GA-8INXP stable???

[jiannu]

I am running the GA-8INXP with a P-4,2.4Gb,2Gb(333),200Gb H.D ATI 9700Pro + Win. XP(sp1). I've benched it with 3dmark2001(13924)default settings /8x AGP. My questions are :This system is not stable! Is this due to the amount of memory or the type(333)? Also, when I play NHL2003, the gameplay seems to stutter or hiccup. Is there a cure in the bios or display settings? Please help!

 

[LumberJack]

I have the same mobo with a similar setup and I have experienced no probs(see my profile). Did you download the newedt ATI driver... i have a feeling you should be getting a higher score.. on the order of 15000 without AA. Likely though it is a ram problem.. 2 gigs is so overkill. Anyway.. try removing two modules and see if the problem persists... try different configureations. You could rum memtest on your modules.. but at 2 gigs that will take about 3 hours to do a full test!! and that still might not pick up the problem. Let me now how things turn out...

On anoteher note.. what is your bios version? have you succesfully been able to flash F4 on your mobo? I have had problems...



To err is human... to really screw things up you need a computer!

 

[LumberJack]

Oh yeah.. what type of ram so you have and what timings are you running at? Are you overclocking anything?

To err is human... to really screw things up you need a computer!

 

[jiannu]

Thanks for responding! I have flashed the latest bios for that M.b. I have the latest drivers(catalyst3.2)+DX9. I'm using 4x512Mb(333)generic??? ram. I tried it with 1024ram & I got a bit of improvement on 3dmark2001 score. There was less than 100 points between the 2 scores.But the stabability problem persists. I have a 400w power supply & audigy sound card. I am running the default settings for the M.b. when it hangs. When I try to set it to the TOP PERFORMANCE settings it locks up right away! Off topic, when I overclock & reset, it doesn't hold the settings that were set before resetting. Should I try lower ram(266) instead of the (333)

 

[LumberJack]

Yeah I would suggest that you lower your FSB to 266 and try it with only 1 gig of ram. Also make sure that the ram timings are set to auto detect... If that doesn't work you may have a bad ram module.. I mean is your system crashing, locking up, slowing down?? it could be something else.

Top performance setting is not the best.. you should just tweak the system manually. As for overclocking. When you use the windows based overclocker you need to go into preferences and ask it to overclock on startup. If you want to save your overclock you need to do it manually in the bios. Then save when you exit.

That's all I can think of right now... let me know how it works out... as for the ram.. try to find out exactly the brand... some company must make them... infeneon, micron, samsung...etc...

Sorry to bother you about this... but when you flashed your bio is it version F4?

Thanks



To err is human... to really screw things up you need a computer!

 

[jiannu]

I think you were confused with (333). That is the type of ram pc 2700 or (333). I am running the FSB @266. The memory timing is set at auto. My system is crashing! I narrowed it down to the v-card & or drivers. So I went and replaced the 9700 & reinstalled the drivers and still I am getting CRASHES! I'm getting 2 types of crashes: 1 system hangs, can't CNTL AULT DEL, have to reset,2 system goes in low resolution and prompts me that a device has failed & to reboot. Can anyone HELP?!!! Very aggrivated.....

 

[Teq]

It sounds like you are having memory problems.


Checking the manual for this motherboard, I see that it supports DDR200 and DDR266 only.

The board specs are here:
<A HREF="http://www.giga-byte.com/products/8inxp_spec.htm" target="_new">http://www.giga-byte.com/products/8inxp_spec.htm</A>

As a rule DDR333 will back clock to 266 very reliably, but it may not go back to 200... My experience has been that you can underclock your memory by one step but not always by 2...

My best suggestion is that you should set your memory to 266 in the bios, remove all but one memory strip and test each one individually using a ramtest program.

You can get a free on here:
<A HREF="http://www.memtest86.com" target="_new">http://www.memtest86.com</A>



--->It ain't better if it don't work<---

 

[jiannu]

http://holicho.lib.net/ Here is a link. This person like others I saw use pc 2700(333) ram. I don't know how stable there systems are though? I am going to do a few tests on the ram though!HE is however getting dam good scores on 3dmark2001(20,000+)

 

[LumberJack]

Agreed... check your ram... sounds corrupt.

