ECS nforce4a-939 locking up like crazy

[AkumaX]

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: AkumaX
On-board sound is really staticky and fuzzy. WTF is up with that??

LOL, that's almost "normal" with onboard sound in a sense. I use onboard sound in my LAN gaming rig and one pair of good headphones will pick up some static and buzzing from HDD/mouse, but using other headphones or regular speakers won't exhibit those anomolies. Why do you think add-in soundcards such as the Audigy are still so popular? "Sound Quality" is one of the reasons - the other being lower CPU utilization.

hah! its really bad.. like, scratchy and unbearable. i've owned other ECS boards (like 755-a2, nforce3-a, a jillion k7 series), but this has to be a serious defect. I'm wondering if i should jsut format and reinstall windows to see if it's a driver problem. Otherwise looks like another trip to Fries (and this was a brand spankin' new board too ).

Core 1's crapping out every second it gets. I think my max stable o/c is 242 x 10, regardless of what vcore I use. I tried lowering Hammer FID to 9x in bios and it didn't work. Heat's not an issue (i'll post a pic of my messy masterpiece tomorrow), so I'm hoping maybe a better board would do it, you think?

excellent... priming x 2 right now for 52c. then added on s^m for 58c!!!

 

[Zap]

A "better" board may or may not help the overclock. I picked up an Abit KN8 board with a 3200+ and have been testing both CPUs in that board. The x2 3800+ from Fry's gets about the same exact overclock with either the Abit or the ECS board - 2.5GHz stable at default, about 2.6GHz stable with a vcore boost and it won't POST much higher than that. I've lowered the multiplier and tested the Abit board all the way to 300MHz system bus on all default voltages so I know the board is capable of it. My 3200+ is even worse, not reaching 2.5GHz stable on default voltages and sometimes not POSTing at 2.6GHz. 2.4GHz seems around maximum for it at default voltages. If you look in the CPU category you'll see many posts saying that the newer CPUs don't seem to be hitting as high a speed. I don't know if AMD was actually able to explicitly do something that would cause the CPU to not work past a certain GHz, but more likely they are just being speed binned better. The truth? Who knows, other than there is a tendency for newer steppings of slower CPUs to not overclock as high.

 

[weid83]

I've been getting same lock up issues under heavy load of the usb bus and/or ide drives running xp sp2. This is not really a fix but I reformatted and installed xp 64bit edition and it's been rock solid every since (2 days now) reencoding videos for my psp directly onto a memory card (using the usb bus). So might want to consider using xp 64bit edition and nvidia's 64 bit drivers (not off of ECS's site).

Athlon x2 3800
ECS A939
Antec TruePower 2.0 480watt
Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS
Windows XP 64bit

 

[AkumaX]

Originally posted by: weid83
I've been getting same lock up issues under heavy load of the usb bus and/or ide drives running xp sp2. This is not really a fix but I reformatted and installed xp 64bit edition and it's been rock solid every since (2 days now) reencoding videos for my psp directly onto a memory card (using the usb bus). So might want to consider using xp 64bit edition and nvidia's 64 bit drivers (not off of ECS's site).

Athlon x2 3800
ECS A939
Antec TruePower 2.0 480watt
Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS
Windows XP 64bit

is there a 64-bit encoder for the psp? if so i might jump ship... (i know there's a 64-bit xvid encoder for virtualdub). usually i just use 3gp converter for psp movies n stuff

 

[Grisbane]

Darley,

I had about the same setup as you and almost as many problems as well. Went back to Fry's and the salesman recommended trying different RAM. I ended up buying 1 stick of Kingston DDR 1GB 3200 HyperX and installed it. I've not had one problem since swapping out the memory. The only downside is that the new memory was more expensive and I lose out on the $30 rebate from the value ram.

CHIP: 3800+ X2
Removed RAM: Kingston KVR400AK2 Dual Channel DDR 3200 1 GB (2x512MB)
Replaced RAM: Kingston KHX3200A DDR 3200 1 GB
Display:
Video Adapter RADEON X700 Series Secondary (256 MB)
Video Adapter RADEON X700 Series (256 MB)

 

[lonnieh]

Hi, I signed up for this forum just to tell you guys that I bought the same combo, before the 'ultimate sale' for 350, and now I'm stuck with a motherboard with broken USB 2.0 support. It took me a while to finally figure this out, I originally thought the problem was related to the drivers, but hours upon hours of tinkering showed me that when the USB is backed down to 1.1, the board works just fine. After finally finding this forum and another forum, where users reported that these 'combo' deals had issues with USB, I am really beginning to understand exactly why the board is practically givin away... my guess is that Frys payed next to nothing for them, and they are an excellent selling point.

