Alright, I give up!!! Someone help me out here!!! UPDATE: Problem solved!

[JackBurton]

Ok, this is REALLY pissing me off now! I can't even play a game without my machine freezing up on me. Here are my specs:

XP 1600+
SVC GC68 HSF
ECS K7S5A (latest BIOS)
512MB (2x256) of Crucial PC133 CAS2 memory
80GB WD SE HD
Creative 5X DVD (yes it sucks)
LiteOn 8/4/32 CDRW
Radeon 8500LE
SB Live! Value
USB Robotics 56K modem
Antec 1080AMG with Antec 430W True PSU

Ok, this is what's happening. If I run 3dMark2001SE, it will hard freeze (requiring a reboot) somewhere around the car scene or sometimes it will make it to the "MaxPayne" scene. If I play Quake III it will freeze in about 15-20mins. If I start Max Payne, it will freeze during the intro. So my next test I played a high quality DivX movie to see if I could rule out the 3D element. Well, I got through about 15-20mins of it and it hard froze again. For my next test I ran Prime95 torture test to rule out the video card all together. Well it ran for about 5-10mins and it hard froze. Since Prime95 doesn't stress the memory, I'm about to rule that out too. Right now I'm looking at the motherboard or CPU. What do you guys think as I'm about to ditch the CPU AND motherbaord! :|


Another little bit of information... I had another case before this Antec and my CPU ran at ~52-54C idle but the above kept happening. I thought it was a heat issue so I bought another case (the Antec). Now I'm running 44C idle and 50C max but I'm still having the same problems.

 

[Belegost]

Ok, first thing, take out one stick of the RAM, and see if that helps. The K7S5A has some issues with multiple sticks of SDRAM. Try putting the one stick in both slots as well. Also, in the BIOS slow DRAM timings down, use Safe, I know your RAM is supposed to be CAS2 but it may not be living up to spec.

Your PSU should be enough to power this, but if you can borrow a different PSU with at least 200W TCO on the 3.3v and 5v lines, that would be good to test.

If the moving the RAM around doesn't change anything, take everything off the board except the video, one stick of RAM and the HD. If you can get that to run stably (most of the time you can) then add hardware one piece at a time.

Also, you can find a lot more help on the OCWorkbench ECS forum. Some of the most knowledgable people on the K7S5A are there.

 

[paralazarguer]

"It's time to once again put some focus on this subject.

Many posts in the "Problems with K7S5A" section about instability/freezing are in many cases directly or indirectly related to chipset overheating. The feedback from many users solving their instability problem speaks for itself.

Often, the chipset heatsink re-mounting is the last thing K7S5A owners try when working on an unstable setup. But it should really be the first thing to do (also on systems running just fine). Of course there will be situations where a (small) modification to the original setup of the board like the heatsink fix would be problematic, if for example you are considering an RMA. In theory, it will void your warranty, because it is a physical modification to the board. Some would say that it is not a modification, but more a needed fix for a production flaw at ECS. One can only guess why ECS (and many other motherboard manufacturers) uses double-sided tape to mount the heatsink, double-sided tape is not a good heat conductor, on the contrary. A guess could be that it's because is a relativly inexpensive way (massproduction-wise) to do it.

You can re-mount your chipset heatsink this way:

Gently twist off the small orange heatsink on the SIS735 chip. You must twist it back and forth a few times to get it loose. When you have it off, "roll" of the tape from the chip with a finger and try the same with the heatsink (the heatsink side will be more difficult, you may have to use some rubbing alcohol to get it off). When both chip and heatsink is clean, reattach the heatsink with a thin layer of thermal paste (the same stuff you use for your CPU) and four drops of glue in the corners to keep it in place. Apply pressure while the glue hardens.
You can also use a thermal adhensive (heat-conductive epoxy) to attach the heatsink without the use of thermal paste. If you plan to overclock a lot, or just want to be on the really safe side, you can also choose to mount a bigger heatsink, for example an old 486 og pentium heatsink.

If you touch the heatsink on a running system (under full load) mounted with double-sided tape, the heatsink will not feel particularly hot, only lukewarm. If you then reattach the heatsink properly and touch it again under the same conditions, it will be much hotter. This is an indication of the heatsink is now doing its job, not being held back by the tape not transfering heat from the chip. "

 

[JackBurton]

OH YA!! Thanks alot guys, but after I posted this I said, "what the hell, let me just try one stick of memory." I'm using one stick (256MB) and everything is ROCK SOLID! I completed 3DMark2001SE, ran Prime95 for a good while and everything looks great. It looks like the issue with multiple SDRAM is still present. I might be purchasing a single 512MB stick of DDR memory very soon. As for now everything looks great! Thanks guys!

 

[paralazarguer]

Great to hear. This board sometimes requires brand name memory. Instead of buying a single larger stick you might be able to save some money getting another smaller one but of a better quality.
Hope that helps.

 

[JackBurton]

This board sometimes requires brand name memory.

Dude, I had two sticks of Crucial memory in it. Not only that, but it was CAS2. I ran this memory at CAS2 flawlessly at 133MHz on my other machine (PIII600@800). Also, Crucial is the recommended memory for this board. I'm just not one to buy cheap no name memory.