I've tryed everything and give up...Need Help!

MeTaLrOcKeR

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Here's my system Specifications:

AMD Athlon XP 1600+ now @ 1.63GHz
ASUS A7S333 SiS745 DDR Motherboard
256MB PC2100 CLs Infineon DDR RAM
Leadtek GF4 MX440 64MB Video Card
SB Live! Sound Card
40GB Seagate Baracudda IV HDD
RealTek 10/100 PCI NIC
Windows XP Pro.

Anyways....I posted awhile ago in the thread called "LeadTek GF4 Ti cards" about my problem......even though my card is not a Ti version.....i get similar symptoms......

Games do not run smooth.....there choppy/stuttery almost all the time.....It's always way above 30fps too..(which is considered the minimum for being playable) whether its Half-Life, Unreal Tournament, C&C Renegade, RTCW....anythign requiring OpenGL or Direct3D...

Also...with 2D Performance in windows its ok.....only tiem anythign messes up in windows is when i click on the OpenGL, Direct3D or nView tab in the display properties....when i click on them, it takes FOREVER b4 it actually comes to the properties for each.....also...when in games....sometimes the game will lock up....like i cant move my man....everything around em is still working, peopel r still gettign shot...soudn still works.....i lock up though....

I've tried everything now....from Re-installing windows....any patches/updates/fixes possible...all windows updates...newest nVidia driver r on right now 30.82...ive tryed 29.42's and the oen previous....no difference......BTW its not overclocking thats effectign it either....i've tryed running at defualt speeds and even at 1050Mhz which is 100Mhz FSB....no difference......

Any help would be MUCH appreciated!

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phsstpok

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Try the Geforce FAQ, now at <A HREF="http://www.tweak3d.net/faq/faq.cgi" target="_new">http://www.tweak3d.net/faq/faq.cgi</A>. Search for "stutter". The solutions are old but maybe you will find the answer to your problem.

In addition to the solutions you will find there these two fixes sometimes work.

1. Make sure DMA is enabled on both your hard drive and CD-ROM/DVD-ROM/CDRW.

2. Turn off Video RAM caching in BIOS.

<b>I have so many cookies I now have a FAT problem!</b>
 

MeTaLrOcKeR

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Ive doen all those already.......ive tryed with video caching on and off...no difference......

as dor DMA.....windows enabled all of it for the HDD and the cd-rom's when i installed Windows.....ive double checkde them..there all enabled.......

Ive also tryed the progrma called Riva Tuner from guru3d.com or whatever..anywyas its rated as beign the best nVidia tweakign program out there......it also made no difference.......

any more suggestions ?

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shallowbaby

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i just like to add my usual comment when video doesn't work.

have you tried another card.. or tried your card in another system?

<font color=green> there's more to life than increasing its speed -Ghandi</font color=green>
 

phsstpok

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The only other thing I can think of is I turn off the mouse panel before playing games. It occasionally causes pauses, nothing I would call stuttering though.

<b>I have so many cookies I now have a FAT problem!</b>
 

rubikian

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Have you try turning off the ECC in BIOS? ECC will slow down your computer if your RAM is not ECC type. You might need to tweak your windows setting as well. If you are using WinXP, try using customizer XP to do the tweaking. Win 98 or ME can try WinBoost. Games slow down and lock up could be heat problem as well. You might want to make sure your casing has a good air ventilation…
 

LED

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Maybe re-install DirectX? What's going on in the DX Diagnostic tool? Try different Det. versions? What about heat problems? Got any?

This sig runs too hot.
 

MeTaLrOcKeR

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Heat problems r a definate no...

Idles at 34 celcious for the CPU at the Board is at 26.....
max load CPU never goes over 39 celcious and board never surpasses 29......

as for Direct X.......i dunno whats goign on, ive tryed everything...re-installing it.....reinstallign windows....as far as ECC Checkign goes its always been disabled...it just robs CPU/RAM Cycles.....ive tryed enablign it to see if it helps any..no diff...so its back to disable..

as far as trying other cards....yes, i tryed a ASUS GF2 MX400 64MB card...worked fine......and i tryed my card in my buddies T-Bird 1.333GHz system on a KT133A ASUS A7V133 motherboard and it worked fine..........therefore i dont know what else ti can be.....ive tryed every windows tweak possible.............

