X1900 problems. Drivers? Incompatabilities?

[Witchfire]

Just recently added a Sapphire X1900XT card to the system in my sig. The rig has been running problem free (save for deplorable framerates) with the PCI slot FX5500 I was using temporarily. Added the X1900, and it couldn't even get through 3DMark03 or 05, much less play a game without locking up.

Tried the drivers Sapphire provided on CD, the 6.1 drivers from ATI's website, and the latest version of Omega drivers. Got annoyed, decided to wipe my HDD and start with a fresh Win XP install. Same issues, no joy in Mudville...
Any ideas? Suggestions?

Personally, I'm suspect of the mobo, because of past incompatability issues with memory modules. Maybe the nVidia chipset & ATI card don't want to play nice in the same sandbox? I have already ordered an ABIT AT8 as a planned upgrade, but would like to figure out if I have a bunk card before it arrives, if possible. If I have to RMA the vid card, the sooner I know, the better.

Just to make things easier, I'll repost my rig specs here:

eVGA nF41 SLI mobo
AMD Opteron 150 @ 2.8 GHz (left stock clocked for Windows install & subsequent testing)
G.SKILL Extreme Series PC3200 timings 2-3-2-6 @ 200MHz, 2.5-3-3-8 @ 235MHz
WD Raptor 36GB main drive
Hitachi 250 GB ATA100 for storage
PC Power & Cooling 510 SLI PSU
old vid card: PNY PCI slot FX5500
new vid card: Sapphire X1900XT

System stability tested w/ PNY card: OCCT passed, Prime95 10+ hours no errors

 

[Bull Dog]

I couldn't tell you, I recently upgraded from a X1600XT to a Sapphire X1900XT myself and I haven't had any problems. Your PC P&C *should* be capiable of providing plenty of power.........

Just to confirm you still have problems with 1 stick of ram(just to be EXTRA careful), Stock clocked processor and the Vid card right?

Oh and try running Memtest 86+ to confirm that your ram isn't the culprit.

 

[Witchfire]

Originally posted by: Bull Dog
I couldn't tell you, I recently upgraded from a X1600XT to a Sapphire X1900XT myself and I haven't had any problems. Your PC P&C *should* be capiable of providing plenty of power.........

Just to confirm you still have problems with 1 stick of ram(just to be EXTRA careful), Stock clocked processor and the Vid card right?

Oh and try running Memtest 86+ to confirm that your ram isn't the culprit.

Because of the memory issues the eVGA board inherently has, I've been through DIMM hell and back. I've tested each of these sticks independantly on memtest86+ for a minimum of 10 hrs each, and over 10 hours in dual channel, stock clocked and OCed. I'm confident the memory isn't the issue here.
And yes, I did all tests after the initial failure at stock clocking/timing for all components. Including clocking to stock/default timings for windows install.

If that PSU can't handle ONE of these cards, then I'm REALLY screwed when I go to Crossfire (providing I ever get a single card running in the first place )

 

[aggressor]

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=31&threadid=1794399&enterthread=y

You aren't alone. I have been struggling to keep this system up while playing, though I can usually play for 30~ minutes before locking up. I've tried the 5.13s, the 6.1s (omega), and now the 6.2 betas, and it still happens. I just completed a system format to try my luck, but if this doesn't work, I don't know what else to do besides return the card.

 

[Wreckage]

They released the X1900XT before the official drivers are out to support it. Just consider yourself a beta tester.

 

[Witchfire]

I'm trying to figure out what the missing link is.. seems some people have theirs running with no problems, and some, like you & I, aggressor, are up sh*t creek without a paddle. I've been trying to compare systems (in sigs) of people who have X1900's working, with those that are having issues. I still haven't found a common denominator, but from looking over the basics, it would seem to be a hardware based problem I'm dealing with.

And wreckage, thanks for the comment. It has 0.00% benificial information. Very helpful.

