Yeah I did read pretty much all of your posts too, and yeah i am kicking myself for not having the paitence to have read or searched more in depth before taking my box in.

One thing I am confident about is the store I have took my box into, these guys are not techs for any particular board or company and they breathe building testing and fixing computer systems every day. I have no duobt in my mind they will have my system fixed within 3 hours of being on thier bench, as a matter of faact they pretty much guarentee that.

not sure what your last comment means about unless you pay....... but whatever, I am just posting that I seem to have the same problem, what I have done so far and what is being done to solve it. I am not saying you are wrong or anything with your solution, all i am saying is I am too dam lazy and too impaitent to fix it myself. I also don't have a second compatable computer to swap out pieces on and test... my 2nd computer is an old 566 Celeron Emachines prebuilt and my 3rd is a PIII 500 Compaq Armada laptop, so rather than waste time and effort with my limited knowledge and testing equipment, I simply found it more convienient to let someone else fix my problem.

I got a pretty good feeling after having 3 days of no gaming and reading 100's of posts that you are probably right about it being the power supply, I just hope it didn't damage any of the other components !!!!

hello,
i'm planning to upgrade my system within a week or 2, i was planning to get a powercolor radeon 9800 xt 256 mb, but reading about all the problems here i'm having second thoughts. I admit i havent read the whole thread but from the 7 or 8 pages i read it seems like most of the people that have trouble with it have a pentium. i've got a amd athlon xp 2600+ barton and am planning to get a asus a7n8x-e deluxe and was wondering if anyone knows how well they work well together?

thnx

Well guess what James..... it appears you were right. Powersupply was the cause of my problems.

funny thing is I took a look around the service center at the store, and they have about 25 ANTEC case/ w PSU just sitting there, with tape on them clearly marking "DEAD POWERSUPPLY" so it seems ANTEC is a company that has gone to crap, as from alot of forum reading I have read, most people can't say enough about the quality of thier products.... Now I know Better....


SO ANYONE THAT READS THIS.... IF YOU HAVE AN ANTEC PSU, chances are it is your problem and if it isn't just give it some time and it probably will be. and if your buying a new system, my advice --> Steer Clear of ANTEC !

and for the last guy that posted....

my system is slightly different, but ASUS Nforce Mo/Bo's Kick butt, as do ATI's Radeon 9800xt, as do Audigy2 Soundcards. Like i said previously I have had the system running 24/7 for over a year without any problems, and Have throughly enjoy'd a super quality game/dvd/stream/digital audio experience, so I say go for it, Just stay away from ANTEC PSU's. I'm no expert but I would reccomend at least a 450w PSU, and don't buy a generic cheap one, or a factory prebuilt case with a preinstalled PSU, as that seems to be the heart of the problem many are having.

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the usefull info (and imature negative banter )

I've just upgraded my system to:

AMD XP 3200+
Dual channel 512mb DDR.
Radeon 9800 XT
Gigabtye GA-7N400 pro2

And am getting the random crash (blue screen - hang then reboot - or sometimes windows error) on intensive 3d games.. Battlefield Vietnam is guaranteed to crash within 5 minutes. While others are fine (far cry works a treat)

I've tried everything suggested (except reverting to older drivers) - to no avail including:

- tweaking agp settings
- downloading updated bios/drivers
- plugging gfx card into it's own cable (not shared with other devices)
- disabling other devices

and all i've accomplished is slighty longer gaming session (5-10 minutes more) - before the system fully caves on me.

If i drop my cpu frontside bus down - it lasts hours (albiet it running at 1100mhz) - so it being a power issue looks quite promising.

I've just caved in and have ordered a new powersupply (pretty much my last resort).

THERMALTAKE W0009R Pure Power 420W ATX PSU w/Dual Fan

Will keep you guys posted - if it works - then it's more fuel for the "get a beefier psu" argument

wow i hope you checked the power rates cuz that psu is weak for that card... should got a more epensive one.

Derrick~

Try going into your BIOS or ATI drivers and turn your AGP from x8 to x4 and see if that helps. Just mentioning this because it helped me out.

dang - here are the specs - someone with a clue - please let me know asap if it will have enough juice for my setup. - if not i'll cancel my order

Features & Specifications: Model: W0009 / HPC-420-102 DF
Maximum Power: 420 Watts;
Switches: On/Off switch and voltage selection switch (115V/230V);
Fans: Dual Fan, Ball Bearing, Temp. Controlled: 1300 rpm at 25°C ~ 2400 rpm at 80°C.
P. G. Signal: 100-500ms;
Over Voltage Protection recycle AC to reset: +5V trip point < +6.8V, +3.3V trip point < +4.5V, +12V trip point <+15.6V;
Intel Pentium 4 Compliant:
Unit Size: 5.91" (L) x5.5" (W) x3.39" (H) / 15cm (L) x14cm (W) x8.6cm (H),
Net Weight: 2.5kg;

INPUT:
Input Voltage: 115 VAC / 230 VAC;
Input Frequency Range: 47-63 Hz;
Input Current: 10.0A (Measuring Range 90-132Vrms), 5.0A (Measuring Range 180-264Vrms).
Hold-up Time: > 16ms at Full Load,
Efficiency: > 65%.

