Problems with ASUS P4P800 Deluxe

[Bharat]

Hello people

I've just put together a system based on the following components for a friend :

ASUS P4P800 Deluxe (Bios 1005)
Corsair XMS 3200 LLPT 512MB
RAID DISABLED
ATI Radeon 7500 VE AGP graphics card
Using On-Board Sound
Primary IDE - Western Digital 13GB
Primary Slave - 40x Samsung CD-Rom
Secondary Master - Western Digital Cavair 80GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache
Secondary Slave - HP 9300 CD-RW
Q-Tec 400W PSU

The CPU is a P4 2.40C, using standard Intel heatsink and Arctic Silver III.

Here's the info from the box :

Pentium 4 Processor 2.40C GHz 1.5.25V MAX
System Bus 800 MHz, 512KB L2 Cache, PGA-478 Pkg

PROD CODE : BX80532PG2400DSL6WF
MM# : 852314
FPO/BATCH # : 3312A097
VERSION # : C30333-002
Made in Costa Rica.


The PC crashed halfway through the installation of Windows XP Pro on the 1st try. I had connected 1 exhaust fan (80mm Evercool) to the 4pin connector, which then connected to the CD-Rom. I suspected that, so I took the fan off.

Once everything was installed, the PC just shut itself down on its own. I checked the heatsink and it was quite hot.

After booting up the PC, I installed the various software / drivers, etc. and it was fine for a couple of hours.

The idle CPU temperature was 34C and motherboard was 34 as well.

I ran a quick Prime95 test for about 1/2 hour, and the CPU temperature had touched 42C, but it was OK - I stopped the test myself.

Since then, the PC has been very unstable. We put all the covers back, and the case closed off, and 1 80mm low cfm exhaust fan, the CPU temperature is 42C and motherboard is 39C. And we have not even started o/c yet !

The PC crashed once again yesterday, my friend tells me, when he left Prime95 running. It ran for about 40 odd minutes possibly, before rebooting.

Also, when the PC is booting, it sits there for about 10-15 seconds when it is starting to load Windows, just before the Windows logo and all comes up.

I updated the BIOS to 1009, but still no luck. I've installed the latest version of Sound card drivers and 3Com drivers, but that is not helping either.

I've tried running Sandra 2003 Burn-in, and that crashed the PC after about 45 mins or so. I check the temps, and they were not bad at all - 42 and 39.

Tried running MemTest86 overnight last night, but again, the PC had rebooted itself. Don't know how long it ran for.

I am starting to wonder what's going on. I am starting to suspect the Q-Tec PSU, although they seem to be decent.

Is there something I am missing, or is there a problem with some component ?

 

[Pakman117]

My guess would be the PSU. Do you have a better brand one, such as antec, sparkle, or enermax that you could test before you bought a new one? Also, what HSF are you using, the stock Intel one? Are you sure you seated it correctly? You could try reseatting that.

 

[Bharat]

Hmmm. I don't really have a spare one. I read somewhere that the ideal would be a 420W or more, and I haven't got anything close to that. I have an Enermax 350W in my PC, which I MAY try.

And yes, thanks for the point of re-seating the heatsink. Since it's a standard Intel one, it was my 2nd point of suspicion.

Maybe something to consider for testing.

Thanks for the suggestions

 

[bawaji]

Try the Enermax 350w. I am using the stock Intel HSF on my 2.8C with the stock thermal fan and am not having the issues you are having. How do the voltages look in Asus PC Probe? Are they within +/- 5% of the required rail voltages?

Are the master/slave jumpers set correctly on all your drives? Recheck and be sure.

You can also try minimizing the devices (one HD as master on primary IDE and one CDROM as master on secondary IDE, defaults in BIOS), and no cards other than the video card to see if you are seeing the same problems.

Good luck!

 

[Bharat]

Hmm, interesting suggestion, as I have been reading that there seems to be a need for a 400W or more PSU ? It did not make sense to me. Unless it's a sort of "keeping future expansion in mind" suggestion.

But yes, I have been monitoring the voltage in ASUSProbe, and the 12V is fluctuating between 11.6 and 11.8 with absolutely nothing, so that's a bad sign.

Even the 5V and 3.3V are wavering on their own ! I can understand the VCore, but not the others, they are very stable on my own PC. Which made me suspect this Q-Tec PSU straight away.

I may take out the Enermax 350W from mine and test on his before we actually go out and buy a new one, as there things are fairly expensive here in the U.K

But thanks for the tip, I'll see how things go and also try the HD suggestions...

 

[don49]

I mentioned in an answer to another thread that the Corsair memory needs to be upped by .2 volts in the bios. It helped the probs I was having about stability. I would question the way you have the hard drive and optical drives on the same cables. Never heard of it being done like that so I'll leave it at that. Temps are not too bad but another fan or two would'nt hurt.

 

[Bharat]

Interesting suggestion about the memory, I'm planning to visit him tomorrow, so will give that a try.

As for the drives, well, he's got a 13GB, so he said he'd like to keep that as the C: drive, and the 80GB, he will use to save files/data, etc.

And since he's got 2 CD devices, he's simply kept it for purposes of copying, etc.

I've got 2 CD devices on my own PC, but just the 1 hard drive, which has the CD-Rom as Slave, and CD-RW is Secondary Master on its own. Never had any problem with these kinds of set ups.

I am planning to take my PSU and see if that makes any difference in terms of booting up/speeds as well...might be the case !??!

Thanks for your suggestion though, I'll give it a go...

 

[Slammy1]

Hmmm... I wouldn't blame PSU just yet. A lot of people have issues with default settings (including me). Just not stable running turbo mode and memory acceleration together. Also, you should increase the VDIMM to 2.75V, as it seems to aid o/c'ing stability immensely. I don't think this board gets along well with Corsair. Not all Corsair, just some.

I just noticed another problem. You should slave the HD to an HD, not a CD-ROM to an HD. You're really losing out in performance the way you have it, and it just might be part of your stability problem.

 

[Bharat]

Really ?

That would mean setting the 2 HDs on the same cable/channel, and the 2 CD devices on the other.

I've been told to not set a CD-ROM and CD-RW on the same channel, as it causes problems if you use the 2 at the same time (copy CD for example) ?

I've just suggested this to my friend anyway, but I would be very interested to get some more info on this one...