 

[aggressor]

Well, here are my full system specs, which was 100% stable with the 7800GTX:

A64 3200+ Winchester @ 2.5ghz
DFI Ultra-D using 623 Bios
2x512mb Corsair XMS Memory
X1900XT at stock speeds currently using 6.2 beta drivers
Creative X-Fi
320GB Western Digital SATA HD
Benq DVD+RW
Forton Bluestorm 500W PSU

I have a side question...when loading Windows (Loading > Welcome > Desktop) do you notice a bit of a flicker as it switches resolutions, or when you load the CCC? I get kind of a red\white flash randomly on the screen, but when it's finished loading, everything is fine.

 

[5150Joker]

Some people are having problems with the XT/XTX cards because their power supply is not adequate. These cards consume a lot of power, even more than a 512 GTX and because of that you need a quality PSU. One I would suggest that I personally use is an SLi certified Antec True Control 2.0. It supplies 19A to each rail so it is more than enough for an XTX or even Crossfire. I've got 8 fans, water pump, 3 HD's, dvd-burner, OC'd X2 4400+@2.6 GHz and a constantly OC'd X1900 XTX running on it without any problems.

 

[aggressor]

He has a SLI PSU, at 510w. You seriously think an X1900XT drains more than it can provide? I highly doubt it.

Here are the specs for his: http://www.pcpowercooling.com/products/viewproduct.php?show=T51SLI

That's 34A for +12v, and ATI recommends 30a (Which you know is inflated to ensure compatability).

 

[5150Joker]

Originally posted by: aggressor
He has a SLI PSU, at 510w. You seriously think an X1900XT drains more than it can provide? I highly doubt it.

Here are the specs for his: http://www.pcpowercooling.com/products/viewproduct.php?show=T51SLI

That's 34A for +12v, and ATI recommends 30a (Which you know is inflated to ensure compatability).

Not his, yours. For him it could be his motherboard like he speculated.

 

[aggressor]

Considering we have comparable problems with different PSUs, maybe it's not the PSU.

 

[5150Joker]

Originally posted by: aggressor
Considering we have comparable problems with different PSUs, maybe it's not the PSU.

Maybe..then again maybe it is. Go to best buy tomorrow, buy a PSU, swap it in and give it a test to see if it solves your problem. If it doesn't return it. Could be defective cards, defective or inadequate PSU, defective motherboard etc. If I were in your places I'd be using process of elimination to figure out what it was, starting with a bare system (1 HD + vid card + stock cpu) to see how that fared and going from there.

 

[aggressor]

Considering everything was fine previously, it's either the card or PSU, and I highly doubt it's the PSU.

 

[5150Joker]

Originally posted by: aggressor
Considering everything was fine previously, it's either the card or PSU, and I highly doubt it's the PSU.

Like I mentioned in PM, if all you see is a brief flicker during boot, it's the CCC + ATi HotKey Poller loading. Disable them and the initial flicker will go away. If you get flickering afterwards though and/or yellow/red boxes, that is a sign of something else.

edit: Disabling hotkey poller means you won't be able to use overdrive anymore. ATi Tools + ATT is a better combination anyhow.


Also, one last suggestion for the OP other than trying the system with only the CPU, vid card, CPU fan and 1 HD connected is to change the PCI-e slot your card is connected and see if that changes anything.

 

[Witchfire]

OK, stupid question of the day... would stuffing the leads from my multi meter into the + and - points in a molex connector allow me to see if I have a considerable drain going on while the system starts a 3DMark run or something equally strenuous on the card, or am I just asking for trouble?

 

[5150Joker]

Originally posted by: Witchfire
OK, stupid question of the day... would stuffing the leads from my multi meter into the + and - points in a molex connector allow me to see if I have a considerable drain going on while the system starts a 3DMark run or something equally strenuous on the card, or am I just asking for trouble?

Try asking that question here: http://www.ocforums.com

 

[Witchfire]

Originally posted by: 5150Joker
Also, one last suggestion for the OP other than trying the system with only the CPU, vid card, CPU fan and 1 HD connected is to change the PCI-e slot your card is connected and see if that changes anything.

