GA-7VRXP and GeForce4? Anybody with these...

[SHoddyCOmp]

I heard over on the AMDMB.com Gigabyte motherboard forums that some people were a little paranoid about using a GeForce4 card in their GA-7VRXP motherboard due to possible compatability problems. Do any of you with this board and any GeForce4's have any problems with it at all, graphics or not? I find this confusing because even on the newegg GA-7VRXP pic of the board-box it has a sticker that specifically says 'Fully Compatable with nVIDIA GeForce4 MX4(NV17) Series Graphics Accelerator.' Why would they need that sticker though if there wasnt a problem? !TIA

 

[SHoddyCOmp]

 

[ReaverX]

Im running 7VRXP and a Gainward GF4 Ti4200 128mb and I have no compatibility issues per say, I do have performance issues which I haven't made an attempt to resolve yet; 25-30 fps in Dungeon Siege with an XP 1900+ and 512 mb PC2700. =/

 

[Czar]

My GA-7VRXP even came with two stickers on the pci and agp slots saying that it works with geforce4

 

[bunker]

Originally posted by: Czar
My GA-7VRXP even came with two stickers on the pci and agp slots saying that it works with geforce4

Mine too. Make sure you see what revision of the board they are complaining about. I know there were various problems (not just video) with the revision 1.0 board, but I don't think any of those have shipped in a long time.

 

[OldHawk]

Originally posted by: bunker

Originally posted by: Czar
My GA-7VRXP even came with two stickers on the pci and agp slots saying that it works with Geforce 4

Mine too. Make sure you see what revision of the board they are complaining about. I know there were various problems (not just video) with the revision 1.0 board, but I don't think any of those have shipped in a long time.

Yes, there were problems with 1.0 boards, but there are also 1.1 boards out there with major stability issues and GF4s. Others work fine. It seems that there is a bad lot (or lots) released. Gigabyte remains silent on the issue. They're also not responding to emails. But it has been reported that the sticker on the parallel port is the Lot #. Boards ending in a B seem to be good (mine is an E). Just search any of the H/W forums for GA-&VRXP AND hang OR Geforce 4.

I've been fighting stability issues with mine since I got it at the end of May except that I have a Radeon 8500. (Also I don't buy crap parts, only name brand - Even though a buddy at work did and he has been running find for months. Go figure.)

I can only run at very modest BIOS settings. Problems range from Blue Screens (Optimal) to random hangs in DirectX and Open GL games (minimal setting). This is at 1xAGP BTW. I was actually able to play JK2 demo all the way through @640x480. (choke)

• Many have gotten results by backing off the FSB to 100MHz. I can't force myself to even try this. (Yes I know I should try it at least.)

• Some users have gotten results by bumping up Vcore and AGP voltages.

• Others have gotten them to work using a huge PSU (450W to 550W) with them. (One user on Tom's hardware compared his hosed system (E, w/ Brand name 400W PSU) with a buddies working system (B, with a 230W no-name PSU).

• Others have completely fixed the problem by RMA'ing them back and getting other lot# / brands.

• Still others have worked around by using lesser video cards GF3s, GFMXs, Etc.

Hope this helps. Sorry for the long post. I'm on a Rant!

If you want more details including my specs go here.

 

[jonnyGURU]

I'm just here to reinforce what OldHawk is saying....

If you have a 1.1 revision board that does not have a lot code that ends with "D", you probably will have stability issues with a GeForce4 video card.

1.1 boards with lot "E" have a problem as do 1.0 boards. 2.0 boards have no problem at all.

The problem is lack of 3.3V distribution to the AGPO slot. Using a HUGE power supply (one with 32A or better on the 3.3V rail) can compensate, but you might as well just get a board that WORKS instead of compensating.

