Possible crossfire 4850 crash?

[boosterfire]

Hi all,

I'm experiencing some issues with my computer I have a lot of trouble with. My problem is that I just can't get to pinpoint what exactly is the source, though I suspect it could be multiple problems combined into one (or at least with similar symptoms).

Basically, here's what happens: while playing a game, the computer will freeze for a few seconds, then crash. Upon the crash, the fans on my 4850s (crossfire) will go to full speed. Sometimes the screen freezes, sometimes it goes blank. The combining factor here is the speed of the fans. It usually never goes to full speed. Now, the reason why I think it is multiple issues here is that I think the motherboard plays a role too. Sometimes, I get the message "hypertransport sync flood error" upon reboot, which I know is an issue with multiple current AMD AM3 motherboards. Other times, though, I get no such error.

So basically I have the same symptoms at first, the crash and speed of the fans, and then the sync flood error may or may not be reported.

At first I though it was an overclocking issue on the part of the CPU, as I thought it was the CPU's fan going crazy, but just yesterday I was able to pinpoint the culprits as the GPU's fans. The CPU overclocking doesn't seem to have anything to do with this (I've tried multiple settings of overclock, results do not change). My second idea is that it's a GPU overheating issue. My 4850s are in crossfire, and I didn't buy the ones which shoot the air right out of the case (silly me). The airflow is pretty good in my case, but there's still one card that basically receives the whole discharge of air from the other one. The thing that bugs me, though, is that I've never seen them overheating. Usually there's one at around 70, and the other at around 80 (under load). That seems reasonable to me. Besides, if overheating was the issue, I'd expect some artifacts to show up prior to the crash, but it isn't the case. It just happens randomly.

What do yous think?

Here are my specs:

MSI 790FX-GD70
Phenom II x4 955 @ 3.6 GHz
4GB G-SKILL RAM @ 8-8-8-21 /1333
2x Sapphire 4850 1GB in Crossfire, stock settings (no OC)

Thank you

 

[borisof007]

Check your memory voltages

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/265878-30-hyper-transport-sync-flood-error-problem-continues

 

[tehdrizzle]

I've seen this Hypertransport Sync Flood Error before and it is something that occurs when not enough volts are being provided to the CPU causing it to reboot at any time (Especially during heavy to max loads) with either a black screen or verticle lines right before rebooting. While posting you see this messege.

"hypertransport sync flood error has occured. Press F1 to resume"

So there are a number of Scenarios that may cause this BUT they ALL lead back to the main reason. Not enough power to the CPU at the time that the heavy load produces failure.

1. To high of an OC without the ample amount of CPU volts.
2. Plain, not enough CPU Volts at any speed.
3. Possible Bad power supply.
4. Motherboard with very high amount of VDroop which ultimately leads back to "Not Enough CPU Volts". This will reveal itself with a load on the CPU. Maybe not during typical use. Could just be that the motherboard has CPU power providing issues as well (Good power from PSU but motherboard wastes the power before reaching the CPU).


Hope that this helps you out!

 

[wa1]

PSU? brand? model?

Did you try using only 1 stick of RAM?

 

[boosterfire]

Thank you for the replies.

I'll check my memory and CPU voltages when I get home; they're both stock. I'll tweak them a bit and see what happens. The memory is 2x2GB, FYI. PSU is Corsair 750W (uh, the orange one!)