lockups... power problems? help

[imported_CyberWire]

first off.. my system info:
athlon 550@650 1.7v
FIC-SD11 m/b
3Dprophet geforce 256
3com nic
netger nic
SB Live!
128mb dimm(major brand)
64mb dimm(major brand)
HP cd-rw(8000 series)
Western Digital 27GB HDD
floppy
aftermarket heatsink/fan combo for the athlon.. 2 fan setup.

All runing on a ABC 235W powersupply.

System runs fine in wondows and normal usage.
I run the distributed.net client 24/7 no problems.(cpu@100%)(closing client doe not help lockups)

I experience lockups intermittently when I play games(Q3, Q2, SOF, sacrifice, any 3d game).
Running current video drivers in windows 2000.

Would getting a more powerful powersupply fix my problems? Any other recommendations? HELP!!!

 

[LeBlatt]

What chipset is the mobo based on ? is it AGP 4x ?

(Geforce + Via KT133) x AGP4x = problems
nvdia and via are still working on it.

if so, try to downgrade to AGP2x. And try detonator 6.47 beta, it solved problems for several ppl, and increased framerates too

 

[Wulf]

I dont think your PS is up to snuff for an athlon or the Geforce(they need lotsa juice too). try 300 watt or better.

 

[imported_CyberWire]

the fic-sd11 is like the FIRST athlon board to come out.. the generic cheap mobo. detonator 6.47 for win2k eh? I'll look into it..

 

[imported_CyberWire]

also.. I have tried "unoverclocking" my athlon... to no avail..
I've even underclocked my geforce by a good 7 mhz(core clock and memory clock). still locks up on me 🙁

 

[imported_CyberWire]

is there a benchmark or stress test thats just for video cards? not necessarily CPU?

 

[CHiMPBizKiT]

I experienced lock-ups too when I was playing games like Quake 3 and UT, and I tried all sorts of things from RAM to my Power Supply. The problem ended up being my overclocked athlon ... so i went a few months @ 550. Determined to OC this sucker, I tried it again the past week and I've been running smoothly with no problems at all. You can try and see if it's a P/S problem (make sure you have 300W). much luck to you man.

 

[imported_CyberWire]

swapped in my dads 250w PS.. and unoverclocked my athlon(geforce still underclocked) and so far its okay.. will do some serious gaming later to stress test it. Anyone know any good stress test software for video?

 

[Dulanic]

Quake 3 loop demo will test it for ya hehe.

 

[imported_CyberWire]

U sure that'll put it at 100% video and low cpu?

 

[imported_CyberWire]

found a registry setting that seemed to help my problems. Found a link to a micrisift.com page that described the problem I was having and a solution that seems to have worked. Thx all for your info.