To err is human... to really screw things up you need a computer!

 

[Teq]

Ummm... here's the thing... the memory won't go any faster than the chipset lets it. With DDR266 chipset, you aren't going to get one bit more speed out of DDR333 ram because it will simply be operating at 266.



--->It ain't better if it don't work<---

 

[jiannu]

I tried putting in other brand of memory & it still crashed so I've eliminated the possibility that its a ram issue. Next I'm going to replace the power suplly with a 400w brand name. I have a no-name 400w power supply in there now.I'm ruuning out of ideas. I was thinking if that fails to replace the board with GA-SINXP.

 

[armitage_shanks]

I get the exact same 2 crashes!!! Either the desktop freezes or winxp pro catches an INFINITE_THREAD_LOOP in the video device and drops to teh lowest vid setting.

I have been scouring the net for help but only with a bit of success. I have 'seemingly' fixed the infinite thread (lower res) error - I have to ensure my vid card is REALLY pushed in firmly into the slot as it tends to come out a bit and this (as it was posted somewhere on the net) can be the result - so the lower res crash seems to be okay.

Now its just the frozen desktop. Here's my specs:

ga-8inxp with BIOS flashed to version F4
p4-3.06
sapphire radeon 9700 pro atlantis
1.5 gig ddr ram (crucial pc2700 - 1x1gig, 1x512mb)
ati catalyst 3.1 and dx8.1a
antec truepower 480 watt powersupply

I HAD the catalyst and dx drivers up to 3.2 and dx9 when I first tried it out on win2kpro but had the same errors so i upped to winxp pro and left them a bit lower (hoping the legacy aspect my prove more stable). But no, i still get my desktop freezing all the time. And the crappiest thing is i cannot narrow it down.

But really REALLY ensure the vid card is pushed in - like, turn off the machine, take it out and then firmly shove it back in - i had to do that and the lower res crash doesnt happen now (so far...)

if you get any info please let me know!!

Armitage Shanks

 

[jiannu]

I have tried just about everything that I could think of! My conclusion; My system runs stable(so far) at 4xAGP!You'll have to go in the bios set-up and change it there. If you change it in the display properties, it still may crash. Try these memory timings;2t,6t,2t,2t, refresh rate to AUTO. This is irrelavent to the crashing but it will get a bit better score on 3DMARK2001. Those memory timings are suggestions from GIGABYTE. So good luck, and if you here of a patch or bios update,please let me know!!!
SYSTEM;P-4,2.4Gb
GA-8INXP(F4 bios)
2Gb.(333)ram
ATI9700Pro(Catalyst3.0)
200Gb.Western Digital H.D
S.B. Audigy
400w power supply
Win.XP. Pro(SP1+DX9)
3DMARK2001 score;14329 default settings @4xAGP

 

[AfroGeek1]

Hey Guys! Thisis what I got.

SINXP MB
P4 2.53
OCZ PC3200 512 CAS2
Radeon 9700 Pro
SATA Drives 2
420 watt generic PS

This is the deal. I'm running my PC3200 in dual DDR mode at DDR450 with no problems. I think my cas reading is 3-6-3-3-3 or something. I have my fsb core set to 135. If I were to set the memory timing any lower, my PC hangs. This is the first Intel Board I have tried to overclock in years. So, i'm not sure what to tweak. But, I do know the SINXP is stable at the settings I listed above. Let me try to clear up some things. When It says 133...is this number multiplied by 4 to establish the 533 FSB?

Oh yeah!! by the way. You might try increasing the voltage to the ram when you use more modules. I heard that really helps.

Another question. What's more effective?

1. Increase DDR400 to DDR 450?
2. Keep DDR400 at DDR400 and adjust the CAS settings from 3 to 2.5?

in other words. Is it CAS over MHZ?

 

[AfroGeek1]

Teq , I believe alot of folks purchased the 8INXP thinking they could overclock the MB. I have the SINXP. I would suggest trying it. I have my PC3200 doing DDR 450 with no stability problems.

