Personal computing discussed

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mlmorrison
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Tue Mar 19, 2002 10:12 am

Help.. Just got a Geforce4 4600.. and installed on 1year old asus a7m266 (amd760 chipset).. and I have to UNDERCLOCK my card (using powerstrip) to 270mhz!.. anything higher and the computer locks up sounding like a machine gun.. with anything graphic intensive.. I'm positive its not the card.. I tried it on a freinds P4 machine and fine. I'm sure many here would like to know before spending 400$ if it is comptible with their moboard...

Does anyone know of a recommended mobo listing for geforece 4? or even ones to stay away from?.. I think its downright Blasphemous to underclock a gef.4 to make it work!!!
 
Nelliesboo
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Tue Mar 19, 2002 12:01 pm

i have not got my 4600 yet, but from what i hear the bios is really crappy on the asus mothetrboard so do a bios update and see if that helps, also how much cooling do u have in ur case?
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Fugazi
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Tue Mar 19, 2002 12:12 pm

Are you running your AGP slot out of spec? Set it at 66Mhz.
 
q_bot_w11
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Tue Mar 19, 2002 12:16 pm

Does it stop on overheat automatically? What's your cooling like?
 
mlmorrison
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Tue Mar 19, 2002 2:25 pm

Yea, I have the latest bios and have the agp clocked at 66.. :sad: is it an Asus thing? Im looking at getting the MSIKT266pro v2.. 266A...
 
Ryu Connor
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Tue Mar 19, 2002 6:25 pm

Download NVMax.

http://www.nvmax.com

Go into it's System Settings and choose to apply the Infinite Loop fix.
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mlmorrison
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Wed Mar 20, 2002 9:40 am

Thanks for the advice.. however NVMAX is a "dead" product and currently does not support geforce 4.. I am using power strip and will look if that has an infinite loop fix.. by the way what is an infinite loop fix and what does that have to do with having to UNDERCLOCK my card to make it work?

By the way.. while on the subject this brings up a HUUGE peeve of mine.. why for all that is holy do you need some aftermarket fix like NVMAX/POWERSTRIP to get more then 60HZ refresh while running games running win xp or 2000??? This just seems absurd to me.. the whole point of buying a geforce 4 or 3 IS GAMES period.. and yet you can't by default do over 60hz refresh rate in any game (windows forces it to 60 hz) and 60HZ looks incredibly bad.. strobbing and tearing.
 
Ryu Connor
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Wed Mar 20, 2002 11:20 am

however NVMAX is a "dead" product and currently does not support geforce 4


http://www.charnleys.co.uk/NVmax4.exe

The product's development has terminated under A.Charnley's direction.

The source is now available for others to continue the work.

http://www.charnleys.co.uk/nvmax_source.zip

As linked above though, the product is still available. 4.01.00 LE to be exact and it does support the GeForce 4 as it supports the 27.xx line of drivers.

By the way what is an infinite loop fix and what does that have to do with having to UNDERCLOCK my card to make it work?


NVIDIA in a quest for the holy grail of performance has their current set of drivers hammering against a segment of memory that can't always handle the strain. Apparently memory quality, chipset design, and the impact of other devices against memory can make or break the systems overall stability. Therefore it is within reason that the number crunching power of the GF4 is straining your board quite hard and lowering the clock alleviates the issue.

The Infinite Loop fix re-adjusts the memory zone the video card interacts with and for many it resolves the BSOD and hardlocks.

It may not be the answer to your problem. Other things that come to mind is poor power supply, lemon video card, or even lemon motherboard.

The voltage components may not be up to the task of the demands of the GF4. Be it the voltage output of the power supply, the voltage regulation for the AGP slot, or the voltage regulation on the video card.

Before I started looking at buying a $100 power supply, returning my $100 motherboard, or returning $400 video card, I would try and see if it is simply the infinite loop problem.

Why for all that is holy do you need some aftermarket fix like NVMAX/POWERSTRIP to get more then 60HZ refresh while running games running win xp or 2000


This was a Microsoft choice. Ask them. NVMax I don't believe can lock refresh rates. PowerStrip ($) and Multires (free) on the other hand can. There are also some utilities that adjust the registry or you can adjust the INF yourself. Those kind of changes are usally rejected by a multi-monitor system though.

Personal opinion. If you come to a forum for help, don't bite the hand that feeds you.
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mlmorrison
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Wed Mar 20, 2002 1:27 pm

Ryu,

Thanks for the help. My frustration is not aimed at you but rather downright STUPID things like having to do special registry fixes to get more then 60hz refresh.. IT's just plain ridiculous..

What you said about the loop fix.. and memory makes perfect sense.. I think the point I would also like to make.. is perhaps the amd 760 NB chipset is not up to the task of handling the G4? I have 350W power supply and the BEST memory money can buy (corsair 330mhz dim).. so yea Iv been thinking its the motherboard or chipset..

I will try a few things and report back on my findings.. If a certain chipset is not up to handling the GE4 it would benifit everyone to know.. On that note.. doess anyone have good luck with the KT266A? I reallly don't want to play the waiting game for the kt333A...

Thanks again.
 
