New computer, cant figure out what the hell is wrong with my ATi cards (booting)!

[Sage]

So, I just put together a new computer. ECS KA3 MVP (ATi XPress 3200 chipset), Athlon 64 3500+ (new .65 core), and HIS Radeon x1650. Sometimes when booting, and almost always when rebooting, the mobo would beep at me and the video card would be giving my any output. It was hard for me to figure out what the beep pattern was, but it sounded like it might be a video card issue.

So, I got a Sapphire x1950 Pro. Same problem. I updated the mobo bios. Same problem. Furthermore, I dont know it I have driver issues because of the ones I was using and how I upgraded them or something, or if this is a hardware issue- neither windows xp 32 nor vista u 64 like the new card. Randomly, upon booting, they will identify it as a VGA card. It's really a huge mess and I haven't been able to figure out any clear pattern. Sometimes, although windows recognizes the car, catalyst control center pops up and says that it cant work with the current driver installed or there isnt an ATi card in the system. A few reboots and automatic windows new device found / automatically installing it routines seem to fix the problem.

Now for the really confusing part. I decided to test my x1950 in my roommate's computer. I think his motherboard is an ASUS A8N-sli (from the pics I've found online). It works perfectly. That makes me feel good. The odd thing is what happened when I put his Sapphire x800 GTO into my computer. I can't make it foul up on boot. Try and try and try and I can't do it. Plop the x1650 in and it takes about 4 tries to get it to start beeping at me nonstop. x800 back in and we are in heaven. Furthermore, as I have been writing this post (on the trusty ibook), I have managed to get both Vista and XP to recognize the x800 without any problems.

I actually went so far as to make a 3-minute video of it booting and posting it on youtube. If anyone can help me solve this problem, I'll buy you a pizza!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VetNbnmb-D8

 

[Sobek]

Just passing through on a whim but, sounds like power to me.

As far as I know, both the x1650 (pro or otherwise) and an x1950 pro (naturally) consume more power than an x800 GTO.

Just to clear things up, what power supply are you using? And are all of the voltages holding steady (you can get a partially reliable reading from within your BIOS. Not sure what the exact section is on yours, but you'll know it when you see it.). If any voltages are dipping more than roughly 0.25v lower than what they should be running, consider testing a new PSU, or one from a friend.

Good luck!

 

[Sage]

Just passing through on a whim but, sounds like power to me.

As far as I know, both the x1650 (pro or otherwise) and an x1950 pro (naturally) consume more power than an x800 GTO.

Just to clear things up, what power supply are you using? And are all of the voltages holding steady (you can get a partially reliable reading from within your BIOS. Not sure what the exact section is on yours, but you'll know it when you see it.). If any voltages are dipping more than roughly 0.25v lower than what they should be running, consider testing a new PSU, or one from a friend.

Good luck!

Hmm, interesting... I had thought of this, but I assumed that the x1600 pro (it's a non-pro x1650 which is apparently a rebadged x1600 pro) would consume less power than either of the other two. Also, since I have a collermaster power supply and my roommate has a no-name, I figured that shouldn't be an issue. However, I think that I should investigate this further so that I can rule it out.


edit:
CPU vcore = 1.34
+1.2V = 1.16
VDIMM = 1.88
+3.3V = 3.34
+12V = 12.16

looks good to me?

I suppose I'll have to swipe the roommates PSU while he's at work tomorrow...



edit 2: freakin shit! after the restart, windows forgot what vcard I have. it thinks i have a "Video Controller (VGA Compatible)" again...

 

[Sage]

Hrm.... SiSoft Sandra and Fanspeed are reporting 3.3v as being around 1.89v and the 5v reading around 5.6v. Motherboard Monitor 5 can't read anything but the CPU clock, and HWmonitor can only read some of the voltages. I dont know what to make of any of this, but I'm now for sure trying another PSU tomorrow.

 

[_xxx_]

Checked your BIOS settings? There are some options which will cause such behaviour as well, like "assign IRQ to VGA" etc., make sure you have it set correctly.

 

[Sage]

New PSU... nothing has changed. I'm getting the same problem and the same power readings. So very strange.

I dont even have a BIOS option to (not) assign irq to vga...

 

[digitalwanderer]

I'll bet it's bad memory.

 

[Sage]

I'll bet it's bad memory.

I've also tried, individually, each one of the four sticks of memory I have. I would expect at least one of them to be good.

Also, I can't see how that would allow the x800 to work flawlessly while the x1650 and x1950 are buggered up.

 

[Sage]

Here's the on-going dialog with ECS Support...

Q&A
Sage Posted : GMT 2007/07/02 22:59:52
I have performed further testing.

Two unusual things that I have noticed is the bios, when booting, shows:
KA3 MVP Ver 1.1a 01/18/2007

However, the board reads revision 1.0a. I don't see anywhere that references 1.1a.

Also, it reads:
CPU0 Memory information: Single Channel ,64-bit ,2T

However, I have arranged the memory sticks many ways. I have two dual channel kits, one is 512MBx2 and one is 1GBx2. They are both Wintec AMPX DDR2 memory. The BIOS never showed to be in dual-channel 128-bit mode, but it always recognizes the correct amount of memory. I have tried this with all three video cards and get the same results.


