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General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: HABICHT on April 09, 2000, 02:57:00 PM

Title: ATHLON & geforce the reason?
Post by: HABICHT on April 09, 2000, 02:57:00 PM
hiya.
have a big problem.
systems often hangs up, only possible to reset.
have following components:
MB: ASUS K7M
cpu: athlon 550
graphic: geforce ddram (erazorx2)
128 MB ram (133mhz)
soundblater live 1024
....
have a 235W power supply. often read about
problems with athlon & geforce and power
supply. saying u need a 300W power supply to
run you system stable.
my monitor has seperate power supply.

so, any suggestions?
(think i have more discos in score than
everybody else because of this "hang up's"


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  (http://saintaw.tripod.com/109habicht.gif)
JG2 "Richthofen" (http://www.busprod.com/weazel2/)

[This message has been edited by HABICHT (edited 04-09-2000).]
Title: ATHLON & geforce the reason?
Post by: BBGunn on April 09, 2000, 06:44:00 PM
Are you using the Nvidia 3.76 driver?   Latency 2 or 3 for memory?  Any possible heat build up problems?

[This message has been edited by BBGunn (edited 04-09-2000).]
Title: ATHLON & geforce the reason?
Post by: bloom25 on April 10, 2000, 01:26:00 AM
You might also check your MB manufacture's web site for bios updates and AGP driver updates.  I know that VIA has had troubles, along with AMD's own Irongate chipset, with GeForce cards.  VIA has a new driver that fixes the problem, but I don't know about AMD.

bloom25
THUNDERBIRDS
Title: ATHLON & geforce the reason?
Post by: bloom25 on April 10, 2000, 01:39:00 AM
I found your problems solution.  Check out this link and read the paragraph about 1/2 way down the page: http://www.asus.com.tw/Products/Techref/Tech-report/qa-mb0220.html (http://www.asus.com.tw/Products/Techref/Tech-report/qa-mb0220.html)

The fix is a new driver version found at this link.  http://cgi.asus.com.tw/cgi-bin/dl.asp?filename=vga/agp/v6600/66-368.exe (http://cgi.asus.com.tw/cgi-bin/dl.asp?filename=vga/agp/v6600/66-368.exe)

Here is the exact text from the first link above:

"Question:
My ASUS K7M motherboard seems to have compatibility problems with nVidia GeForce-based AGP VGA adapter. It crashes on me intermittently. What can I do?

Answer:
From the QA Testing, we have observed potential issues when nVidia GeForce-based AGP VGA adapters are installed in an AMD K7 motherboard with Athlon processor and AMD-750 core logic chipset. This chipset cannot run AGP 2X/4X with command and data in the same cycle, which is one of the functions featured in nVidia's GeForce 256. To solve this problem, it is recommended to use driver 3.62 or newer available on ASUS website. The driver will detect the AMD 750 chipset and set the AGP bus to 1X. If the new driver still cannot solve this problem, please contact our technical support department.

"

Problem solved ... I hope.  But notice the problem is AMD's Irongate chipset.  As I have posted before, it can only use GeForce cards at AGP 1x.  (http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/Smileys/default/frown.gif)  I hate to tell you, but the problem is a poorly designed AMD chipset, and the above fix is a workaround at best.  Hopefully AMD will resolve this issue soon.  

bloom25
THUNDERBIRDS
Title: ATHLON & geforce the reason?
Post by: MANDOBLE on April 11, 2000, 11:13:00 AM
HABICHT, it seems you have a too weak power supply to keep the GeForce at AGPx2 with K7.
You have three options:
1 - Get a >= 300W PS.
2 - Install the specific drivers that force your GForce to work at AGPx1.
3 - Get a VIA Kx133 mainboard.
Title: ATHLON & geforce the reason?
Post by: bloom25 on April 11, 2000, 03:05:00 PM
The power supply won't help.  The problem is the Irongate chipset is unable to work above AGP 1x with GeForce video cards. (Not to say that a bigger power supply isn't a good idea though, but it isn't your problem here.)

Options 2 and 3 are great.  I don't know, but perhaps you could turn your AGP setting down to 1x without the new driver, perhaps in the bios?

bloom25
THUNDERBIRDS
Title: ATHLON & geforce the reason?
Post by: HABICHT on April 12, 2000, 02:11:00 AM
first, thx for help,
but my system still hangs up after variable
time. btw, it hangs up sometimes at 3d
applications AND on win desktop :-(.
did a bios update on MB with newest asus driver for k7m (xxx8 driver was newest i found) and i installed the newest INVIDIA
drivers (5.1XX i think, got it from BBGUNS
link in post)
so, problems are still up.
did i forget something?
btw, that guy on link got more than 5000 in
benchmark with a , i think 750mhz athlon.
i got 44xx with 766 mhz athlon :-(
something is really wrong.....

 

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    (http://saintaw.tripod.com/109habicht.gif)  
JG2 "Richthofen" (http://www.busprod.com/weazel2/)

[This message has been edited by HABICHT (edited 04-12-2000).]

[This message has been edited by HABICHT (edited 04-12-2000).]

[This message has been edited by HABICHT (edited 04-12-2000).]
Title: ATHLON & geforce the reason?
Post by: Dnil on April 12, 2000, 07:59:00 AM
Did u load the AGP mini driver?  I had funky problems when I first put in my TnT 2 card until I loaded the AGP driver (off the website, not the disc one) and flashed the bios.  Its smoking now, k7m board with 700 cpu.