 

[weid83]

Originally posted by: AkumaX

Originally posted by: weid83
I've been getting same lock up issues under heavy load of the usb bus and/or ide drives running xp sp2. This is not really a fix but I reformatted and installed xp 64bit edition and it's been rock solid every since (2 days now) reencoding videos for my psp directly onto a memory card (using the usb bus). So might want to consider using xp 64bit edition and nvidia's 64 bit drivers (not off of ECS's site).

Athlon x2 3800
ECS A939
Antec TruePower 2.0 480watt
Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS
Windows XP 64bit

is there a 64-bit encoder for the psp? if so i might jump ship... (i know there's a 64-bit xvid encoder for virtualdub). usually i just use 3gp converter for psp movies n stuff

You actually can just use the 32bit 3gp converter on windows 64 bit (I use 3gp and pspvideo9). Just remember to install Quicktime 7 from Apple. You can just basically all 32 bit codecs, encoders and players like before, but using them won't give you the slight speed boost from the 64 bit versions (like the 64bit xvid encoder).

 

[AkumaX]

Originally posted by: weid83

Originally posted by: AkumaX

Originally posted by: weid83
I've been getting same lock up issues under heavy load of the usb bus and/or ide drives running xp sp2. This is not really a fix but I reformatted and installed xp 64bit edition and it's been rock solid every since (2 days now) reencoding videos for my psp directly onto a memory card (using the usb bus). So might want to consider using xp 64bit edition and nvidia's 64 bit drivers (not off of ECS's site).

Athlon x2 3800
ECS A939
Antec TruePower 2.0 480watt
Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS
Windows XP 64bit

is there a 64-bit encoder for the psp? if so i might jump ship... (i know there's a 64-bit xvid encoder for virtualdub). usually i just use 3gp converter for psp movies n stuff

You actually can just use the 32bit 3gp converter on windows 64 bit (I use 3gp and pspvideo9). Just remember to install Quicktime 7 from Apple. You can just basically all 32 bit codecs, encoders and players like before, but using them won't give you the slight speed boost from the 64 bit versions (like the 64bit xvid encoder).

oh yeah, well i knew that but there's really no point in running x64 if you don't have any programs to go with it (we have the OS, the drivers, but how many 64-bit programs are you going to use?)

If you go x64, and only install 32-bit apps, what's the point? So far, the only thing I have that would use 64-bit code is vdub-x64 + xvid-x64, deerpark x64 (a.k.a. firefox), prime (i guess), winrar/7zip, and speedfan (i think). but those aren't the primary applications that i use all the time (except for deerpark)

yeah, we all bought 64-bit procs (its not like AMD gave us K8's w/o 64-bit (except for semprons, but even those are changing to 64-bit, and those don't have the full 512kb or 1mb cache)), but is it now the time to install XP x64? are there enough programs that utilize x64 to jump ship? we know x64 is the inevitable future, but is the future here now?

 

[Paintballfreak66]

The ecs I have for my intel, the L4VXA2, had a similar problem from frys. I took it to them, they inspected it and said that it was messed up somehow( can't remember exactly what) and that a new board was the solution. Frys was nice, they charged me the $80 dollar diagnosis and then gave me a new board for free. Just my ten cents about my ecs board history.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Paintballfreak66
Frys was nice, they charged me the $80 dollar diagnosis and then gave me a new board for free.

These boards usually cost less than $80 from online retailers.

 

[DragonGC]

lol i joined these boards just because of this topic.

i have a similar problem with the same frys combo

AMD x2 3800
ecs nf4-a939
ocz 2x512
ati x800 xl
maxtor 200gb
antec smartpower 2.0 500W

i can use the computer, but i would get a bsod when i was 5 mins into battlefield 2 game (not including menus). then i thought it was ram and i tried the ram one by one and i had to turn the game settings down and the bsod went away. so then i put both sticks in and played again w/ low settings and still no bsod. but when i turned the settings up, the game gave me a bsod, but after about 2 hours of gameplay.

so do u guys think this could be a video card problem or the mobo? also i get the weird static in my headphones when i play bf2.

 

[AkumaX]

I found out the static only happens when I use VLC. ????????

 

[DragonGC]

yeah some other forums are saying that there are conflicts between the onboard sound card drivers (realtek?) and video cards (mostly ati). would getting a new mobo be the only way to fix the problem?

 

[Zap]

That, or getting a new sound card. Some hardcore gamers/hardware freaks swear by PCI sound cards and swear at onboard sound, no matter what motherboard. If still available, the Chaintech AV710 is a decent value sound card. It uses the VIA Envy 24T audio chip and is a nice value at $25. Supposedly doesn't do EAX as well as an Audigy2, but you won't be using EAX with headphones.

 

[AkumaX]

sound fixed!!! its called "Install Official Drivers" kept thinking that the Nforce Driver Set included sound, but that was only true back in the nf2/soundstorm days.

edit: actually, its more like "don't use the drivers that came with XP", and d/l the Realtek ones off of ECS's site.

