GeForce 6800 Ultra freezing!! *resolved*

[RampantAndroid]

OK, quick update from me...

I found my problem...I finally got ASUS probe to work on my coputer, and, while my powersupply is NOT under much load, the 12V rail runs at 11V....under full load (ex, Doom 3) I dont even want to know what it is....

I will NEVER buy from thermaltake again! I am buying a Ultra X-Connect, unless someone knows a better power supply that is very stable...it seems the X-Connect is very stable, but I imagine there is better...anyone know of any?

Thanks!

 

[botepeople]

i tried a bunch of fixes, but not the bios...they all don't work for me. I revamped my computer and it works fine now. I may have a culprit, which is too much ocing...but very strange, I use to run it 24/7 for a couple years no prob, regardless of vid cards...older ones.

I reinstalled everything using the safest settings avail...then once it was stable and completed...i started to oc one by one, running games and 3dmarks. it all works fine.

Iuse to run 12x200 (6-3-3-2) all day long, now my max is 11.5x200@2.3ghz. But I took off water system, so now I'm running 11x200. I am able to get the lockup and blue screenthat says something about the nv3_disp file only when i test at 2.4ghz. Strange..just don't understand it. tried everything safe at 2.4, but nothing.

Unmasking works fine. I am able to run 325/852 and score 9735 on 3dmark03. doing 350/700 gets me 9717. From my numerous tests with 05 and aqua, core speed ocing gets better results. 350/852 gets me 9889 in 3dmark03. default gets me 9314. So not a whole lot of stressing for performance. btw, unmasking nets me close to 500 pts by itself. why stress when i can run any game on high at max reso?

It must be the unmasking that makes the core get more artifacts...yet to be determine for me. Thought i share this with all. ...still a great card for $200 not including tax, today's price.

Phil

 

[AssyrianKing]

Originally posted by: RampantAndroid
OK, quick update from me...

I found my problem...I finally got ASUS probe to work on my coputer, and, while my powersupply is NOT under much load, the 12V rail runs at 11V....under full load (ex, Doom 3) I dont even want to know what it is....

I will NEVER buy from thermaltake again! I am buying a Ultra X-Connect, unless someone knows a better power supply that is very stable...it seems the X-Connect is very stable, but I imagine there is better...anyone know of any?

Thanks!

Dont get Ultra X-Connect, if you really want superior PSU compared to anything out on the market , get the same as me OCZ UltraQuiet Powerstream series, They have a huge big black tunnel like Heatsink in them running through it with double fans one intake one exhaust and there very quiet! , the unit is Extremely stable my 12 volt rail doesnt budge under load and also u can adjust dials on the unit to increase voltage on the rails if u need to. plus have a ECELLENT WARRANTY replacement swap on the go deal where you get a brand new one if anything happened, but doubt anything would go wrong thats y they offer this feature there so confident.

tweaktown had an article they tested top 6 PSU's on the market and OCZ came ontop, its alot more higher quality and stable than antec, thermaltake etc.

 

[Regs]

A Antec True Power Series is excellent. A 400+ Watt Antec True PSU will hold that system over perfectly.

 

[RampantAndroid]

I had my eyes on the OCZ Powerstream/modstreams, but alas, money came into play....the Ultra X-Connect weighed in at $75, whereas the OCZ is $100 most places (I got free shipping on the Ultra)....I read quite a few reviews on the ultra, showing its 12V, 5V, and 3.3V rails as being very stable....I can only hope (I do like the modular idea)

I'll give you an update once I install it on friday.

 

[MDme]

hey guys, just stumbled onto this thread. i was just surprised to see all the problems you guys seem to be having. i just want to help if i can. anyway, is the problem limited to 6800U cards? coz' i have a 6800GT in an A64 system (see sig). which is running fine. I was toying with OCing my 6800GT but seem to cap out at 380/1050. at those clocks, i do get the "pausing" or freezing at 3Dmark05/03 and some random crashes in Doom3. But i don't have those problems if I run at 370/1000. by the way, just discharging static through touching your CPU case helps prevent damage. I know, because i get static everywhere but my PC has never been damaged.