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Willamette_sucks

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first of all your calculations for 1050mhz @ 100fsb are completely incorrect, and besides your processor is not the problem. now are you playing online, offline, or both, some of the symptoms you mentioned sounded like lag, but youre probly not that stupid. video ram caching should be on. also the slowness of the menus popping up sounds like u dont have enough ram, but 256 is enough so i dont know whats up with that, also, not that this would neccessary fix your problems, ur not running Win Me r u? god thats the gayest one ever. the mx's dont overclock well at all, my friend had a 420 and couldnt raise the core or the mem even 5mhz, there would be serious errors, or a freeze.
the symptoms you are experiencing sound very much like one thing, however, with 256mb of ram this shouldnt be happening (that much) on most games, it sounds like windows is trying to increase your page file size in the background. but that should happen once, and be done with, or you could try increasing it manually. also, after i downloaded the new detenator xp drivers (ti 4400 @ 325/650), UT, which i used to run in D3D at max settings at 120-150fps ran at like 15-20, it was crazy! so i put it in open gl and it was like 120-150. try UT, CS whatever, in D3D or Open GL, whichever one youre not using right now. C&C renegade, although its gay and mainly 2d and, i think, cheesy looking, is actually fairly graphics intensive, i mean ur not trying to play these games decked out at 1600x1200 r u? sry i cant be more of a help, ur symtoms r very wierd.

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Willamette_sucks

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try putting ur memory at CAS 2.5, or try turning "bios shadowing off", although normally that should be on, unless, of course, you experience problems...which you are

The first LAN party I went to was at a PETA convention. They booted me when I shot a crab in HL!
 

Crashman

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Did you make sure your AGP slot isn't sharing an IRQ with any PCI cards in BIOS?

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Ghostdog

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Considerd that the card might be faulty?
If none of the advice work, contact the store you bought it from, they should switch it for you.

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Dantin1

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Make sure you haven't overclocked the motherboard. Ie.. FSB set too high? Also check to see if you have IRQ conflicts. Hell your an old hand. This sounds like an older card sure there isn't a bios flash for it yet? There are some standard troubleshooting steps to go through before replacing an item. You definately want to rule out the problem that may stem from the computer itself. Also make sure you have downloaded the latest drivers and DirectX that could make the difference also. Test with a single player mode. Check with the seller of the tower + powersupply to make sure that powersupply is a AMD approved powersupply. Thats all I can think of right now. I'm sure I'll think of something else. ;-)

Dantin
 

Crashman

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I've found that IRQ sharing between the AGP slot and a PCI slot that has a bus mastering device can often cause stuttering (I never use the PCI slot that shares an IRQ with AGP).

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MeTaLrOcKeR

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Ok Willy Sux.....

To answer your questions.....

Ive tryed every possible ram timings....
from 2-2-2-5 to 2.5-3-3-6 to 2-3-3-6 to 2.5-3-4-7...no difference with either.....
as for my 1050MHz Calcultions beign incorect, no there not.... 10.5 (which is the defualt multiplier for the XP 1600+) times 100Mhz = 1050MHz.....those would be fail safe settings.....yes i know the chip runs at 10.5 times 133 = 1400MHz...

here....at these speeds theres no difference AT ALL...

650 - 1050MHz
1400MHz
1600MHz
1627MHz
1639MHz
1660MHz

System makes no diff. of the FSB speed or final OC speed.....same result with all....

the video card is not OC'd...however i can OC it.....this GF4 MX 440 runs defualt at 270 core and 405 mem. i can run it at 310 core and 500 mem. however i dont....as i dont want to worsen the issue...just in case....

