Computer Hates New Video Card

[Ajwhipple]

I recently purchased a Gigabyte 6800 GT card with the heatpipe cooler as the final component in a new computer. I'm having problems with several games (Doom 3 and Wolfienstien ET) crashing to desktop or with Blue Screens (IRQ Less or Not Equal) appearing during a game, followed by a reboot. I'm also noticing the same Blue Screen errors with other applications (Word, IE, etc.) Sometimes I'm even getting a complete loss of video signal (black screen).

The card is in a computer with a fresh install of Windows XP Pro and a clean install of all drivers straight from the manufacturer's websites.

My card is using nVidia driver version 6.14.10.6693 and Video BIOS version 5.40.02.15.00.

I noticed that my video card was sharing an IRQ with my sound card, so I moved the sound card to a
different PCI slot. There is no more conflict.

My system BIOS has an AGP apature setting of 64 MB and Fast Writes is disabled. My GPU temperature never seems to climb above 60 C.

I've tried reinstalling Windows XP Pro and reinstalling all drivers. I installed my son's GeForce 2 video card and had no gaming problems, other than slow performance, which is expected. I also installed the 6800 GT in his older computer and he played several games for hours with no problems.

It seems like some part of my new computer doesn't like the 6800 GT video card. Can anyone recommend tools, techniques, or utilities that can help me diagnose and fix this problem?

Athlon 3000+ Winchester
ABIT AV8
Crucial Ballisitx 2x512 MB
Gigabyte GeForce 6800 GT 256 MB
WD Raptor 74 GB SATA
Seagate Barracuda 120 GB SATA
Pioneer 108 DVR
SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS Gamer
Antec TruePower 550
Coolermaster CM Stacker

 

[montag451]

I read on a post this evening that some Antec and Qtec psu's were causing problems with other hardware.

Try doing a search within Anandtech for Antec and 6800

 

[Ajwhipple]

Originally posted by: montag451
I read on a post this evening that some Antec and Qtec psu's were causing problems with other hardware.

Try doing a search within Anandtech for Antec and 6800

Sorry. I haven't found that post. Was it related to particular models or lot numbers?

The PSU should have more than enough juice to run the computer. The video card is only sharing a line with the DVR. The funny thing is that the card ran fine with my kid's generic 250 W PSU.

 

[montag451]

it was in the GENERAL HARDWARE, or further on in this forum. hold on will try to find it

 

[montag451]

Found it...

It was about Antec psu and Asus mobo's.
So doesn't concern your problem.

But just in case [as i spent all that time looking ;-) ]:
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...8578&enterthread=y

 

[Ajwhipple]

Originally posted by: montag451
Found it...

It was about Antec psu and Asus mobo's.
So doesn't concern your problem.

But just in case [as i spent all that time looking ;-) ]:
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...8578&enterthread=y

Interesting read. Thank you for taking the time to post the link.

However, I'm still faced with the same problem, how to diagnose the cause of the poor performance. Any suggestions? Anyone?

 

[montag451]

try moving the irq back to the original setting, disable the sound JUST TEMPORARILY to see if the vga card needs to run from that IRQ.
Also, just as important, check the I/O addresses to see if there are any conflicts.

BUT then again, after doing a search on google, it seems that it might possibly be a problem with a stick of RAM.
Don't know how that figures, but then again, if i did, I'd be designing the damned things

 

[Ajwhipple]

Originally posted by: montag451
try moving the irq back to the original setting, disable the sound JUST TEMPORARILY to see if the vga card needs to run from that IRQ.
Also, just as important, check the I/O addresses to see if there are any conflicts.

BUT then again, after doing a search on google, it seems that it might possibly be a problem with a stick of RAM.
Don't know how that figures, but then again, if i did, I'd be designing the damned things

I never reassigned the IRQ, I just moved the sound card to another PCI slot and XP gave it another IRQ number. Problem solved.

I'm a little fuzzy on the I/O addresses. I ran msinfo32 and noticed several I/O addresses that are shared with the video card and something else, but I'm clueless about how to resolve the conflicts....if in fact it is a conflict. I read that XP commonly allows devices to share IRQs and I/Os, so I'm not sure if this is OK or not.

Are there any utility programs that I can run that will point our potential problem areas on my system?

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: Ajwhipple

Originally posted by: montag451
try moving the irq back to the original setting, disable the sound JUST TEMPORARILY to see if the vga card needs to run from that IRQ.
Also, just as important, check the I/O addresses to see if there are any conflicts.

BUT then again, after doing a search on google, it seems that it might possibly be a problem with a stick of RAM.
Don't know how that figures, but then again, if i did, I'd be designing the damned things

I never reassigned the IRQ, I just moved the sound card to another PCI slot and XP gave it another IRQ number. Problem solved.