 

[RampantAndroid]

I seem to have fixed it by replacing a faulty PS...I know run a 500W Ultra X-Connect, and I took my meter to the rails, and they test out about 12.4 (rounded up) under medium load (basic tasks, WMP, Windows, defrag, etc) and under HEAVY load it hits down to about 12.1V....all my other rails seem to be fine.

Although, I am not able to test my rails on the mobo, and Asusprobe reports my 12V as being undervolt, but about .4 V....what is wrong here?!

 

[I Saw OJ]

I also cured my 6800 GT problems by replacing the PSU. turns out my "450w" generic PSU that my case had in it was total junk. I also got the Ulta X connect and now everything runs great. Some people seem to dislike the Ulta X but dont state their reasons why.


seth

 

[RampantAndroid]

I use a Coolermaster Pratorean Case, which is a midtower, and the cabling is too long, and to darned stiff for my case...also, I'm not much into case modding, I prefer the look of a brushed aluminum case, hence the UV cabling isnt in my tastes. Other than that, I just need to voltmeter it when I play Doom 3 to see how it does.

I'll give an update later on...

 

[pravuscaine]

Hello,

Looks like I'm having the same issues as you but with my 6600gt.... I'm working through the solutions but I'm getting no where fast, system freezes are still happening in starwars battlefront and 3dmark 3.

I reduced the agp to x4 and turned fast write off via rivatuner... But can't find these options in the bios anywhere (my Motherboard is asus p4p800 deluxe, just updated the bios)... is turning 'em off by rivatuner as good as doing so at the bios?

I really hope so, cos the more advanced solution scare the hell out of me.


pentium4 3.0
512mb pc3200 ddr ram
xfx geforce 6600gt
onboard soundMAX
450w nova tech psu
asus p4p800 delux motherboard, newest bios

 

[RampantAndroid]

OK, for one, I'm making a rebuttal of myself....I don't advocate softmods, b/c for one, there goes your warranty....for two, your mobo will have those options in its bios (yes, doing it in bios is better, and it is hard to damage your mobo in the bios) Also, check out your powersupply....

 

[pravuscaine]

Lo there,

yup people tell me those agp options are in the bios somewhere, I just went through every menu item and so far no sign of 'em... I've seen them on previus mother board bios I've used ... urge to kill my pc is growing.

I'm really hoping it's not the psu... the funds won't stretch to any new bits (took 3 months to save for the new graphics card). Is there any way to test the psu before I go and buy a new one?

Thanks,

~Wayne

 

[RampantAndroid]

You have an ASUS, so what you might try is ASUS probe....however, mine shows my 12V rails as being 11.687 when I meter it, it shows as 12.31 or so.....so, if you have a voltmeter (or multimeter) take an extra 4 pin molex connector, and just hook your meter up to the ground and +12v pins. The GND pins are the two center ones (black) and the 12v is the yellow wire (NOT red, red it +5v) If you accidentally put the test leeds of the meter in backwards, all it will do it show your voltage as negative, so don't freak out, as this means nothing (black goes to black, red of the meter goes to yellow of the connector) If this is under 12v at ANY time, your PS is in need of replacement.

If you don't have a voltmeter/multimeter, go to radioshack, they'll have a cheap one that'll do fine (only a few bucks) Don't trust ASUS probe, be sure and use a voltmeter.

 

[pravuscaine]

hello,

Thanks for the speedy reply, your beating the asus/xfx/lucas arts tech support

I think the psu is #3 on the list... first I'm going to try a full reinstall *cringe* then if that fails I'll hijack my friend new 550w power supplie I got for him(see how long until he notices it's been swoped with mine... I'll just say I'm checking he's pc's hardware or loose connections muhahaha).

Thanks again,

~Wayne

 

[AssyrianKing]

Originally posted by: RampantAndroid
You have an ASUS, so what you might try is ASUS probe....however, mine shows my 12V rails as being 11.687 when I meter it, it shows as 12.31 or so.....so, if you have a voltmeter (or multimeter) take an extra 4 pin molex connector, and just hook your meter up to the ground and +12v pins. The GND pins are the two center ones (black) and the 12v is the yellow wire (NOT red, red it +5v) If you accidentally put the test leeds of the meter in backwards, all it will do it show your voltage as negative, so don't freak out, as this means nothing (black goes to black, red of the meter goes to yellow of the connector) If this is under 12v at ANY time, your PS is in need of replacement.

