8KNXP problems (i think...)

[mayday]

Hi there.

First of all, i want to say that Intel platform is new for me ( i was an old AMD user), so i have little knowledge on this field.

Here it goes....

Hardware:
=======
-8KNXP
-P4 3.0 Ghz 800 FSB
-Gigabyte ATI Radeon 9700 PRO Maya II
-2x 512 DDR Kingston 400 Mhz CL2 HyperZ installed in DIMM 1 and 4 (orange ones) for dual channel
-WD Raptor 36 GB installed on SATA Sil (not ICHR5)
-MAXTOR 250 GB installed on IDE1
-Audigy2
-Antec True Power 550W power supply
-Pioneer DVD / Asus 52x CDROM / ASUS 48x CDWRITER

... i think that's about all that matters to mention for hardware....

Software:
========
-Windows XP Profesionall with Service Pack 1
-Latest Catalyst drivers
-Latest Intel Chipset Drivers (i am a little confused when it comes installing those drivers, on my old ABIT AT7MAX2 board for AMD i was used with 4in1's, but now i don't even know what does this "Intel Chipset Drivers" really install)
-Latest drivers for SATA & RAID


Problems:
=======

- the ussual 21's century PC problems, blue screens, sudden restarts of the system, other games don't launch at all, 3DMarks sometimes work for 1 hour, sometimes for 15 seconds....some softwares get errors when installing for the first time, for example, when trying to install Gothic 2, i had to do it for like 4-5 times before i could install it 100%....and after that didn't even want to launch (i get some errors, also it creates some error files on Windows>Minidump directory....)
- IL2 Sturmovik works sometimes for 30 minutes, sometimes for 2 minutes...same goes with 3DMark 2003.....Gun Metal Benchmark....

- in desktop working (applications and others) system seems to be more stable, but as i said, sometimes i get some erros in here also ( mostly when trying to install games, didn't had any errors when i have installed graphic softwares like Adobe Photoshop, 3DSMax....Flash MX got an error during it's first attempt to install, but on the 2nd worked out....)

Well, problems are present, that's for sure...and i have also noticed that many users with 8KNXP + 9700 PRO have problems, some say it's because the package does not work in AGP 8x mode + fast writes enabled for Radeon...so switching to AGP 4x could solve the problems, it does not...and some says so....over the web...also, i have updated the MB bios from F5 to F6 version, on both bios, Main + Backup....still doesn't solve the problems.....when using AGP 4x, time of working in games increases, but eventually system crash ( sometimes blue screen, sometimes restart, sometimes back to windows.....it's random i guess

I have also disabled HT from bios, no results...i have installed the old 3.4 Catalyst, tried with different settings (AGP 8x with Fast Writes on / without Fast Writes, same in AGP 4x mode...), still no results.....

I have reviewed many topics with this MB issues, but i was unable to find any solutions....some say fault goes to ATI, some say to Gigabyte....some to INTEL....someone even blamed Gates for his s****y OS

Other changes made for finding a solution:

- disabled Audigy 2 - no results....
- disabled USB support for Mouse & Keyboard from BIOS - no results...
- OS only on IDE HDD (no SATA or RAID enabled) - no results....
- no DPS card - no results...

Things that i have not tried:

- change the timings for RAM, now it's by SPD, i have seen others that changing to 2.3.3.6 worked out some how....well, i want to change timings, but i have no clue how to do it, or how to find out what timings my modules are using when in SPD mode, so a quick tutorial from you guys on how to adjust timings from bios on this MB would be very good....also if you know what timings are good for my Kingston's...i don't want ot overclock anything....just to work well on normal mode....

- i didn't tried other graphic cards...i am planning to stick an GF4 MX tomorow to see how it works...

- i didn't tried other CPU's, don't have any other friends with P4 (that's why they all call me "the enemy" since i have got my P4

Also, this review is very interesting ( or i am a real beginner...wich is most probably....):

http://www.mbreview.com/8knxp.php

because it says this:
"...Expansion Slots
1 x AGP 4x/2x AGP 2.0 Compliant
5 x PCI (PCI 2.3 Compliant)
1 x DPS2 Connector..."

isn't AGP suposed to be 4x/8x/pro/AGP 3.0 Compliant ?

i don't know what else i could say...i think i have covered everything, so if anybody knows a solution, please help me on this one....

forgot to mention that with old system, with the ABIT board + Athlon at 1.4 ghz, the ATI card worked perfect in AGP 8x mode with Fast Writes (wich are default settings if remember well), i have also forgot how a blue screen looks like...

also, some other important info that i want to know is what are the NECESSARY drivers that needs to be installed on this MB with curent system, when installing the OS for the first time ( i am talking about Intel Chipsets and so on...)

that's about all....

sorry for the "spam" with this message, i know it's kind of big....

thank you very much.

 

[jon_west_uk]

I am no expert but i have a 8knxp, and 3ghz cpu and ati 9800 pro graphics and have not had one crash! I did have to turn smart fan off as there is a bug in it and it constantly bleeps at me if i turn it on!

Other than that no probs - now i will leave you to the experts!

pain is getting your balls chopped off by a combine harvester...

 

[ChipDeath]

Have you tried each memory stick individually? Sounds a bit like one of them might be defective. You could try running Memtest86 to check for bad RAM too.

It might help to adjust your timings. These should be in your BIOS, probably under something like 'Advanced Chipset Features', but you may have to switch a setting to 'Manual' or 'Expert' before you can get to them. Some BIOSes require you to press a key combination to 'unlock' certain settings, but I can't remember what that is.

Your board <i>does</i> support AGP 8x (AGP 3.0), so don't worry about that.

Be wary about switching between ATI and Nvidia cards (even for quick testing) as the drivers can conflict and cause problems. if you do, I think the accepted technique is to first completely uninstall all the current drivers (so your display adapter is set as 'standard VGA'), and then swap the cards out, and then install the new drivers.

If screen shows funny flickering images ("artifacts") shortly before crashing, it could be your Gfx card overheating, but if the display always looks fine that's unlikely.

HTH..


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