OUTPUT:
Max. Load: 40A@+5V; 0.3A@-5V; 18A@+12V; 0.8A@-12V; 30A@+3.3V; 2A@+5VSB;
Min. Load: 1.5A@+5V; 0A@-5V; 0.2A@+12V; 0A@-12V; 0.3A@+3.3V; 0A@+5VSB; Load Reg.: +5% ~ -5%@+5V; +10% ~ -10%@-5V; +5% ~ -5%@+12V; +10% ~ -10%@-12V; +5% ~ -5%@+3.3V; +5% ~ -5%@+5VSB;
Ripple V (p-p): 50mV@+5V; 100mV@-5V; 120mV@+12V; 120mV@-12V; 50mV@+3.3V; 50mV@+5VSB; Connector #: 5" IDE x 7, 3.5" x 2, ATX x 1, AUX x 1, 12V x 1, 3pin x 1; UL, CSA, TU

Let me tell you; I'm running a GeForce 6800GT overclocked on a 380W Antec power supply and it's fine. The argument that all PC problems are solved by a beefier power supply is pure b*lls**t.

A solid quality 420W PS should be PLENTY unless you are running a ton of other devices.

ok trie this try PC-BIOS optimized defaults but disable AGP fast-writes and set AGP to 4x if this dusent help idont no wot will sry if this dusent help no1

Hi guys,

I installed ATI Tray tool and decided to have a play with the overclocking section.

If i drop it down low:
Core speed 295, Memory Speed 218

Everything runs smoothly - played BF Vietnam for over 2 hours - no crashes.

Switched it back up to default (385/284) - and after about 2 minutes i get the blue screen/reboot.

So million dollar question is - Is it still a power issue?.. ie does increasing the speeds suck up more juice?

It could be a heat issue; did you try the suggestion of changing the AGP to x4 in the drivers or BIOS?

Yeah have - and even ran with the case wide open - didn't make a difference

I find this old thread "interesting"

I am running

GA-7N400 PRO2 Rev. 2.0
2500+ @183fsb
(2x512mb) 1GB Kingston Value Ram PC2700/DDR333 @ 183fsb
(2) Maxtor 80GB UATA 133 2mb HDD's RAID0
(1) Maxtor 80GB UATA 133 8mb HDD
SB Audigy sound card
Firewire card
Plextor 8X DVD-RW
Memorex 48x24x48x CD-RW
eVGA 6800GT GDDR3 @ 415/1180
Hardcano 10 (front firewire-USB 2.0-LCD)
FDD
7-1 media card reader
(5) .1 amp case fans
(2) .7 amp case fans (Smart Fan II's)
Volcano 12 w/ .4 amp fan
Tt active mem cooling (40mm fan)
red cold cathode

w/ Antec True Contol 550

runs 24/7

exceeds 5K in 3D 05'

OCGW

PEACE

its the psu, as well as the refresh rate of the monitor but no one ever wants to go out and buy a psu thats not a thermaltake, antec, or enermax because having a modded psu (sarcasm) makes your computer that much better. I've discussed it with ati technical enigeers, mobo maufacturer engineers, and a several companies and repair shops and so far about 10 people i have talked to have fixed there propbelm but adjust the internal bios power up on either the psu, ram, vcard, or all of them or simply installing the psu i recommended with some minor adjustments.

I ran my card on my computer with my old psu which was 460 watts . the 12 volt leg was 17 amps... the 5 volt like 32 amps.. and so on... well i took an extra psu i had laying around.. crossed the main plug so it would turn on and plugged it by itself into my vcard.. booted my computer while monitoring the system board voltages on a several volt meters as well as the system internal meter... well the crashes halted... completely, reversed the test tried just my psu again.. and it died every time.. as the system had to put more out for the games like 3d graphics, ram load, and caching the temp went up but i could also watch my 2 cpu voltages drop.. till the system just went way below what it should have.. almost 9 volts... not 12 anymore.