If you don't have a voltmeter/multimeter, go to radioshack, they'll have a cheap one that'll do fine (only a few bucks) Don't trust ASUS probe, be sure and use a voltmeter.

Yes same here bro,

My Asus PC Probe shows like round 11.687 on my 12+ rail, i took this as just an innacurate calculation with PC Probe, esp since my PSU is well capable of handling stable 12+ volt feeds.

 

[pravuscaine]

I just installed asus probe, the power readings seem to be ok, not that I trust them from what I just read.

But I just recovered from a freeze/reset and asus probe must have restarted cos the thing was bleep (in a very annoying way) telling me the power supply fan was not on... strange cos it's still pushing air out, oh well guess I'll just replace the damn thing any ways.

 

[RampantAndroid]

It was probably giving alarms b/c your powersupply fan indicator was not plugged into your mobo....all you have to do is turn off that alarm...but, as I said, use a multimeter to be sure of the voltages....

 

[eskimo103]

Hi, new to these forums. Been following this thread for months. Some excellent advice here. So far, the most success I have had has come from tweaking the 2d and 3d clocks to the same speed.


I wonder if anyone has had any luck confirming any of these problems with any manufacturers. So far, I have tried my local vendor by phone, who didnt know anything about the problems, and ASUS via email. I have included the ASUS email dialogue for comparison (I come off a bit harsh ) . What range of responses have you guys had so far? The way I see it, it looks like its either the 6800's or the AMD 64 bit CPU's that are causing problems. Easy for both companies to fob it off onto the other. Has anyone heard any official confirmation of these problems, or of any fixes in the pipeline?



Here is the mail.
It starts at the bottom... blah blah blah


I still havent gotten a response


Dear bruce

If you have done testing and not found the problem, how do you expect to find the problem in my card? How can you have not found this problem when so many people are experiencing it? I once again ask that you actually listen to me and answer my questions, rather than sending the same response you send to everyone. Help me, dont waste my time.

My first question - Are you aware of
any common crashing issues or fixes specifically for video cards with the 6800 chipset, and if so,
does ASUS or NVidia plan to address them?

Here is a forum thread that illustrates exactly what I am talking about -
( I posted a link to this thread )

my second question - Would it be possible for you to send a replacement card or temporary video card for me to
use while my video card is being tested?

PLEASE answer these questions, so far I have received no help from ASUS or NVidia, and am disgusted at the way you are treating me. If you cant help me, can you PLEASE direct me to someone who can.

Sam


Dear Friend :
Thank you for contacting ASUS Customer Service.
My name is Bruce and I'd like to help you with your problem .
My friend , I can understand your feeling very much . But from our test , we have not find this problem . So , if you send it to us , we can check for the problem more detailedly and solve it better .
Sorry for any inconvenience.
Thank you for using ASUS products and services!

Bruce
ASUS Customer Service Center (Shanghai )
If you have any suggestion or complaints about our tech support service, please send your valuable info to support@asus.com.cn , we arrange specilists to handle relative issue, your suggestion may give us more elicitation to serve our customers much better.

---------- Original Message ----------
From :
Sent : 2004-12-23 6:20:24
To : "tsd@asus.com.tw"
Subject :

[CASEID=TM2004122300143]

Hi Bruce,

I really dont think an RMA is the answer. On most of the forum posts I have read, people have had
the exact same results with a replacement card. The purpose of my mail was more to and find
whether Nvidia or ASUS are aware of the problem and are working on a fix for it. This is a widespread
issue, and the manufacturers so far have not admitted there has been a problem. Are you aware of
any common crashing issues or fixes specifically for video cards with the 6800 chipset, and if so,
does ASUS or NVidia plan to address them?

The idea of spending $1000 on a video card, only to have to mail it back and not be able to use it
seems silly. Would it be possible for you to send a replacement card or temporary video card for me to
use while my video card is being tested?

If you are unable to answer these questions, can you please put me in contact with someone who
can.

