Gorram problems with new comp

[Txiasaeia]

BLOODY HELL! Okay, I got that out of the way. So I built myself a new computer back in May, specs as follows:

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (Venice)
MSI RS480R2-IL mATX mobo
2x512 Corsair PC3200 400MHz Valueram (kit)
Leadtek 6600GT Extreme (550/1100 default) (PCIe)
SB Live! Value (CT4830)
WD 80GB 7200RPM 8MB cache ATA100
Pioneer DVR-109
Seasonic SS-380 (25 amps on the 12v rails, 380 total wattage)

I've not been able to run *any* 3d application for longer than an hour without a hard lockup. Doom 3, Warcraft III, Warhammer 40k, even oldies like Diablo II will crash & burn in the most fangoriously spectacular manner.

I RMAd the motherboard, RAM, and video card now, to no avail. Got my RMA video card today after a crash-free three weeks (used onboard video card), and lo and behold, fifteen minutes after I start WC3, it crashes. No, it's not a fresh install, but it crashes whether it's fresh or not. *Something* is not compatible here.

I haven't RMAd the CPU because it seems to work fine on non-3d applications, including CPU burn-in and all-night RAR sessions (for testing purposes to max out the processor). My next step in figuring out what's wrong is the sound card, as it's four years old & was manufactured before Windows XP came out, so perhaps that's the problem. I'm going to do a bit of testing with no sound whatsoever to see if that'll help.

Can *anybody* see any other problems here? It's very possible that there's something wrong with the power supply too, but unless it's defective, it's got more than enough power for *exactly* what i've listed above (nothing else, not even a floppy drive). Anyway, any help will be appreciated. I'll test out some games with no sound (and onboard) & see if that helps.

[konfusion666]

quickie here

1. trash the SB Live! ... use the onboard audio for a Winamp fix if you're desperate

2. never heard of Seasonic... [deleted] need to keep more up-to-date ;)

3. if I'm not mistaken, that mobo is using an ATI core-logic chipset -- largely untested and unproven at this point in time ... it would be a good idea to look for ATI mobo support forums and see how other people with that mobo/chipset are finding it, especially those who use it with NVidia graphics cards

forums.amdmb.com has a forum for MSI owners

4. mobo settings? make sure Sideband Addressing (SBA) and Fast Writes are disabled, although I'm not even sure if PCI-e supports those. Disable CnQ if that's on, as well. video drivers? try several versions, if you haven't yet

5. and try with just 1 ram stick installed, if possible

[FuNPoLiCe001]

Ditch the SB live. Onboard sound should be fine, or even better. I really can't tell a difference these days with the better onboard sound cards.

PSU should be fine, Seasonic is a pretty good name. They aren't that popular because last I checked they cost an arm and a leg.

Disable onboard vid? Maybe windows is messing up because the onboard is still enabled?

Maybe the box is overheating? It's not in an Aria is it? Maybe with the vid card it's blocking off airflow in a matx case and overheating the thing.

[ProfessorChaos]

2. never heard of Seasonic and I would never buy a PSU by that name; that might have been my first suspect if I was you


Seasonic actually kicks hard ass.....

[konfusion666]

PSU should be fine, Seasonic is a pretty good name. They aren't that popular because last I checked they cost an arm and a leg.

really, that's interesting... i need to go look at some PSU reviews. maybe visit silentpcreview, haven't been there in a while

[Txiasaeia]

1. Sound Blaster live is out of the system, and everything is running perfectly. Two hours of WC3 without a crash.

2. Glad to hear that the seasonic is good... chose it after a great deal of research.

3. Thanks for the idea for checking those support forums - will do.

4. Have tried many, many different driver versions, and system crashes no matter what - unless my video card isn't in, OR my sound card isn't in. Fun, hmm?

5. 1 stick of ram crashes just as often as two. new sticks of RAM have been thoroughly memtest86'd, no problems with both or either (tested individually & both at same time)

6. Don't think box is overheating; CPU maxes out at around 55 C, video card used to max out around 60 or so. (haven't checked new one)

7. mATX tower - plenty of room for airflow.

8. Onboard video is disabled, still crashes.

In sum: no matter what, if video card and sound card are in there together, it crashes. If only one is in, it's fine. System is much smoother and more responsive without sound card in; it's amazing how much snappier everything is! Anyway, since video card has been RMAd twice, and since the sound card is old as dirt, I think the sound card is dead. I'm going to order a new one in a little bit and test it out for a while, but I'll still check this thread if anybody has any other suggestions.

THANK YOU very much for the tips! Some great things in here that I haven't thought of yet! I appreciate it!

[chestnut]

Is your sound card right next to your vid card?

I had the same problem with 3D applications on my old rig also.. was due to that the vid card was getting hot when running 3D... and not enough air going through. I just moved all the cards as far as I can away from the vid card. Seemed to have solved the problem for me.

[mortimusmaximus]

I just built myself a system with the 64 3500 and asus a8v board.I had the soundblaster live from my old system.I tossed it and got an oem audigy2.Seems to be a lot better sound and of course 5.1 surround.
The onboard sound will decrease your framerates by approx 10%.This however does not apply to doom3 or halflife 2 as they dont use hardware acceleration.They use the cpu.This is supposedly a new trend we will see more of.

