is my computer stable

[leeperpsu]

if my computer does 25 loops of 3dmark2001se and 125 loops of sandra max3 burn-in tests....is that stable?

also is there such a thing as fluke reboots....where you'll play a game for couple hours and it restarts out of nowhere? first time its ever done it.

could having fast writes enabled cause your computer to be slightly unstable after hours of gaming?
also could having a video card that is overclocked too far cause system restarts?
my video card has slight artifacts when running 3dmark03 when it rebooted from my game.

 

[Jeff7181]

A lot of things COULD cause a lot of things to happen. If you're getting artifacts or tearing in a game your video card's RAM is clocked too high. Back it down 5 Mhz at a time until you don't see ANY artifacts or tearing, then back it down 5 more so you're not right on the edge of stability.
If you're getting random reboots after a couple hours of gaming, it's probably heat and/or voltage related. It's odd that it would take THAT long... but, if you're on the edge of stability, it may just be a matter of time until a combination of negatives occur at the same time and cause a reboot or lockup. I'd set the CPU back down to 2.4 Ghz even... and maybe run your video card at 340/320... you're not going to see a few Mhz difference, but it can be the difference between a perfectly stable rig and one that reboots every now and then for no apparent reason.

 

[leeperpsu]

thanks for the input.

so if i'm getting artifacts and/or tearing in a game its my video card ram? how do you know if you've reach the limits of either the gpu or ram?
cause i get this checker board crap in 3dmark. but i get no tearing.

could agp voltage cause any negatives if set too high? i have mine set at 1.6v should i put it back to 1.5 or raise it to 1.7?

 

[leeperpsu]

bump bump bump it up

 

[Corporate Thug]

use the omega drivers, they have an artifact tester

 

[leeperpsu]

where can i get them?
do they allow overclocking without a program like powerstip or radclocker
and lastly...are they dependable and at least up to par with ati's 3.6 version driver?

thanks!

 

[topdog]

omega drivers:
http://www.driverheaven.net/downloads/index4.htm

 

[Gerbil333]

Originally posted by: leeperpsu
if my computer does 25 loops of 3dmark2001se and 125 loops of sandra max3 burn-in tests....is that stable?

also is there such a thing as fluke reboots....where you'll play a game for couple hours and it restarts out of nowhere? first time its ever done it.

could having fast writes enabled cause your computer to be slightly unstable after hours of gaming?
also could having a video card that is overclocked too far cause system restarts?
my video card has slight artifacts when running 3dmark03 when it rebooted from my game.

25 loops of 3DMark 2001? No way! I do 1500-2000 tests of 3DMark 2001 (about 125 loops) overnight with Prime 95 and Winamp in the background! Try that instead. 25 loops is nothing. Yes, you can get reboots. XP is set to automatically restart when you BSOD, so it could be that. If it wasn't a BSOD, then your PSU may be too weak..

Fast Writes is known to possibly cause instability. Disable it and see what happens. Of course having a video card OC'ed too far will cause problems. Usually just freezes and/or image corruption, but I don't see why it wouldn't cause restarts. You ARE getting artifacts, so wth are you OC'ing it that far for? That'll kill your card AND cause instability! Clock it back down! I gaurantee you the gain is hardly noticeable...heck crashes or a fried card are a LOT more noticeable!

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: leeperpsu
where can i get them?
do they allow overclocking without a program like powerstip or radclocker
and lastly...are they dependable and at least up to par with ati's 3.6 version driver?

thanks!

they actually bench better than the regular cat 3.6 and come with a built in OCing utility

 

[leeperpsu]

well i'd just tried the omega drivers and switched back to cat 3.6

the omega drivers made games look choppy.

the utilities with the omega drivers were a waste of time...the artifact tester basically did jack. it said i had zero artifacts, so i tried 3dmark and it looked like my computer monitor was going to explode.
the overclocking utility is just radclocker. which you can get anywhere and install it with your cat 3.6 cp.

 

[VisableAssassin]

could also be your cpu not getting enough juice.
what vcore are you running?
also i dont trust 3dmark for any type of stability testing if your system cant pass 24 hours or more or a prime95 torture test it isnt stable if you can pass prime for 24 hours or more with no errors then take a look at the video card which is where you are at now.

 

[leeperpsu]

well i have a Tt giant II coming today so after work i'm gonna install that and see if it helps the overclockability of my video card. by the way i think it was the fast writes that made my game crash cause i played a whole night of max payne and ran fine. then i did a cpu utility test for 6 hours last night and was a ok.

anyone have any experience with the giant II video card cooler.

 

[bjc112]

Leep,

Forget about looping Sandra's burn in, just run Prime 95 overnight, if it makes it, you have great overclock stability... You are however doing the right thing looping 3dmark for the video end..


Why not back that 9700 pro back a tad like Jeff said...

Also i think bumping the FSB to 210 might help, that extra 11-12 mhz might be all it neeeds to push it over the top...