malici0usc0de]

Updating your bios should not be a question if you are having stability issues! Do it, this is what bios updates are for. I have this same mainboard and video card but run a 3500+ and have no problems at all; system runs for weeks at a time between reboots. And yes, I am running 1006...

 

[malici0usc0de]

You may want to upgrade your power supply, if you are seeing irregularities in voltage the power supply is a good place to start. On the bright side if you get it from a place that will accept returns and it doesn't fix the problem you can always just take it back and there will be nothing lost...

Like I said before, I run pretty much the same setup with the exception of the CPU and do it on a 400watt PSU…