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Dnil
JG-2
Part time aircraft restorer. www.kingwoodcable.com/jheuer (http://www.kingwoodcable.com/jheuer)
Title: ATHLON & geforce the reason?
Post by: bloom25 on April 12, 2000, 03:07:00 PM
What Dnil said.  (http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/Smileys/default/wink.gif)  If that doesn't work, try somehow manually setting AGP speed to 1x.



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bloom25
THUNDERBIRDS
Title: ATHLON & geforce the reason?
Post by: Cleaner on April 12, 2000, 05:19:00 PM
Spend $200 dollars and get the new EPOX EP-7KXA board...This is a VIA 133 chip and does AGPx4 also get a 300 Watt power supply, the Athlon and GE-Force are some hungry mothers.
When you go to set up your BIOS goto to the AMDZONE and follow there bios setup for the EP7KXA Board. I have this mobo with an ASUS geforce SGRAM pure and it rocks. Also make sure you update with the new VIA 4-1 drivers as well as nvidia....The Clean_Dawg
Title: ATHLON & geforce the reason?
Post by: BBGunn on April 15, 2000, 07:05:00 PM
A few people have reset default settings in the bios and had better results.
If there is an A at the end of your processors serial number its an .18 micron core if its a C then its a .25micron core.   The .25 core Athlon could require extra power but the .18 would probably not require more.
Don't think I would invest in extra hardware until you identify the problem.  
Title: ATHLON & geforce the reason?
Post by: MANDOBLE on April 24, 2000, 03:52:00 AM
Lately I upgraded to Athlon system:
K7 700
Soltek SL-77KV
128 PC133
CL Anihilator Pro (GeForce DDR)
250W power supply.

This system is stable 100%, just 0 crashes or hangs. Performance of GeForce was plain sh^*t until I loaded "optimized settings" from bios and selected just half the memory for AGP (64MB). Even now, I get only about 63 fps with 190A8 frontal view (1024 16bpp). Before GeForce I was using V2 SLI and the same settings gave me 72fps. Switching to 32bpp decreases the performance so drastically that the game is not playable.
All this using the latest drivers posted by Creative Labs.
Title: ATHLON & geforce the reason?
Post by: bloom25 on April 24, 2000, 01:11:00 PM
I'd try upgrading your bios Mandoble.  The new version released on 4-8-2000 added support for 256 MB aperature sizes along with other AGP updates.  You might also try upgrading the drivers for the VIA KX133 chipset on your motherboard.  According to Tom's Hardware Guide, this particualar VIA chipset has been performing sub-par with GeForce cards, compared to others (i.e. intel 810, 440BX, etc.)  The drivers are at www.soltek.com.tw (http://www.soltek.com.tw)  .



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bloom25
THUNDERBIRDS
Title: ATHLON & geforce the reason?
Post by: MANDOBLE on May 03, 2000, 07:23:00 AM
Thanks for your post Bloom25, but I'm already using that bios and the latest 4in1 via drivers.
Anyway, the textures in AH should stored in the main memory of the GeForce, so AGP bus should not be any issue with 32bpp mode. 32bpp fps drops below 40 and this should be enough, but the movement is not exactly smooth, like it was some synchronization problem with the monitor....

I would like to know what are the optimal settings with the nvidia drivers for that video card...
Title: ATHLON & geforce the reason?
Post by: bloom25 on May 03, 2000, 10:52:00 PM
Have you tried the drivers made by the company that makes your card.  They may be better for DX.

I personally use a V770 Ultra, and I can tell you that the reference (detonator) drivers are a little bit slower for DX than than Diamond's drivers.

 

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bloom25
THUNDERBIRDS
Title: ATHLON & geforce the reason?
Post by: MANDOBLE on May 04, 2000, 03:44:00 AM
 
Quote
Originally posted by bloom25:
Have you tried the drivers made by the company that makes your card.

Yep, actually I'm using the latest Creative drivers and no performance difference. Perhaps it is related to some bios setting...
Title: ATHLON & geforce the reason?
Post by: Koed on May 04, 2000, 09:24:00 AM
Check Asus.. they just released the 3.79 drivers out of beta...
Title: ATHLON & geforce the reason?
Post by: MANDOBLE on May 04, 2000, 09:52:00 AM
 
Quote
Originally posted by Koed:
Check Asus.. they just released the 3.79 drivers out of beta...

Are those drivers only for Asus Gforce cards? Or are they compatible with Creative ones?
Title: ATHLON & geforce the reason?
Post by: BBGunn on May 08, 2000, 11:34:00 PM
I think I'd stick with your cards brand drivers as first choice and possibly try an nVidia driver as second choice.   It's good to know what a new driver does/fixes before you load it.  Some of the hardware evaluation sites report substantial frame rate gains with nVidia drivers and geforce cards but one has to be careful because most of the nVidia drivers are (not for official release) and may cause conflicts depending on the type of system.  I wish somebody would put a chart together with the drivers and AGP cards etc. so we could tell what the heck is going on.
Title: ATHLON & geforce the reason?
Post by: MANDOBLE on May 16, 2000, 04:16:00 AM
Now using 5.16 detonator drivers for TNT2/Gforce cards, they seem to work fine, but refresh rate is "fixed" to 60Hz for 1024x768, so, I cant get more than 59fps.

With preious drivers, sometimes, I got "polluted" graphics where the mouse pointer moves, even pixelated and corrupt vertical bars at windows startup screen.