Not a possibility with this mobo. it has three PCIe slots, outside ones are 8x each, middle is 16x.

Link to picture of mobo

 

[5150Joker]

Originally posted by: Witchfire

Originally posted by: 5150Joker
Also, one last suggestion for the OP other than trying the system with only the CPU, vid card, CPU fan and 1 HD connected is to change the PCI-e slot your card is connected and see if that changes anything.

Not a possibility with this mobo. it has three PCIe slots, outside ones are 8x each, middle is 16x.

Link to picture of mobo

Isn't that the mobo that eVGA was giving away a little while back with their cards?

 

[aggressor]

Originally posted by: Witchfire
OK, stupid question of the day... would stuffing the leads from my multi meter into the + and - points in a molex connector allow me to see if I have a considerable drain going on while the system starts a 3DMark run or something equally strenuous on the card, or am I just asking for trouble?

Let me know what you find out. I have a DMM here as well, but I don't feel like dying today

 

[Witchfire]

Originally posted by: 5150Joker

Isn't that the mobo that eVGA was giving away a little while back with their cards?

Yup, that be the one. Like I said.. it'll be gone by Tues. or Weds. when i get the Abit AT8, but I know it's been working perfectly fine before this. (Just wanted the upgrade path to Crossfire)

 

[aggressor]

I put in a new 520W OCZ Power supply, and I still crash. Back to the drawing board...

 

[Aonghasan]

Maybe a dumb question, but have you both used drivercleaner pro to remove all old display drivers? Also see if there is a bios update for motherboard.

Hope you get up and running soon.

 

[Witchfire]

Not a dumb question at all, Aonghasen. Yes, tried that, and did the complete format and fresh install of windows, as well. Checked for BIOS update for the mobo, and there is one, but according to eVGA techs, it's merely a maintenence update to add FX-60 support to the board, and nothing else has been changed.

Thanks for the well wishes

 

[Pete]

Originally posted by: Witchfire
OK, stupid question of the day... would stuffing the leads from my multi meter into the + and - points in a molex connector allow me to see if I have a considerable drain going on while the system starts a 3DMark run or something equally strenuous on the card, or am I just asking for trouble?

I don't know how to use MM to detect power draw, but you can certainly check to see if your PSU is delivering the correct voltage on the +12V and +5V lines via a spare molex. You could check if voltage sages or spikes when 3DM or something kicks in, which I suppose is an indirect way to checking for inadequate power supply.

Here's some decidedly non-expert advice, so please double-check elsewhere. Set your MM to V DC and touch the black to one of the two middle pins (black wires = ground) and the red to one of the two outer pins (yellow = +12V, red = +5V). +/-5% is within spec, IIRC. (I tried this with an auto-ranging DMM, so if your MM has various ranges, set it accordingly.)

For power draw, it'd be easiest to buy something like a P3 Kill-a-Watt or SeaSonic PowerAngel for around $35. You could buy an attachment for your MM that can detect current in a single wire, but IIRC it's expensive and not really feasible for total power draw, unless you're willing to sacrifice life and home by splitting the hot and neutral wires going to the outlet.

Just to be clear:

1) Does the system crash only when gaming, or even at the desktop (doing office work, watching WMVHD videos, etc.)?

2) Have you tried any OpenGL games (Doom 3, full game or demo)?

3) Have you tried relaxing system RAM timings? This is a long-shot, but it can't hurt to try.

4) Have you tried forcing the X1900 to run at lower-than-stock speeds? Leave the RAM alone, just lower the core to something like 500MHz in 3D mode, if CCC'll let you.

 

[rgardner]

Rock solid stable

AMD FX60 + OC's 2 Gig Plat PC3200 + Enermax Liberty 620W + Sapphire X1900 XT + Asus A8N32-SLI (don't ask why this mb - rolling eyes)