 

[Paintballfreak66]

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: Paintballfreak66
Frys was nice, they charged me the $80 dollar diagnosis and then gave me a new board for free.

These boards usually cost less than $80 from online retailers.

Yes I understand that but they should have charged me the $80 for diagnosis AND the price of the new board since it was out of warranty.

 

[DragonGC]

diagnostics... if they charged u the price of a new board, im guessing they just said it was broken...

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Paintballfreak66
Yes I understand that but they should have charged me the $80 for diagnosis AND the price of the new board since it was out of warranty.

Yeah, their 14 day warranty eh? Well, if it's working now, so be it.

 

[bboy]

Originally posted by: AkumaX
sound fixed!!! its called "Install Official Drivers" kept thinking that the Nforce Driver Set included sound, but that was only true back in the nf2/soundstorm days.

edit: actually, its more like "don't use the drivers that came with XP", and d/l the Realtek ones off of ECS's site.

The nForce drivers do work for the Realtek right?

b

 

[AkumaX]

Originally posted by: bboy

Originally posted by: AkumaX
sound fixed!!! its called "Install Official Drivers" kept thinking that the Nforce Driver Set included sound, but that was only true back in the nf2/soundstorm days.

edit: actually, its more like "don't use the drivers that came with XP", and d/l the Realtek ones off of ECS's site.

The nForce drivers do work for the Realtek right?

b

well, it didn't work for me perse, i ended up going to Device Manager and manually installed the Realtek drivers by updating the Nvidia ones instead.

 

[SubKamran]

I'd like to add something.

I just bought the following:

* Abit Kn8 SLI Motherboard
* AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice
* Sapphire X300SE 128MB

And I get lockups every once in awhile... it happened when I tried restoring a Valve Steam software backup (for my games) and again when I chose to screw that and re-download the games (it got half way, so downloading only took about an hour).

Everything else works... I don't know if it's a Steam thing, or an SATA issue (I use two WD SATA 200GB drives).

Also, when it locks up, my sound screws up BAD, like I have to turn off the speakers it's so horrible.

Here's my specs:

* CPU stock settings
* OCZ 1GB (256x4) EL PC3200 DDR @ 2-2-3-6
* Sound Blaster X-Fi
* Windows XP SP2
* Updated BIOS, Updated nVidia nForce4 drivers (everything except the firewall and network manager), updated AMD drivers (everything)
* Sparkle 480W Power Supply
* Two WD 200GB SATA-I Drives
* Lite-On DVD-RW

The two times I left it on, I was restoring the Steam backup so I think that was the reason. I just put all of this in yesterday so I haven't had time to leave it on with nothing running.

I copied the Steam backup installer (3.4GB) from my DVD to the hard drive and it didn't lockup... so big file transfers seem to work (I was reading a forum topic on people having trouble with large files and nForce4).

I wish I could figure this out. My Intel P4 was working fine, but I needed an upgrade... I wish it just worked.

If I install XP 64-bit edition, can I still use my normal games and programs? Someone said it worked fine after they did that, and it might fix my problems.

 

[SubKamran]

Alright, fixed.

Solution?

A posting on Nvidia forums:

Maxtor HD Model: MaXLine Plus II, 250GB SATA/150 HDD, 7Y250M0
Mobo: ASUS A8N-SLI

Symptoms:
A) Experienced random broken jpg images in Firefox
B) Most downloaded installshield software would fail w/ corruption errors
C) putty, while 'top'ping a remote server would give 'corrupted packet' or similar error.

Fix:
0) Memtest86 passed.
1) Latest BIOS + Drivers (x16 version 6.82)
2) Removed NVidia Parallel-ATA Driver, used MSFT one. NV SATA remains.
3) BIOS Manual DRAM Speed 333Mhz
4) Running Drive in PIO Mode in the Windows Device Manager driver config, tab: [Primary Channel]. Checkbox 'let bios control' is OFF.
5) Completely disabled the NV Firewall + Shield stuff

I had 1 (all latest), didn't do 2, #3 was the magic option. I only turned off NCQ and I didn't install 5. It also fixed my slow booting.

So it seems that NCQ and the memory were the solutions... at least for me. My test was to try and play Counter-Strike: Source. It would either lock after loading or lock at a certain point in the map. After lowering to DDR333 it never gave me a problem. Only thing I can see is that it is slow after disconnecting and slow quitting... but I don't think that's a hardware problem.

I'll let you know if this situation changes.

 

[Zap]

The RAM problem is that though it is rated for such a speed, running 4 sticks with socket 939 is still not optimal.

 

[SubKamran]

Originally posted by: Zap
The RAM problem is that though it is rated for such a speed, running 4 sticks with socket 939 is still not optimal.

It's too bad, because my last computer ran it fine However, I see no decrease in performance, so I'm fine...

 

[Zap]

Was your last computer socket 478 with a dual channel board?