So i bought an antec... sent it back because it was too weak, bought a thermaltake.. was the same exact psu. Looked at buying a power plug but was like 200 bucks and had a 12volt rating of 30 amps.. instead i went with an A+GBP 550 watt.. had a 12 volt leg of 20 amps, 5v leg of 55 amps and a 3.3 volt leg of 35-40 amps. i rewired the main plug because naturally the connector supplied didn't match my board.. and while i was in it added the 7 molex 12 volt connectors to it so i now have a total of 11... i use every one of them.. and i have 7 64bit pci slots full.. along with the front display panel lights for the fan controllers and 2 harddrives..... i burn dvd's, cd's, and play games with eh egraphics cranked up.. no drop in voltage.. if the fans turn up its minimal loss in voltage.. between .2-.9 volts..

so you say its not power.. maybe you shouldnt say anything unless you know what your talking about.. months of testing and talking to people and helping other people get them to work has proven what it is. Just because you dont' know the answer doesn't mean someone else doesn't.

And also, this is fun fact you don't know.. the refresh rate can also cause the 9800xt or 9600 to crash because the rates get out of sync the computer doesn't know what to do.. but that usually doesn't
doesn't cause a restart.

its the psu, as well as the refresh rate of the monitor but no one ever wants to go out and buy a psu thats not a thermaltake, antec, or enermax because having a modded psu (sarcasm) makes your computer that much better. I've discussed it with ati technical enigeers, mobo maufacturer engineers, and a several companies and repair shops and so far about 10 people i have talked to have fixed there propbelm but adjust the internal bios power up on either the psu, ram, vcard, or all of them or simply installing the psu i recommended with some minor adjustments.

I ran my card on my computer with my old psu which was 460 watts . the 12 volt leg was 17 amps... the 5 volt like 32 amps.. and so on... well i took an extra psu i had laying around.. crossed the main plug so it would turn on and plugged it by itself into my vcard.. booted my computer while monitoring the system board voltages on a several volt meters as well as the system internal meter... well the crashes halted... completely, reversed the test tried just my psu again.. and it died every time.. as the system had to put more out for the games like 3d graphics, ram load, and caching the temp went up but i could also watch my 2 cpu voltages drop.. till the system just went way below what it should have.. almost 9 volts... not 12 anymore.

So i bought an antec... sent it back because it was too weak, bought a thermaltake.. was the same exact psu. Looked at buying a power plug but was like 200 bucks and had a 12volt rating of 30 amps.. instead i went with an A+GBP 550 watt.. had a 12 volt leg of 20 amps, 5v leg of 55 amps and a 3.3 volt leg of 35-40 amps. i rewired the main plug because naturally the connector supplied didn't match my board.. and while i was in it added the 7 molex 12 volt connectors to it so i now have a total of 11... i use every one of them.. and i have 7 64bit pci slots full.. along with the front display panel lights for the fan controllers and 2 harddrives..... i burn dvd's, cd's, and play games with eh egraphics cranked up.. no drop in voltage.. if the fans turn up its minimal loss in voltage.. between .2-.9 volts..

so you say its not power.. maybe you shouldnt say anything unless you know what your talking about.. months of testing and talking to people and helping other people get them to work has proven what it is. Just because you dont' know the answer doesn't mean someone else doesn't.

And also, this is fun fact you don't know.. the refresh rate can also cause the 9800xt or 9600 to crash becauyse the rates get out of sync the computer doesn't know what to do..

I see, instead of putting your foot in your mouth, you like standing on your tonsils with both feet

James, before you put others down as "unknowlegable", remember it is YOU, who took months to diagnose a simple, rookie problem

And a Antec True Control 550 has 24 amps on the 12v rail

OCGW

PEACE

Well it has been almost 4 months since I purchased my Radeon 9800 Pro (sorry originally I stated it was an XT). I pulled it out and let it sit using my Nvidia 5700 without missing a beat. Well, I got a new card the nvidia 6800 256 meg card and guess what?? Yeppers, my system will play Everquest or EQ2 for about 10-15 minutes then just reboot itself. It then comes up with some "serious error". I am now on my way out the door to purchase a quality PS. The power supply in my PC is a noname 400 watt that came with the case. I hooked a voltage meter up to it and WOW, it keep dropping voltage until the reboot. What causes that?
Ken

It could be the circuit that lowers output according to temperature performing "out of spec"

OCGW

PEACE

A few days have gone by now and with my new power supply installed, I have played everything I have wanted to and NO CRASHES. I am really quite surprised that there is so much difference in power supplies. I had a 400 Watt power supply (Link (something brand)) and I purchased a 360 Watt Enlight and I have no problem at all. I hooked up my meters to the Power Supply and there is almost no variance at all. It is so nice to have a PC that I can actually use again. I was told by the warehouse that sold me the power supply that the video cards that require a power supply direct attachment rarely will perform well with cheap power supplies because they are unable to handle steady outflow of power. At this point I would have to agree.
Ken Bell

Ken - we could have told you it was the PSU in the first place if you'd just asked!

Haha