Also:
I have tried installing both the x800 GTO and the x1950 Pro at the same time. With the x800 in the top x16 slot and the x1950 in the botton x16 slot, windows xp only recognizes with x800. With the x1950 in the top slot and the x800 in the bottom slot, it still only recognizes the x800. In both arrangements, the computer has no boot issue.

I also tested with the x1650 and the x1950 Pro together. Again I tested with the x1650 on top and the x1950 on top. Windows XP only recognizes the x1650. Also, the boot issue still exists with the x1650 and x1950 together. ONE time, after booting into windows xp, windows identified both the x1650 and x1950, but while it was automatically installing the drivers for them, it BSOD'd. I was under the impression that this configuration was supported by ATi for physics.

Sage Posted : GMT 2007/07/02 22:02:52
Also, thank you for clarifying the voltage issue. The BIOS does show all voltages to be where they should.

Sage Posted : GMT 2007/07/02 22:00:37
Thank you for the prompt reply.

I have tried two new power supplies that both meet the video card requirements.

I also tried using the power supply from my roommate's computer in my computer. All video cards work in his computer, and his computer has much higher power requirements. I have even tried booting with only the motherboard, video card, and fans for motherboard / CPU / video card plugged in. I still have the same problem.

But it surely is not the video card because I do not have any problem with the x800. Only the x1650 (it is a renamed x1600 pro) and the x1950 Pro have this problem.

I also have tried booting with just one stick of memory. I have tried with four different sticks, but they are made by Wintec. Is it possible that the ECS motherboard just does not work well with Wintec AMPX memory for some reason? It seems unlikely.

ECS Support(USA) Posted : GMT 2007/07/02 21:47:14
Verify if the power supply meets the requirement of the video card since several video cards were tested with the same results and the memory module is working properly.

No monitoring software is available for the KA3 MVP therefore, the data being colelcted by the software that were used is incorrect, verify in the BIOS if you wanted to monitor an accurate reading.

 

[FiggyG]

Heh, that's awfully helpful of them. Verify that the hardware is revision 1.0. If it is 1.0, I would go to a 1.0 bios and see if that helps.

 

[Sage]

Heh, that's awfully helpful of them. Verify that the hardware is revision 1.0. If it is 1.0, I would go to a 1.0 bios and see if that helps.

Okay, they cleared up that issue. The hardware is revision 1.0a. It's the only version of the motherboard they have. Th bios is revision 1.1a.




They obviously took a lot of time to read everything I wrote. I'm clearly an important customer....

David Loving Posted : GMT 2007/07/03 19:31:03
As I already wrote, all three pwoer supplies meet the requirements of all three video cards.

Why is the memory not able to run in dual channel mode? According to this ATi site ( http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_9485_9487^9493,00.html ) my processor supports a 128-bit memory bus. According to this website ( http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Pr...59&DetailName=Specification&MenuID=46&LanID=0 ) the ECS motherboard supports dual channel. Why is it that my memory is running in single channel mode?

I am getting VERY frustrated. I need an answer to why the ECS motherboard will not properly run an x1650 or an x1950. It is NOT the pwoer supply and it is NOT the video cards.

ECS Support(USA) Posted : GMT 2007/07/03 16:33:48
The 1.1a is the BIOS version while the 1.0a is the board version. To recognize both PCIE video cards, these needs to be configured correctly in the BIOS under Advanced Chipset features, PCIE Configuration, please contact ATI for detailed specifications on the video cards. The BSOD can be a WINDOWS, driver, memory or hardrive related issue so make sure WINXP with SP2 was installed clean, the most current drivers for the video cards were installed, the memory modules are compatible with each other and working properly. Also, check if the power supply meets the requirements of the video cards.

WOW! SO helpful! They DIDNT EVEN READ where I wrote IN THE FIRST PART OF THE FIRST REPLY that the power supplies I used met the requirements of the video cards. And, of course, they completely ignored where I wrote that the memory is running in single channel, 64-bit mode.

IM GETTING REALLY PISSED AT ECS!

I think I might call them.

 

[Sage]

HOW FUCKING RETARTED ARE THE PEOPLE THAT WORK FOR ECS?

Sage Posted : GMT 2007/07/03 22:33:48
The BSOD is not the problem. I only mentioned it once. It only happened once. Please read what I have sent you. The problem is that the computer will not boot sometimes with a radeon x1650 or a radeon x1950 installed. It will only boot every time with a Radeon x800 installed.

For the memory I purchased a dual channel kit. THE MEMORY STICKS ARE COMPATIBLE WITH EACH OTHER.

ECS Support(USA) Posted : GMT 2007/07/03 20:57:38
Dual-channel or DDR2 memory moduls were tested with no problem found, verify if both sticks are compatible to each other and Optimized Default settings was loaded in the BIOS before installing WINDOWS XP with SP2 fresh from scratch using the KA3 MVP to eliminate driver conflict and cause BSOD. Common hardware that may cause BSOD is the memory, video card, hardrive and motherboard therefore, unless these were tested indivudually it will be difficult to determine the culprit but it can be memory related since the sticks are not running dual-channel even though these are DDR2 memory.

 

[Albuquerque]

HOW FUCKING RETARTED ARE THE PEOPLE THAT WORK FOR ECS?

It almost looks like some sort of "bot" doing the replies, or at least some of them... As if it detects a few keywords and spits out a pseudo-automated reply of sorts. I have no idea how else you'd explain the stupidity that seems to be going on