Nelliesboo
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Wed Mar 20, 2002 1:38 pm

Via......hehe :razz:
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Ryu Connor
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Wed Mar 20, 2002 2:01 pm

On the contrary I'm wasn't trying to imply there was something wrong with the AMD 760 chipset, just that you may have a board with a bad capacitor (as an example) that can't hold a proper charge and hence your problem until you clock it down and lower the needed voltage.

Alternatively this sort of problem could exist on the GF4 itself or even within your power supply.

To find the answer you are going to have to do some serious sluething I'm afraid.
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mlmorrison
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Wed Mar 20, 2002 3:22 pm

yea, I was thinking the voltage could be Low.. I may need to break out a multimeter and check out the voltages with the card in place.. I suppose my question should be has anyone else had problems with the 761 chipset? with the Ge4?
 
mlmorrison
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Thu Mar 21, 2002 2:05 pm

Report: ..

Well I’v tried a number of things with the NVMAX strip.. and power strip.. and have had no change (still need to underclock Geforce4 to 270 to stop lockups with intense video).
I have also tried a number of different bios changes to no avail.



I have a good 350 watt power supply, have verified the Ge4 is ok (had it running on a friends p4 fine)..

I only have left to do is measure some voltages with a voltmeter but so far all the onboard voltages diagnostic readings are fine.

This is frustrating and reminds me of EXACTLY why I for a while had gone back to Intel CPUS and chipsets..(and never had a problem with them) .. Back when I had a AMD K6 I ran into the same problem with a via chipset.. at that time it was a TNT2 that locked up.. I then learned alot of the mobos couldn’t supply enough power to the AGP slot for NVIDIA) >
This has always been the ONE main issue that has plagued AMD.. it appears lesser quality and Qcontrol and engineering effort goes into MOBOS and chipsets for the AMD processor .. result instability, non compatibility with some Graphics cards and so on and so on.. I’m drawing upon both my personal experiences and many threads in various forums.. It's a theme repeated over and over again with AMD mobos.. If you think I am ranting you should talk to some AMD designers they are more peeved then me.. IT sems like a pattern of doom.. the chipset manufactures try to outdo each other on the market but release half finished or buggy products..

Intel has a leg up for this reason and is why people who want something that works and don’t want to worry about instability go with intel ….because they don’t have umteen different Taiwanese outfits making cheesy chipsets every month that have problems. (ok some venting here).. Intel seems to keep tighter rains on stability issues and an obvious advantage of control over the chipset.

I was really hopping for more as I really LOVE AMD and want something that works.. I so far am very unimpressed with the MOBO market for AMD however. Does anyone have a 266A board with a geforce 4 that works? and they like? thats the route Im going in. I’m not done with all my diagnostics with my asus266M (amd760) board but probably going to give up soon..


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: mlmorrison on 2002-03-21 14:03 ]</font>
 
Ryu Connor
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Thu Mar 21, 2002 10:38 pm

Got a positive confirmation of GF4 on a nForce.
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doctarr
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Fri Mar 22, 2002 4:05 am

I'm a sad owner of MSI K7T266 Pro 2 v2.0, had nothing but trouble right out of the box. Had to downgrade the bios just to get it to boot. It didn't like my SB live and the secondary IDE wouldn't see anything attached. Then I tried my new Geforce4 MX440 AGP card and the bios locks on all cold boots, hit reset a few times and it will boot and does the same on every other reboot. I'd take a serious look at the user forums over at MSI before buying a 266a mobo from them. I ordered a Soyo Dragon Plus today. Maybe if MSI ever gets their bios fixed I'll stick a cheap duron in that board and make a E-Machine out of it. But I'm not holding my breath.

Doc
 
dolemitecomputers
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Fri Mar 22, 2002 8:11 am

You can try using this program for the refresh rate problem: http://www.planetquake.com/ztn/nvreffix/. It does not support the newer nvidia drivers yet. I have gone back to 23.11 because I cannot stand 60 hz.
 
mlmorrison
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Fri Mar 22, 2002 10:45 am

yea, I have been using the newest Power strip.. I haven't found anything that can touch it.. and its still fully functional even unregestered..

Thanks for the info on the MSI board.. you may have saved my arse.. and I think you make a good point.. I will scour the various mobo forums tosee what works.. I am using the Asus a7m266 (amd 761 chipset).. with recent bios.. and still problems..

I'd love to hear any other success stories or horror stories of any AMDXP chipset/mobo with geforce 4.. bottom line question is "ok I am a power/gamming freak using the Athlon XP line, what MOBO works and is stable with the Geforce4?" this seems like a straight foward question given my own experience and im sure many others out there wondering but Im finding it hard to find info..
.. .

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: mlmorrison on 2002-03-22 09:54 ]</font>
 
mlmorrison
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Wed Mar 27, 2002 1:24 pm

update:.. have tried about every trick in the book but still same problem.. (must underclock gef4 ti4600 to 270mhz using powerstrip in winxp to stop lockups when doing intensive graphics)..

I have tried every imaginable bios tweak,update nvloop fix, memory timings even agp drive strengths.. to no avail.. tried different drivers, putting fans directly on to cool.. I see other vendors are sellling amd761 chipset type boards with gef4 cards... so not sure what my problem is. I know vid card works.. (put it in another machine and works fine).. my voltages checkout ok on the MB.. so im stumped. maybee the asus a7m266 just cant handle the gef4 board? who knows. Does anyone have the gef4 ti card yet with amd processor and if so what board?..

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