My new A8N-SLI rig

TheNiceGuy

Golden Member
Dec 23, 2004
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Hello
If you can help with any of the below, I would be very grateful. Especialy since I am isolated from English support here in Japan! ;)

1) On XP startup, I get a warning about the video card not getting enough power so the system will automaticaly reduce performance to cope.
2) I also get a warning on entering nTune that "The PCI clock is currently set to track the HT bus" and that I should disable it before proceeding.
3) I am trying to run my Seagates in a normal SATA way, no RAID. However, Windows does not recognize the second drive (BIOS does). And there is a "Safely Remove Hardware" message at the bottom of Windows (refering to the Seagates) that appeared after I installed the "Nvidia chipset driver program" from the mobo disk.
4) Additionaly, I ran the nTune auto-tuning for best memory performance (as it said my memory was below benchmarks). On one of the restarts it activates, my PC did something really crazy. [at this point I should mention that I had earlier set up a LAN connection to my old PC through the Marvell Yukon (top) jack.] It turned the power 'on' on my old PC, and started to bootfrom it. I know this becasue the old PC always ran a strange checkdisk during startup. My new PC also ran this checkdisk, but started deleting a bunch of files and then locked at the startup Windows logo. I tried everything I could to fix this (no safemode would activate; Windows install would lock during "checking for previous versions of Windows"; even using "format C:" from the mobo disk DOS), but nothing worked. After an alarming amount of push botton power-offs, I decided to just switch the SATA cables and start again, leaving the original Seagate totaly unconnected. And I am now afraid to hookup the network, or the second Seagate.

Again, any help greatly apreciated! Thank you! :)
 

KGB

Diamond Member
May 11, 2000
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Have you tried running MemTest86 on each of your DIMMs individually?
That's where I would start.
 

TheNiceGuy

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Dec 23, 2004
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I've never used that test, but I'll give it a shot tonight. Perhaps the benchmarks are for faster RAM. The QVL has mine at CL4.
Regarding the wierd 2-computer startup, why during a RAM test?
 

govern1

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Dec 30, 2004
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I know you formatted the first hard drive when you installed XP, but have you formatted the second one? Go to the control panel, administrative tools, computer management, then click on "disk magagment". You should see the hard drive then, but it will need to be initialized and formatted. Right click on the drive, then initialize and format it. The "safely remove hardware" icon is normal when the NVidia chipset drivers are installed. It used to drive me crazy, but I've since gotten used to it. Next, sounds like you need a stronger psu. 400 watt is really not that big. As far as the other issue, I have no idea, but good luck with it. I have not loaded any of the NTune, or similar programs.

Shawn
 

TheNiceGuy

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Dec 23, 2004
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GV1- Thanks so much! I'm at work right now, so i'll give it a shot tonight. The second drive shouldn't freakout when I hook it back up, right?

I can use the Asus program tester to check PSU levels. What is an acceptable level? Here is my PSU:
http://216.239.39.104/translat...sonic/SS-HS/SS-HS.html
It is rated with a combined 29A on the 12V rails. I have everything plugged in that will plug in, including a seperate 4-pin for the EZvideo card connector.

EDIT: I have a couple of minites at lunch at home: Here's the ASUS Probe 2:
12v = 11.712
5V = 4.919
3.3V=3.2
Vcore=1.392
 

govern1

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Dec 30, 2004
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The specs are OK and should be fine for what you are running. But from what I've been reading around the net, weaker dual 12V rail psu's are working out so well. But since you are only running a single 6600gt, you should be fine. Your 12v line looks low to me. It should be up at least 11.90'ish area.
Plugging in your second hard drive shouldn't cause any problems.
Good luck and post back how it goes.
I would consider a different psu in the future, though. It stinks and can get expensive, but the psu is one of the most critical parts of your computer. It's like having the fastest sports car possible, bu then filling it with low-grade, water-contaminated gas. It just wouldn't run right.

Shawn
 

TheNiceGuy

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Dec 23, 2004
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Bad PSU? Really?
:(
Where I live it will be a pain to RMA. And the PSU came as a pre-built set with fans and case. I might have to rebuild the whole system if I RMA.
I haven't had the chance to fiddle with the system yet, but will post back any developments. Thanks again for your input!
 

Dethfrumbelo

Golden Member
Nov 16, 2004
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Nonsense! Seasonic makes the best PSUs along with Zippy, both of which are used by PC Power & Cooling. They have the best efficiency and very tight rails (when properly measured with a multimeter).

You may want to move up to a 500W Seasonic S12, but the 400W should be enough for your current rig. I'd like to get the Seasonic 600W S12, but they don't sell them in the US yet.

The reason you're getting the PCI clock warning is because you haven't locked it. Go into BIOS and set the HTT frequency (ASUS calls it the CPU frequency for some reason) to any value other than 200, like 201, and that will lock the PCI bus.
 

TheNiceGuy

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Dec 23, 2004
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Deth- I would be very happy if the PSU is OK! I was wondering, because this model retails for slightly MORE than the equivalent Antec True.
I went into BIOS to change the HTT/CPU speed. But it looks like an OC option. I am not interested in OCing, just wondering why I am getting a warning message about insufficient power to my GPU at startup (says hardware may get damaged, so it lowers performance levels!). Any idea what's up?
 

govern1

Member
Dec 30, 2004
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I never said "bad". I said the 12v rail is low. 12.71 volts is not what I would call "optimum". That was all I said. Having a low 12v rail can cause all sorts of problems.
I didn't mean any offense at all.

Shawn
 

Dethfrumbelo

Golden Member
Nov 16, 2004
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Originally posted by: TheNiceGuy
Deth- I would be very happy if the PSU is OK! I was wondering, because this model retails for slightly MORE than the equivalent Antec True.
I went into BIOS to change the HTT/CPU speed. But it looks like an OC option. I am not interested in OCing, just wondering why I am getting a warning message about insufficient power to my GPU at startup (says hardware may get damaged, so it lowers performance levels!). Any idea what's up?

Does your video card have a 6-pin power connector on it? If so, use the 2x4 pin molex --> 6 pin molex adapter provided with the card.

Govern1 is correct about the 12V rail being a little on the light side:

I have a Seasonic 460W Silencer, but it has all 26A on one rail. So my mobo has access to all 26A.

You have 29A split between 2 rails, which means 14A on one and 15A on the other. So the motherboard only has access to 15A maximum. The 14A line is dedicated to the other devices - HDD, opticals, graphics (through a separate molex). This is my understanding of how dual rails work, but I'm not absolutely sure this is correct.

Now that I think about it, I believe the 6600GT does not have a separate power connection, so it relies entirely upon the PCI-E slot to provide all its power. This may be your problem. The mobo is probably being asked to power itself and the 6600GT with only 15A. If this is the case, then that would explain your problem.

My 6800GT has the separate 6-pin power slot which I connected directly to the PSU, so it doesn't need to rely upon the mobo as much.
 

TheNiceGuy

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Dec 23, 2004
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Damn. So I need to buy a new power source? Is there any way to join the rails? Perhaps an adapter?
If it can't be done, can I RMA the PSU (a faulty PSU), or is it my loss (a bad choice)?