Help! MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum Video Issue

[josborne]

I purchased a Neo2 and Athlon 64 3500 recently, and am having issues with the video.

The system seems to display strange extra characters randomly in BIOS and DOS with any video card I have, and with a new 6800GT all sorts of video mayhem breaks out.

I have tried it with 2 different video cards that both perform correctly in other PCs.
Everything is mounted correctly.
This happens with no other devices (cards or drives) connected to the system.
I have tried it with a Thermalright 420 watt PS and an Antec 550 watt PS.
I have the latest BIOS installed.
The system runs cool and has plenty of airflow and cooling.
The video card's refresh rate is within the monitor's specifications.

The system runs Windows perfectly other than the display problems, which are unacceptable.

Has anyone run into a similar problem?

Any other ideas I can try before I RMA it? Im almost afraid to get another one, and am almost considering getting another brand motherboard at this point.

Just really disappointing to finally upgrade after waiting a LONG time (four years), and then have your new toy not function properly and drive you slowly insane.....

Thanks for the help.

 

[Aries64]

Hi Josborne,

Thta is really a bummer to hear that you are having problems with your (new) K8N Neo2. I have the same board now, as well as an Asus A8V Deluxe Revision 1.02A. I haven't really had problems with either board, although occasionally I would get bands of fine vertical stripes running through the monitor. Usually a simple "Log Off" and then log back in would do the trick, but occasionally I would need to re-boot. This was with a Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB equipped with a Zalman ZM80C-HP (heatpipe).

Today I received my new HIS Excalibur X800 XT Platinum card from SuperPC Mart! I uninstalled the Catalyst 4.8 drivers and application suite I was running and installed the ATI drivers off the CD that came with the board. Runs like a dream!

Anyway, is this a completely new system with a fresh OS install or have you just upgraded the mobo, CPU, and video card? When you upgraded your video card to the 6800GT:

(a) Did you un-install the drivers for the old video card? Maybe there are some old drivers playing havoc with your new card. It happens.

(b) Have you tried pulling out the cards in your system and re-seating them. Sometimes that does the trick. Maybe try switching the location of the cards around a bit? This also works sometimes.

If this doesn't work I would RMA it. The K8N Neo2 seems to be a good board - you probably got a buggy board. Teething problems with a new socket and platform.

 

[josborne]

Thanks.

These problems occur even on a fresh installation of the operating system, and even happen in BIOS and in a boot into DOS, without using Windows, so I think it is going to be fairly hard to resolve.

 

[Aries64]

Josborne,

Hmmm...sounds like a bad board to me. I would talk to the tech staff at the company you bought the board from and get an RMA number from them. They'll test it (hopefully they will be able to duplicate the problem on their test system(s)). If they don't encounter the same problem at least once then they will probaby not replace the board for you. They'll just send your board back with a note stating that they tested the board and it operated normally.

ITS' IMPORTANT THAT YOU CONTACT THE COMPANY RIGHT AWAY, AS MOST WILL ONLY GIVE YOU A 15-30 WINDOW FOR A DIRECT REPLACEMENT OR CREDIT. AFTER THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO GO DIRECTLY TO MSI. Actually, this might not be a bad thing if you live locally (Los Angeles).

I wish you luck...