As for the menus.....its not my ram....256 is adiquite enough......ive tryed another 256MB CL2 Samsung PC2700 dimm and to no avail same prob......this video card has this "menu" problem in no matter what system its in....ive tryed it in 3 different computers....same thing......in the nVidia options when u go to Advanced in the Display Properties.....when u click on the video card tab...than theres options for Direct3D...OpenGL.....Overlay Controls.....Anti-Aliasing..and Desktop Utilities.....when i click the OpenGL tab....everything locks up for like 30 seconds....except i can still move the mouse......if im playing an MP3....the song will skip....by skippign though it constantly repeats the past 3 secodns of the sogn that was playing b4 i clicked on the OpenGL button...than the screen shows up fine...and i can change whatever......same thing happens when i click on the nView TAB......ive tryed everything possible to fix this....as far as OS goes......i already stated that Im running Windows XP Pro. Corporate Edition build 2600......and as far as detinator drivers...i stated also..ive tryed MANY different ones...all with the same result....

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=13597" target="_new">-MeTaL RoCkEr</A>
 

MeTaLrOcKeR

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I have definently considered that the card is faulty...........and i know the guy at the store i baught the card from....and he told me i can take it back if im having problems......but i woudl only like to do that as my last resort.....if theres a fix out there for this...i wanna know about it...but thank you! =)

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=13597" target="_new">-MeTaL RoCkEr</A>
 

MeTaLrOcKeR

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Dantin, Thanks for your reply....

Fortunently for me, I have very good Hardware.....to no avail though...my Case is not the problem...its a case ive been using since 1999....Power Supply has been upgraded in this case 3 times.....right now its the Enermax Whisper series 430watt......its definently not the issue...

as for Overclocking the FSB......it does not matter what FSB i run this thing at....same prob.....RIGHT NOW..the system as at defualt everything.....that means XP1600+ is at 1400Mhz...ram is set my SPD right now..as no ram timing settings effects this issue...ive tryed them all....

As for latest DirectX......ive uninstalled....and re0installed Direct X on its own a million and a half times...ive reformatted and reloaded windows 3 times....no difference...i have tryed drivers from absolute oldest possible to absolute newest possible for every PCI card i have in here aswell as the Video card....no avail......

If anything u think of comes up...please let me know..thank you! =)

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=13597" target="_new">-MeTaL RoCkEr</A>
 

MeTaLrOcKeR

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Ok...Crashman....the help all man =)

What to say now....lol.....read all my posts so far.....ull notice ive tryed everything....

Sum 1 even mentioned if i flashed the video cards bios...yes...i have.....3 times........
i went to one older than the one the card came with...to one newer than the card came with to the one on here now which is the absolute latest which was released August 8th.........

As for a PCI device sharing the same IRQ as the AGP Slot.....i dont know...as in the bios it doesnt tell me newhere...
as for in Widnows though ive tryed every IRQ....every piece of hardware i have in here has its own IRQ....and Video Card according to the Resources tab for the Display Adapter shows my card on IRQ 16....and its not shared with anything...neither is my on-board soudn chip nor my SB Live......or my NIC card.......and thats all i have in here...

if anyone thinks it would be better.....ICQ me at 13418693 or on msn its metal_rocker@hotmail.com





<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=13597" target="_new">-MeTaL RoCkEr</A>
 

Dantin1

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Latest BIOS Flash? Update your SIS Drivers? Whats the CAS LATENCY on your RAM? CL2.5 is recommended for Athlon XP. Better yet run your Make and model of motherboard by the auto ram finder at any one of the Ram Manufacturer sites. It will tell you exactly what CAS or CL you should require. Run Sysoft Sandra 2002 and checkout if your system is running at its peek. Another thing is check into your cooling solution. Make sure the fan is running ect. Also I think there is a fan on the GPU mounted on your Video Card. Check that also. Sysoft Sandra 2000 also has a video test you might want to check out. Ultimately. I'm thinking its a bad memory module or Gpu on your graphics card. I could be mistaken. Try using a different video card from a friend or something and see if it acts the same. If so then its not your video card at all could be a bad block of memory or your CPU has been overclocked for a while and fried. Tends to happen if you don't have the right cooling solution.

Dantin
 

Dantin1

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Did you check for IRQ sharing? Check on the motherboard. There is a PCI slot directly below the AGP slot. Make sure you do not have a card in there. The 1st PCI slot is most always shared with the AGP. Thats not a good thing. Hope these suggestions help.

