From: Jeff McConnell :Subject: [PCBUILD] BP6 + GeForce DDR + SB Live +
Quake3 Lockups??
> I've been having some lock-up problems in Quake 3. The video freezes and
> the sound stutters until I do a manual reset. This happens randomly after
> playing for a while (anywhere from 2 minutes to 30 minutes) under both
> Windows 2000 Professional and under Windows 98 SE. I am NOT trying to run
> Quake3 with r_smp set to 1 under win2k. Other than this problem in
Quake3,
> the system runs very stable.
>
> I think it may be an IRQ problem that only shows up when really pushing
the
> system. I do have ACPI enabled, and PnP OS set in the bios, with the IRQs
> assigned by the system. This is very similar to the BE6-2 bios setup
(with
> the ability to set IRQs for PIRQ), so maybe some of you guys (and gals,
> Mary) running other Abit motherboards can help. I just haven't found much
> in the way of recommendations for what IRQ to assign to what PIRQ.
>
> I know I have 3 problem children in this system: the Abit BP6
motherboard,
> a GeForce 256 DDR, and a SoundBlaster Live. My complete configuration is
as
> follows:
>
> Abit BP6 (flashed to current RU Bios, was running the QQ Beta Bios)
> 2 Celeron 366s (not overclocked at this time, but normally stable at 550)
> 256MB PC 100 RAM (2 x 128MB)
>
> Guillemot Prophet GeForce 256 DDR-DVI (AGP)
> SoundBlaster Live! Value (PCI)
> 3com 3C905B 10/100 Network adapter (PCI) @ 10mbit on cable modem
>
> 2 IBM ATA 66 Hard Drives (currently on 33, seems fine on 66)
> Pioneer IDE DVD
> Memorex IDE CDRW
>
> PS2 Keyboard (MS Natural Pro) with USB hub plugged in
> Microsoft Explorer USB Mouse (plugged into keyboards USB hub)
>
> COM2 and LPT1 disabled in the bios.
>
> If anyone has any suggestions on card arrangement and PIRQ assignments, I
> really think that might help. The BP6 shares AGP + PCI1, PCI2 is by
itself,
> PCI3 shares with ATA66, and PCI4 shares with PCI5. I currently have the
NIC
> on PCI2 and the SBlive on PCI4, but have tried them in the reverse
> configuration also, without any better luck.
>
> I also have a USRobotics 56K Faxmodem (ISA non-winmodem) and a WinTV PCI
> TV/Radio Tuner card, but have them pulled right now. Putting the TV tuner
> in PCI1 or PCI5 does not seem to effect anything. I am running the Hard
> Drives as Slave and Master on the IDE1 (33) with the ATA66 disabled, but
it
> has not helped. The DVD is Master and CDRW is Slave on IDE2 (33).
>
> I do not believe it is a heat issue - I have large global-win
heatsinks/fans
> on the CPUs, a PCI card cooler (the one with 2 waffle fans on a bracket,
> that blows across the PCI cards), front case fan blowing in, p/s and upper
> back case fan blowing out, an exhaust fan by the CPUs, plus a drive bay
> cooler. The processors do not get above 90F, even when overclocked to
550,
> and the lockups happen regardless of overclocking. The GeForce card is
> running at stock speeds.
>
> I have a 300W power supply, but it is just a generic one. I have a
> (assumed) higher quality InWin 250W power supply that I will probably try
> using next.
>
> I have re-installed both Operating Systems multiple times. For the SB
Live,
> I am running Liveware 3 under windows 98, and have tried both Liveware 2
and
> the standard win2k drivers under win2k. For the GeForce I am using nvidia
> reference drivers for the GeForce, and have tried everything from 3.76 -
> 5.30 under win2k, and 5.30 under win98.
>
> Sorry for the long post. Funny thing is I probably still left something
out
> :)
>
> Jeff
> mailto:[log in to unmask] or mailto:[log in to unmask]
> ICQ # 4850952 or 20689623
>
Jeff,
You can check your I/O voltage in the BIOS under "Chipset Features Setup
Menu" on the left hand side. I believe it is labeled VIO. The GeForce DDR
requires at least a voltage of 3.26 to run and for some people they have
found to run reliably they need at least 3.28. Unfortunately your
motherboard does not allow for tweaking the I/O voltage, so if it is not
high enough then you will have to replace the power supply.
It would be helpful to know which IRQ's have been assigned to each device by
the system. You can check the IRQ assignment in Device Manager. I would
suggest disabling ACPI and PnP OS and assigning the IRQ's yourself in the
BIOS. To help, I will need to know which IRQ's are assigned to the devices
now. Also I believe that the USB shares an IRQ with PCI slots 4 and 5.
If your voltage is correct, then you should check a heat issue for the
GeForce cpu and memory. Since your motherboard does allow for monitoring
cpu temperature, you could just move one of the sensors to the GeForce cpu
to monitor the temperature of the GeForce to check for a hot GeForce cpu.
Some people, including me have had luck adding a Case fan on the end of the
card (half of the fan below the car and half the fan above the card) blowing
air across the cpu and the memory chips to keep them cool.
What settings do you have the AGP Aperture Size setting in the BIOS set to?
Some other things to check in your BIOS are the following:
Assign IRQ to VGA (or video) - Find this somewhere in your BIOS set it ON or
AUTO.
Video BIOS cacheable - disabled.
Video BIOS shadow - disabled.
VGA Palette Snoop- disabled.
PCI Palette Snoop- disabled.
C8xxxx-CBxxxx Shadow- disabled
Also check the following:
1) Change the RAM into another RAM slot (usually the slots furthest from the
CPU).
(2) Change the ram settings to CAS3 from CAS 2.
(3) Disable ACPI in Windows 98/95.
(4) Disable any virus checking programs running in the background
Hope this helps,
Mary Wolden
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