Thanks


----- Or! iginal Message -----
From: Bruce Mao
To:
Sent: Thursday, December 23, 2004 1:41 PM
Subject:


Dear Friend :
Thank you for contacting ASUS Customer Service.
My name is Bruce and I'd like to help you with your problem .
My friend , for your problem , would you please send your card to our RMA center for a detailed
check ? Please kindly contact with your local reseller where you bought the product for RMA service
request. If they cannot help you solve this problem , the local reseller will send it to us through
distributor for RMA. We will solve your problem as soon as possible.
Sorry for any inconvenience.
Thank you for using ASUS products and services!

Bruce
ASUS Customer Service Center (Shanghai )
If you have any suggestion or complaints about our tech support service, please send your valuable
info to support@asus.com.! cn , we arrange specilists to handle relative issue, your suggestion m ay
give us more elicitation to serve our customers much better.

---------- Original Message ----------
From :
Sent : 2004-12-23 11:41:08
To : "tsd@asus.com.tw"
Subject :

[CASEID=WTM200412231135341347]

Apply date : 12/23/2004 11:35:34 AM

[Contact Information]
*Name : Sam
*Email Address :
Phone Number :
City : Perth
*Country : Australia

[Product Information]
*Product Type : Graphic Card
*Product Model : V9999 Series
*Product S/N :
Place of Purchase : Navada Computers
*Date of Purchase : 2004/9/9

[Motherboard Specification]
*Motherboard Vendor : Epox
*Motherboard Revision : 8KDA3+
*Motherboard BIOS Revision : Phoenix- AwardBIOS 6.00PG

[CPU Specification]
*CPU Vendor : AMD
*CPU Type : Athlon 64
*CPU Speed : 3400+
!
[Memory Specification]
*Memory Vendor : Corsair
*Memory Model : C2
*Memory Capacity : 1024

[HDD Specification]
HDD Vendor : Western Digital
HDD Model : 7200RPM
HDD Capacity : 120GB

[Add-on Card Specificatio]
Add-on Card Vendor :
Add-on Card Type :
Add-on Card Model :

*Operating System : XP P! ro

[Problem Description]
Severe crashing/heat problems. Crashes/artifacts in windows while scrolling in explorer. Crashes in
games while playing giving an infinite loop error. Random reboots/crashes. Reaches over 90
degrees
celsius under load with stock cooling system. EXTREMELY dissatisfied with this card. I paid over
$1000 for it and it is riddled with faults. have searched on the web and found many ppl experiencing
the same problems, yet no admittance from any manufacturers that there are problems. Can you
PLEASE help me?! I am going insane, and am telling! everyone I meet to steer clear of ASUS
products. Will there be any fixes for this? Are you planning to recall the cards and issue ppl with fault
free hardware?



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//I put 1

 

[pravuscaine]

lol lucky you, I never even got a response from asus.

Well I've just confirmed it's not the PSU, after hearing some horror storys about q-tech ones I replaced mine with a tagan 480w (has the weight of a small industrial power plant).

the xfx support has been somewhat lacking too, the usual uninstall the drivers blah blah... something I've done so many times already.

So I'm down to a few last things on the list to try before I get a refund and go back to my geforce4 440mx :-(

IRQ conflicts or defective ram.

One thing that bothers me is not having the fast write or AGP options show up on the asus bios, I know they should be there and I'm sure I've seen them before while using the geforce 440 on the same system?

 

[RampantAndroid]

OK, well, PNY was more helpful (if you get the right guy when you call) and to tell you the truth, I am going to guess it is your power supply. To begin with, how is it hooked up (if a 6800 Ultra, do you use a Y-splitter, or do you have two seperate rails on it.....what else is on the rail(s) plugged into the vid card?)

If the 2d/3d clock thing works, it IS your PS.....what happens, when it moves from 2d to 3d (say the elevator doors opening on a Doom 3 level, and some bull-like thing charges you) the card suddenly jumps from the 2d of the elevator to the 3d of the room....the game may just lag, or it may very well lock.....this is because when it moves from 400 MHz core to 425 MHz core, it draws more aperage, and the voltage may drop, causing the card (or maybe even the processor) to freeze.