I'm a little fuzzy on the I/O addresses. I ran msinfo32 and noticed several I/O addresses that are shared with the video card and something else, but I'm clueless about how to resolve the conflicts....if in fact it is a conflict. I read that XP commonly allows devices to share IRQs and I/Os, so I'm not sure if this is OK or not.

Are there any utility programs that I can run that will point our potential problem areas on my system?

XP is an ACPI-compliant OS. IRQs and such shouldn't be an issue anymore. If you want, send me the minidumps found in c:\windows\minidumps, and find and run "mpsreports" (SetupPerf version) from the Microsoft website, and perhaps I can tell you what's going wrong.

 

[Ajwhipple]

dclive,

Thanks for your offer of help. I sent the requested files. I appreciate any information you can provide.

 

[mechBgon]

What voltage are you giving the Ballistix memory there? Also, why is the AGP Aperture way, way down there at 64MB, and why is FW disabled?

 

[Ajwhipple]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
What voltage are you giving the Ballistix memory there? Also, why is the AGP Aperture way, way down there at 64MB, and why is FW disabled?

I haven't messed with the memory voltage. It's whatever it was set at by the motherboard I guese.
As a mater of fact, I haven't tried to overclock anything yet.

The AGP apature is at 64 MB becuase Activision support (Doom 3) recommended this as a fix for game crashes. I've also read that with graphics cards that have ample memory, having a high AGP setting just wastes system memory.

I've read a lot of posts that suggest that FastWrites can contribute to graphics card problems, so I turned it off to see if it would help. It didn't make a difference.

As a side note, I'm also having problems with the computer during boot. Now, about every 4th or 5th boot, it just power cycles. It starts as far as spinning the hard drive and applying a little power to the video card, then shuts down and starts again...and again and again until I switch off the PSU. I'm also getting all kinds of blue screen crashes now. My last one said something about a hardware failure.

Something is seriously wrong. I wish I could put my finger on it. I'm about ready to take it to my local PC shop.

 

[mechBgon]

So your memory's running undervolted, then. Those modules take 2.8 volts and I guarantee they're not getting it if you left your mobo on AUTO voltage. Fix that, for starters.

 

[Ajwhipple]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
So your memory's running undervolted, then. Those modules take 2.8 volts and I guarantee they're not getting it if you left your mobo on AUTO voltage. Fix that, for starters.

I hadn't really given much thought to tinkering with the voltage or timings of the memory. How should I make the setting changes? Should I use the Guru utility that came with the motherboard, or change the settings some other way? BIOS?

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: Ajwhipple

Originally posted by: mechBgon
So your memory's running undervolted, then. Those modules take 2.8 volts and I guarantee they're not getting it if you left your mobo on AUTO voltage. Fix that, for starters.

I hadn't really given much thought to tinkering with the voltage or timings of the memory. How should I make the setting changes? Should I use the Guru utility that came with the motherboard, or change the settings some other way? BIOS?

Every dump you've got is completely different. 2 point to USB/HID devices, and the rest point to fairly random XP system files - none likely to have any issues.

If you have any USB devices attached to this that are different than what's on the other computer, I suggest removing them just for the heck of it, but it is very unlikely that's an issue.

That means it's most likely you've got some sort of a hardware problem. I've asked that you reboot in safe mode and tell me what happens there - that will eliminate most drivers from the equation.

 

[mechBgon]

For an AV8, go into the uGuru Utility section of the mobo and you can set the memory voltage there. Also, what PCI slot is the Audigy2 ZS in now? Have you tried operating without it as a fact-finding step? Are all the onboard features that the A2 duplicates disabled (Gameport, MIDI, audio, Firewire)?

 

[Ajwhipple]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
For an AV8, go into the uGuru Utility section of the mobo and you can set the memory voltage there. Also, what PCI slot is the Audigy2 ZS in now? Have you tried operating without it as a fact-finding step? Are all the onboard features that the A2 duplicates disabled (Gameport, MIDI, audio, Firewire)?

Well, I was skeptical about the memory voltage, but it seems to have done the trick. I found the BIOS setting, and increased it from 2.65 to 2.8. Then I installed Doom 3 and Wolfienstien ET and played both for hours. Not so much as a hiccup. The system seems very stable now.

Based on a few forum posts on the Abit website, it looks like the boot looping might be the cause of the Antec PSU, as montag451 suggested earlier. I have a call into Antec for more info.

Thanks a lot for your help. You saved me from going crazy!

 

[mechBgon]

Woohooo! Frag some monsters for me