[konfusion666]

since it's obviously the sound card, here are some replacement suggestions in case on-board sound is too "tinny"

1. audigy 2 (oem)

2. audigy 2 ZS (retail box - prolly waste of money, but its what i have)

3. chaintech av-710

4. SB Live! 24-bit (iffy)

[FuNPoLiCe001]

the old SB Live were horrible for having IRQ conflicts, but it's strange that something like that would show up here.

Oh well, glad to hear you've found a partial solution. :)

[Headhunter]

Well, someone's been watching Firefly. :)

[Txiasaeia]

Well, someone's been watching Firefly. :)

Yep ;) One of these days, my comp will be shiny!

[Txiasaeia]

UPDATE:

Okay, so it's not the sound card. It's sitting on my desk as we speak, and the system crashed again. *Just* checked temps before it crashed; CPU was in low 40's, video card was somewhere around 35, if you can believe it. I'm at a loss as to what to do now. If it's not the sound card, then it's either the CPU or the video card that was just RMA'd. Anybody have any ideas?

[konfusion666]

baffling, isn't it?

were you in the middle of a 3D game this time, or just idling on the Desktop.

[radeonboy]

I think its the ram, try someone elses ram for a day or two.

Check and get a mobo BIOS update.


Its either a RAM or mobo problem. Nice system specs :)

Seasonic rocks!

[Txiasaeia]

baffling, isn't it?

were you in the middle of a 3D game this time, or just idling on the Desktop.

Middle of a game, as usual. It's only crashed *once* while idling, and that was due to a RAM problem (since RMA'd).


I think its the ram, try someone elses ram for a day or two.

Check and get a mobo BIOS update.


Its either a RAM or mobo problem. Nice system specs

Seasonic rocks!

RAM has already been rma'd once, exhibiting the same problems before and after. I don't know if it's possible for me to be *that* unlucky! BIOS is updated as much as it'll go. Could it possibly be the motherboard, then? Again? I'm tempted to just get a new one (and a new case... sigh...) & see if that'll fix my problems.

It would be a nice system if it freaking worked. I'm going to go into a corner and cry now.

[radeonboy]

Middle of a game, as usual. It's only crashed *once* while idling, and that was due to a RAM problem (since RMA'd).



RAM has already been rma'd once, exhibiting the same problems before and after. I don't know if it's possible for me to be *that* unlucky! BIOS is updated as much as it'll go. Could it possibly be the motherboard, then? Again? I'm tempted to just get a new one (and a new case... sigh...) & see if that'll fix my problems.

It would be a nice system if it freaking worked. I'm going to go into a corner and cry now.

You could RMA that ram all the times you want, but it doesn't deny the fact its still the same type of ram, with the same type of timings, etc. Try a totally different ram, brand and whatnot then you currently have.

Borrow something from a friend, or neighbour.

[konfusion666]

radeonboy is implying that it seems to sound more like a compatibility problem rather than a defective parts problem... i tend to agree.

it's too bad, really... because it sounds like a nice system. i would love to OC that thing with my XP-90.

[Txiasaeia]

Radeon, konfusion, I don't know anybody with PC3200 ram. I kid you not. I also don't have the cash at the moment to drop another $130 on another GB of RAM. MSI supposedly tested this RAM with the RS480 motherboard & said it was compatible, but I'm not sure whether the RAM is compatible with the processor. Any way to test this? I ran memtest86 36 hours total (one stick, other stick, both together) & no errors.

[Coke355mL]

Curious, how are you able to measure the temperature of your video card? Seems to me your videocard is overheating. Aside from that, I would bet it is either incompatibility issue with your RAM or a problem with your cpu. Have you tried overclocking any of your hardware before?

If you don't know anyone else with a PC3200 ram, then try calling around the local computer stores that offer troubleshooting services and see if they are able to test with different ram for you.

memtest won't determine if there are any compatibility issues.

have you also checked your event viewer after it crashes?

[Txiasaeia]

Curious, how are you able to measure the temperature of your video card? Seems to me your videocard is overheating. Aside from that, I would bet it is either incompatibility issue with your RAM or a problem with your cpu. Have you tried overclocking any of your hardware before?

If you don't know anyone else with a PC3200 ram, then try calling around the local computer stores that offer troubleshooting services and see if they are able to test with different ram for you.

memtest won't determine if there are any compatibility issues.

have you also checked your event viewer after it crashes?

Speedfan can measure video card temperatures. Old video card was periodically spiking, new one isn't. No overclocking (it hasn't been stable yet, so there's no point in making it *more* unstable ;) ) Event viewer has no errors.

I "downclocked" the ram from 400 to 333 to see if that'll make a difference; couple of rounds of BF2 have been trouble free, but that doesn't mean anything. I'll update when it inevitably crashes again. I'm so choked about this entire situation, you have no idea! If it does crash again, I'm going to take it to a repair shop and let them deal with it. I've had it.

[Headhunter]

Downclocking the CPU as well may work...it's pretty lousy to run an underclocked processor, but the stability should be even better.

I had to do that on a previous computer, and it went from extremely crash ridden to...kind of crash ridden. Anything's progress, when the situation gets that bad.


Yep ;) One of these days, my comp will be shiny!
*hums Battle of Serenity*