AGP buses usually are automatically assigned their own IRQ Address. I don't know if defective ram could cause it...

Once again, test your powersupply using a multimeter (voltmeter) and watch, as it locks up, does the 12V rail drop below 12V, and does the 5V rail drop below 5V? Do this, SERIOUSLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[eskimo103]

Wow, very interesting RampantA. I dont quite have the tech knowhow to test my voltage atm. Ill reread the posts that deal with it and might have a crack myself. While the 2d/3d tweak seems to fix most of it, it still occasionally crashes for no reason, and heats up alot (90 degrees celsius under full load). I did upgrade my PSU to a 480W Antec Truepower though. I also have used two separate cables from my PSU for power. I was never sure if it was all meant to be connected to one cable, or if you were meant to use two separate cables.

In the end though, I cant help but feel that all this work should be the burden of the manufacturer, especially considering we all forked out so very much to pay for them. Still going to recommend ATI cards to ppl after this whole fiasco. Just dont feel safe with nvidia.....

 

[stephendeo]

Ok.. I got the Geforce 6800 GT...

If I had knew about this I wouldn't have bought it.

I'm not too techy, but I know enough to build a computer from scratch.

1. I'm not sure how to access Fast Write from my BIOS
2. I've downloaded RivaTuner and disabled it that way..I tried playing FFXI it didn't crash.. so that was good, and for shits and giggles I left FFXI on all night to see what will be the result the next morning. Nothing it didn't crash so I was happy that I fixed it........................

but ....

after I turn FFXI off and shut down my computer.. it crashed while trying to log off

so.. how do i disable Fast Write in the main BIOS cause Idont see it...

 

[RampantAndroid]

eskimo, I wouldn't shy away from nVidia....for one, they support AMD, whom I like a lot more than Intel. Also, I've found ATI's support to be VERY lackluster. Also, ATI seems to be less forward looking than nVidia.....hence pixel shader version 3.0 on the 6000 series. I must say I am disappointed in nVidia's lack for creating some form of the "VooDoo Volts" (an external powerbrick, so the vid card doesnt drain your powersupply, especially since nVidia took over VooDoo back in 98 or something.)

Just take a voltmeter and put the ground prod and stick it in one of the 2 center pins of a 4 pin molex connector, and the red lead goes to the +12v line, which can be found on one of the outer two sides...it is the yellow wire on the connector from the power supply. It can also be found by trial and error...cant to any damage metering your PS....

 

[pravuscaine]

Merry christmas

Lo again, I managed to get my hands on a voltmeter or a few hours, lowest it went on 12v line was 12.099ish. But considering I've tried two psu's (one being a brand new tagan, 480w with ample 12v rail)I'm sure thats not it.

I'm about to give up, the 6600gt was the best I could efford for the money (I like nvidia too) but considering I can't run games, well it's worse than usless to me... guess I'll go back to the geforce4 440mx until ATI come up with something newer for us mid-range people :-(

XFX support is a joke, 3 days for a response and a one line response at that, they seem to be just stringing me along.

I can only put it down to something in my pc really disliking this card, as all was fun and games until I installed it, I'll have to pass on messing around with it toi much cos of the warrenty.

Thanks again for all your help, you went above and beyond, I aprechiate your help. Happy new year

~Wayne

 

[Xionide]

Originally posted by: pravuscaine
Merry christmas

Lo again, I managed to get my hands on a voltmeter or a few hours, lowest it went on 12v line was 12.099ish. But considering I've tried two psu's (one being a brand new tagan, 480w with ample 12v rail)I'm sure thats not it.

I'm about to give up, the 6600gt was the best I could efford for the money (I like nvidia too) but considering I can't run games, well it's worse than usless to me... guess I'll go back to the geforce4 440mx until ATI come up with something newer for us mid-range people :-(

XFX support is a joke, 3 days for a response and a one line response at that, they seem to be just stringing me along.

I can only put it down to something in my pc really disliking this card, as all was fun and games until I installed it, I'll have to pass on messing around with it toi much cos of the warrenty.

Thanks again for all your help, you went above and beyond, I aprechiate your help. Happy new year

~Wayne

Do you have a sis bios?