Dantin
 

MeTaLrOcKeR

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Ok like i said b4.......i have the ram set to SPD right now.....and it automaticly sets it at 2-2-2-6....therefore its running at CL2.....2.5 is nto a recomendation for a specific CPU type, but only set by the manufacturer of the ram....but like i said b4.....it doesnt matetr what timing i set it to i always get the same outcome.....ive ran Sandra 2000 many times.....its running at peak performance 4 sure....as for bad ram module....its not....ive tryed 2 different types now......the fan on the GPU is spinning perfectly fine...i checked that......

and about my overall cooling solution.......believe me when i say theres no coolign issues....CPU is running right now at 34 Degrees celcious....Board temp. is at 26 degrees celcious......

My CPU has the Thermaltake Volcano 7 HSF......
Ive got 1 80MM intake fan at the front of the case and 1 80mm fan at the back for an exhaust fan.......also on my side case panel i have two 8 inch by 8 inch or so fans that push over 250cfm between the two....its almost enough power to blow my whole computer over....infact it would if i didnt have the opposite corner up agaisnt the desk.....i know my sh|t man =) there no cooling issue....theres no IRQ Conflict i just checked it..............and theres no card in the PCI slot 1 directly below the AGP Slot.....

its an ASUS A7S333 board...SiS745 chipset...
5 PCI slot's..1 AGP....

AGP slot has my GFX Card....
Slot 1 Empty
Slot 2 Empty
Slot 3 SB Live!
Slot 4 Empty
Slot 5 Realtek 10/100 NIC

This is now...im trying this out.....cuz when i posted last i had the SB Live! card in slot 4....and according to my bios.......theres a option called PCI IRQ Settings...

and it goes like this

Slot 1 = AUTO
Slot 2 = AUTO
Slot 3 = AUTO
Slot4/5 = AUTO

i thought....hmm......maybe slot 4 and 5 will always use the same IRQ....so i put the sound card in Slot 3.....havent had time to test it yet...........going to try it out right now.....

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=13597" target="_new">-MeTaL RoCkEr</A>
 

Dantin1

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Well at least we touched on something you didn't check. Thats what were here for to help out those with troubleshooting block. ;-) Hope that fixed it. Otherwise I'd look into flashing your motherboard BIOS and making sure that your SIS Drivers are current. Also a possibility of flashing your Video Card. Good Luck.

Dantin
 

MeTaLrOcKeR

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Ok so far it looks good.....except Return To Castle Wolfenstein is kinda slow...btu i think thats cuz my video card isnt meant for such high end games running at 1024x768 high detail everything with 32bit colour...

as for flashing my bios.....ive already flashed it to the latest...and the oldest possible......now im back to the newest which is 1004.001 BETA...as for the video card.....its got the latest BIOS also...i flashed that....i said this already......as for SiS Drivers.......thsi chipset is a lot like the Intel 440BX Xhipset, in that u dont need chipset drivers.......infact just like all chipsest out there the only available driver for download is the SiS AGP Port mini-driver so to speak.....which is some WHQL Driver...and i have the latest of that installed also.....version 1.10...

well Unrel Tournament plays flawlessly now in OpenGL Mode.....no lock ups......no stuttering anymore......Renegade havent played.....Half-life is smooth as hell now.....real nice....

so far i think its working!

Thank you all!!!

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=13597" target="_new">-MeTaL RoCkEr</A>
 

Dantin1

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I am glad thats working for you. One other thing. Just make sure you know exactly which PCI slots on your motherboard are shared with. Make sure if at all possible you put your PCI cards in PCI MASTER slots. Not Shared. Makes life a whole lot easier. ;-) Drivers are my first troubleshooting step then I look at that other stuff. Just in case. Good Luck! And have fun.

Dantin
 

MeTaLrOcKeR

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Thanks....

yea....
Slot 3 is being used by soudn and slot 5 is being used by NIC.....

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=13597" target="_new">-MeTaL RoCkEr</A>