Need Urgent Help on Video errors..

[jlee24219]

Well in the past week or so i have been getting a black screen freeze, then lockup while playing games and occasionly surfing the desktop. Also on a couple occasions the ATI vpu recover would come on and attempt to recover my card. So my first thought was the video card, so i went to Circuit City and picked up an X800 Xl for 249.99 (great price so i think ill keep the card). However i am still getting the same problem. My question is what else could be the problem, im thinking PSU or the motherboard (with more thought to the PSU). I am using a monarch hornet pro with teh 350 watt psu that came with it. How can i test the PSU? I have a voltmeter, but do i check the molex going into the video card and if so what readings should i get?

Thanks guys.

 

[FlyingPenguin]

Turn off overdrive for starters. I've had nothing but problems with it. Don't overdrive until you have your problem fixed. Overdrive is an overclock.

You need a DIGITAL multimeter (analog won't do). You can test the 5 volt (red and black) and 12 volt (yellow and black) rails at any spare HDD power connector. Leave the meter on for a while and run something that's intensive like a 3D game.

Voltages should be within 5% (4.75 - 5.25 for the 5 volt rail, and 11.40 - 12.6 for the 12 volt rail).

A 350 watt PSU is a little light for that rig, although a GOOD HIGH QUALITY 350 watt PSU MIGHT run it okay. I certainly wouldn't trust a 350w PSU on a gaming rig ESPECIALLY with an x800.

I highly recommend Antec TruPower PSUs. Get at least a 430watt unit. ThermalTake Silent PurePower is another good one and reasonably priced.

Although your PSU is definately underrated, it maynot be your main problem. Some other things to check:

- Are you certain it's not a heat issue? To be sure, take the cover off the computer and see if that helps

- Could be RAM timing. Dual channel mobos are VERY fussy about timing. Corsair has a web page with specific memory timings you should use with your specific mobo and their XMS memory. Go here: http://www.houseofhelp.com/v2/showthread.php?t=38150

- In BIOS you should make certain that AGP APERTURE is set to default (64Mb). LATER, when you know it's stable, you can try 128Mb. DO NOT SET IT ANY HIGHER THAN 128Mb no matter what people tell you.

- In BIOS, make sure that VIDEO RAM SHADOW, VIDEO RAM CACHING are disabled. These are legacy video settings and will cause problems with modern vid cards.

- For now, disable AGP FASTWRITES in BIOS. This adds very little performance and can cause problems on some mobo/vid card combinations. LATER, when you know it's stable, you can enable it and try it out.

- As mentioned above, turn off ATI's Overdrive for now. It's essentially an overclock, and can cause problems. You do not want to overclock ANYTHING until the system is setup stable. Then you can experiment. If you EVER have problems with video or lockups in the future, the first thing you should do is disable Overdrive.

Hope this helps...

 

[jlee24219]

well i know heat issues are not the concern, and i have tried everything you suggested. SO that leaves the power supply, but i am using a micro-atx case so i cant upgrade to antec's and other high end psu. The only upgrade is an Athena 450 watt from newegg for around 70 bucks. I may hit that up once i verify its a psu problem.

thanks.

 

[FlyingPenguin]

How do you know it's notheat? Have you tried leaving the cover off the case? There's no other way to be sure.

 

[jlee24219]

OKay i took all the covers off my case and it still locked up. I guess ill be ordering that PSU, eventhough that may not help i could use the boost.

 

[amdskip]

I would upgrade to a real case instead of wasting money on that power supply.

 

[jlee24219]

I travel to much for a lager case to be practical. Also ive been checking some stuff out and Topower is listed on the AMD approved PSU and many people say they are reputible brand. *(Athena from what i understand is Topower or built by topower)

 

[FlyingPenguin]

If you have a spare good PSU lying around - even if it doesn't fit in the case, you can temporarily connect it without installing it just to see if it helps before spending the money. I'm not convinced your problem is the PSU unless a capacitor is degrading since the system used to work okay. Yes it's lower power than I'd like to see in a gaming rig, but I'm not convinced that's the problem.

Have you run MEMTEST86+ all night (at least 12 hours) to check RAM stability?

It doesn't sound like you've eliminated a possible issue with Windows itself (you didn't mention whether you've done a re-install). If you're running WinXP then try using System Restore to roll the computer back to a date AT LEAST A WEEK before the problem started (go back a week or more because of the way System Restore works - the farther back the better).

Have you done a thorough check for spyware? Use my detailed spyware removal instructions here: http://theflyingpenguin.com/spyware-removal.shtml

Hope this helps...

 

[LiLithTecH]

The Video card can only max out @75w max (PCIe maximum standard).
(no extra power connector provided for you model)

Top Power PSU's are absolutely lacking when it comes to +12v(your 350w just a mere 12A)
The rest of the rails are rated extremely generous (+3.3v = 20A, +5v = 40A).

Most likely the PSU.


Also, just a side-mote.
A Analog Multimeter is just fine (provided you know how to read\interpret it) for checking the PSU...