Intel i850 Chipset doesn't work with 9700pro? Why not?

[Spiffae]

long problem here, let me give you the whole story.

I recently reformatted my computer to try and stop random crashes while playing 3d games, and when it didn't fix the problem, i realized that my problem was my Geforce3, so i replaced it with a Radeon9700 Pro. While the computer stopped crashing, i assumed all was well. Now, however, i'm getting performance in certain games that is far below what i expect, and far below what other people running the same game with inferior systems are getting. after a tech support post on a gaming messageboard, i got this response:

"Um, I had this exact same problem with my GF3Ti200.
I'm spotting that the video card says PCI under the device stuff. (in dxdiag.txt)
There is a SEPERATE driver for true AGP support for your MOBO. I didn't know that, and even though I selected AGP in the BIOS, it was "AGP in PCI Mode" in display properties.
So I installed the AGP drivers and whoosh! from 20-30 fps normal to 50-70 normal, everything maxxed out but clouds. With spikes up to 80 fps.
Also, I increased the apeture in the BIOS to 256."

I looked around for this "setting" and realized he meant a driver for the motherboard. I went to intel's site (i have an intel D850GB motherboard) and looked around. they have something called the motherboard INF update which aparently covers AGP, so i downloaded it, and installed it. no change. Now if my card is indeed stuck in AGP as PCI mode, then i'm completely lost. Anyone have any ideas? It seems like i'm stuck at or below the performance level that i had before i upgraded.

Tried resetting the BIOS (nothing)
Tried removing the ATI Radeon 9700 (Secondary, PCI) in the device manager (nothing)

Could this be a motherboard problem? With my old Geforce 3, (which started causing crashes on my system, but worked fine on other systems) I would max out when looking level at 43fps. a random number, but 43 it was. Cities, forests, and whatever else, would drop that number, but nothing except looking straight up into the sky would allow me to surpass that. With the 9700 pro, that limit is still there. The FPS go higher when i look up, and stay a bit higher, but they should be a lot higher, i believe. I don't have a "Motherboard" category in the Device Manager, should i? Maybe it is recognizing the AGP port, but is just stuck providing slow AGP? i really don't know where to go from here, because i'm obviously not getting the performance i should be getting, and i haven't really got many more options.

 

[Spiffae]

Then, i start finding other people with the D850GB motherboard (the one i'm running) having the same problems. here are some quotes.

"I think I have found someone suffering like I am. I too have an i850 chipset (ASUS-branded mobo P4T-E). I've got a 1.6 GHz P4 and a Radeon 9700 PRO, 512 MB RDRAM with SBLive sound.
I have just run the (ingame) benchmark, and get around 19 fps, no matter whether I have FSAA, Anisotropy, 16/32 bit on or off. I have tried tweaking XP to reduce memory-hogging services. I have turned sound hardware down or off. I have tried DirectX 8.0, 8.1 and 9.0, and many versions of ATI and third-party drivers. I have upgraded by mobo BIOS. But nothing gives me any joy at all, certainly I am nowhere near fps reported by (the moderator) and many others. (the moderator) suggested a new CPU and RAM."

that doesn't sound promising...is there a known issue with the 850 series mobos and 9700 pros?

 

[mechBgon]

Better send the R9700 Pro over to me for testing

Did you try increasing the AGP Aperture in your motherboard's BIOS as the one guy suggested?

 

[Spiffae]

yes, i did. no result.

 

[mechBgon]

This may be relevant: Driver Installation Order Recommendation

 

[Spiffae]

I'm really not looking forwards to a reformat, but it could come down to that.

What a phenomenal drag it could be if that didn't fix it though, huh?

Another thing i left out before: The geforce 3 that was causing crashes before was given to a friend, who now uses it without any problems on his system. Makes me think my mobo is screwy.

 

[Thor86]

Hmmm, perhaps resetting your motherboard bios to default and re-installing the OS (following the general install procedure of OS>mobo drivers>updates>hardware drivers) may help.

I have no issues whatsoever with my P4T-E and 9700 Pro.

 

[Storm]

Bump for an update on what mechBgon suggested?

 

[Spiffae]

i'll let you know in two days...that's when i'm doing it.

 

[Spiffae]

Here's your update...no change.
I posted a new thread about this: the end of my life.

 

[mechBgon]

Arrrrgh! Ok hmm... what power supply do you have? Hopefully it's a quality brand with good regulation and ample power?

 

[Spiffae]

It's a Chieftec "ATX 12v" and it has a "max load" of 420w. It has 18a on the +12v rail, 30 on the +3.3v rail, and 40 on the +5w. I got it as a replacement for a 300w one i suspected in the beginning of this whole ordeal, and found no difference.

 

[mechBgon]

Hmm, probably a Turbolink/generic unit then I'm tempted to say "don't despair, it's nothing money can't fix" but the first thing I would try (and I imagine someone will come along and take offense at this suggestion), is a quality-brand overkill power supply, the first one on my list being an Antec TruePower 430.

I guess it goes without saying, but you do have the auxiliary power pigtail plugged into the video card, right? And you've got the auxiliary 12V 4-pin plug plugged into your motherboard? Have you looked at the game manufacturer's site for patches that might address this?

I'll also rummage through the manual tomorrow and see if I see anything else to try. Setting video RAM to USCW instead of UC would be a good plan, if it has that option. Disable Video RAM Cacheing if it has that enabled, too.

 

[Spiffae]

First, i appreciate your quick help. I doubt it's a power problem for a couple reasons, but of course, i'm always ready to try something new. My system is almost designed to not weigh very heavily on the PS. I use an externally powered USB hub for all my power consuming periphs. I have a DVD drive and a CDR, but one is external, so i keep it off unless i need it. I don't have much in the way of PCI cards that could be drawing (sound, video, and ethernet) and yes, i do have the four pin connecter attached. I had that thought right before you replied. I checked, and everything is plugged in, nice and snug. I have an intel system monitor that can monitor voltages, and all mine are right where they should be. I have been playing the game for a long time, so no, there are no patches. It seems like i'm stuck at the speed of my old Geforce 3. For some reason, my frames per second with the GF3 would top off at about 43, and though they are more consistent, they still seem to top off there. The 3dmark thing is really weird too.

 

[Spiffae]

out of curiousity, i disabled "write combining" in the troubleshooting section of advanced graphic options. everything reduced to 1fps...is that normal?

 

[Spiffae]

Nevermind about the 3dMark thing...i had AA on, and that was killing the DX8 tests. 3dmark runs fine, as far as i know.