 

[Huma]

my brother bought the GA-7VRX yesterday and had continual lockups with his msi ti4200. we tried everything, including pulling my antec truepower 330w into his machine to no avail.

read about all the problems online, and went back to the shop and exchanged for an asus a7v333 which has been working properly so far.

the asus also pulled more 3dmarks. 8900 vs the 7100 the gigabyte brought back.

after seeing two msi boards die and the gigabyte problem, I think I'm going to stick with asus boards, as they've always been incredibly stable and reliable for me.

 

[Bozo Galora]

apparently, vcore set at +7.5% is absolute necessity with this board

also: from guy on another forum -

"It's ridiculous that no website ever caught any problems with this board while a billion consumers did. My friends at the dealer that imports Gigabyte for Vancouver, BC (there's only one importer for each brand in this city...) tells me that around 1/3 of the GA-7VRXPs that they sold are coming back...

And the other 2/3s probably doesn't see a problem because they're using weak video cards that don't suck the power that GF4 TI's do."

 

[jonnyGURU]

Originally posted by: Bozo Galora
apparently, vcore set at +7.5% is absolute necessity with this board

also: from guy on another forum -

"It's ridiculous that no website ever caught any problems with this board while a billion consumers did. My friends at the dealer that imports Gigabyte for Vancouver, BC (there's only one importer for each brand in this city...) tells me that around 1/3 of the GA-7VRXPs that they sold are coming back...

And the other 2/3s probably doesn't see a problem because they're using weak video cards that don't suck the power that GF4 TI's do."

This is why you should NEVER buy a product because a review site says it's great. I've always tried to say this, but no one has ever listened to me.

Review sites receive cherry picked product from their R&D department.

No real world assessment can be made from a site reviewed product and a truly unbiased conclusion can not be made about said product unless the person writing the review works in an environment that exposes him or her to a lot of product.

If you buy product based soley on a review, you are a lemming.

I've got a bridge to sell you. It got some great reviews.

 

[Huma]

It's ridiculous that the gigabytes with this problem haven't been recalled. There's going to be a lot of people who will be rightfully pissed when they can afford to upgrade to a GF4 only to find out their motherboard can't use it.

 

[jonnyGURU]

I was a bit pissed when I emailed them and asked them waht the hell was going on and they just told me to send all of my boards back.

I was like, "why didn't you call [/i]me[/i] if you knew there was an issue. I've got a few HUNDRED of these boards here!!!

I really like Gigabyte boards. Their boards are actually quite top notch. But this whole 7VRXP issue has left a bitter tast in my mouth. If you take all of the same parts and put it in a 7DXR (essentially the same board but with an AMD 761 chip instead of a VIA KT333) you don't have any problems at all. Gimme a break!

 

[salz]

How did you guys find out that the lot number with an E on the end is messed up and the lot number with a D on the end is fine? I just got one with an E on the end and I don't want to waste my time building if it's going to be messed up again. Should I give it a shot and hope for the best? Or should I just send it back now?

 

[alanhall4]

I've got the GA-7VRXP and a Geforce 4 ti4600, and after a few days of messing with the bios, I did change the vcore to +7.5% and it has been working perfect ever since. I've got a 1.1 board but I haven't checked the letter. I was quite annoyed after I figured out the problem. I thought about sending it back, but since it was/is working perfectly stable now, I decided to keep it.

 

[OldHawk]

It is not just the E boards. I have a 2A3047D with the same issues but I think the D is worse because increasing voltages still does not make mine stable. It's better but not stable.

If you want more info on the data gathered go here. (Note: This will take you to a different forum.)

 

[jonnyGURU]

Originally posted by: OldHawk
It is not just the E boards. I have a 2A3047D with the same issues but I think the D is worse because increasing voltages still does not make mine stable. It's better but not stable.

If you want more info on the data gathered go here. (Note: This will take you to a different forum.)

That really sucks because I got my information direct from 3 different people at Gigabyte. One person I've known for about 3 years.

I guess the bottom line is that you're pretty much screwed unless you have a 2.0 revision of the motherboard. Something I won't have my hands on until Tuesday morning.