 

[trader_sweden]

The thing is that it is much cheaper to achieve 1 GB RAM @ 533MHz for the 8INXP, than to achieve 1 GB RAM @ 450MHz for the SINXP.

The 8INXP also includes lots of interesting things.

However, I'm not sure how much noise the two fans on the motherboard makes.

Comments on that?

 

[Eigl_Atson]

Hi, I have experienced the same problems. Once I start a game (Freelancer), the system hangs everytime. Have to reset. I thought it was drivers related between XP Pro and a Sapphire Radeon 9500. I download all the latest drivers and still the same. Finally, I found something.
It's seems to be a chipset problem. Intel knows about the problem. Here's the link:

http://www.intel.com/design/chipsets/e7205/specupdt/251938.htm

Both Gigabyte and Asus use this chipset. I found others on the net with the same. I spoke with a tech from Asus and he told me that they're going to release a new BIOS for that problem soon, for the P4G8X-DX. I'm not confident because he sent me a beta and no change, the system hangs...
I think I will return my board... I want to play now!!

 

[jiannu]

Try running it @ 4x AGP! My system is stable @4x. You'll have to change in the bios though. That INTEL link you sent, is that good for me? I have a GA-8INXP(E7205). Do I have to wait to get a bios update from GIGABYTE?

 

[LumberJack]

I am gonna wait to see what gigabyte does...



To err is human... to really screw things up you need a computer!

 

[jiannu]

ME TOO! I'm going to see what GIGABYTE is going to do! If you pester them enough, then they might relize that they screwed up and come up with a fix in there bois update! Me, I'm waiting for Catalyst 3.3 & or a bios update from GIGABYTE! I know that there is a problem with E7205 + ATI. They don't perform well together. There is a compatibility issue going on and no one wants to take the blame! Well I got my system stable @ 4x (for now)! But I didn't pay the big bucks for a 8x board & an 8x v-card so I could run my system @ 4x! That''s crazy! And the time & money I spent to try and fix the problem!!! THAT IS CRAZY!!!

 

[Eigl_Atson]

Thanks for the advice but I already try to run at AGP4X and the problem stays. And YES, that link is good because there's a PDF file with contain the information about the chipset E7205. Inside, there's an "errata" section and a grey area and it says that the chipset does not meet the AGP 3.0 standard! The timing is incorrect... something like that (very technical!!). And it's up to tha mobo manufacturer to fix it because it is also written that Intel have not planned a fix for that issue.
If you do search over the net, you will discover many of us experiencing the same problem.

 

[jiannu]

OH I DID MY RESEARCH! I know that there is alot of angry people like you & I. What can I say? It's in the hands of the biulders! If they smarten up and come up with a fix, then everything will be ok!

 

[LumberJack]

Yeah.. this is one of the risks you take when you buy a mobo just when it comes out... oh well I think of myself as kind of a daredevil...hehe...

As for running at agp 4x.. yeah it kinda sucks but really you probably will not gain much performance from moving to 8x so it shouldn't be that hard of an issue to swallow right now.



To err is human... to really screw things up you need a computer!

 

[Shiroamakusa]

Yup. Important to note though, this issue only affects the 9700 cards. The Geforce 4's that plunk at 8X don't chafe the 7205 at 8X with the same alarming frequency. As I'm not about to touch a Geforce 4 with a 10 ft. pole, I sold my 7205 in favor of the ASUS SIS655 Board.

 

[V8VENOM]

I was building a system based on the Gigabyte 8INXP also and had similar stability problems and stutters with an ATI 9700 Pro. I did the usual, lastest BIOS, drivers, etc. What ultimately solved the problem was changing the BIOS setting from Auto (picked 8X) to 4X and setting the ATI drivers to 4X also. System became rock solid reliable.

I had Kingston HyperX PC3500 memory (2 256MB) running in 266Mhz dual DDR mode.

I don't know if there is just a incompatibility problem with the motherboard/chipset/video card. But if you find out, please let me know.

Rob.