Problem with new PNY GF4 Ti4200 64mb and Biostar M7VIG-Pro - PLEASE HELP

[Myystical1]

Ok heres my problem:
About two weeks ago I bought a PNY GF4 Ti4200 64mb AGP video card
I also bought a Thermaltake G4 VGA Copper Cooler kit, with heatsinks for ram, GPU, and a 6000rpm fan for the GPU.
This card was to replace my old PCI Radeon 7500 64mb
So I put it in, and everything loads fine, except I notice one thing
My 3.3v rail on my 350w PSU had dropped from its normal 3.23 to 3.12!
I tried playing a 3D game, and after about an hour of play, my computer restarted. I played the game again, this time the computer restarted sooner into gameplay, about 15 minutes in. I tried again, and this time it restarted right when the game loaded. I had no idea what was going on. I posted my problems on other forums, and they all said it was probably a bad PSU, because my 350w was a generic brand that came with the case, and that it couldnt handle the load of the new video card. So, rather than buy a new PSU, I tried a dual PSU rig. I used the 350w generic to power the motherbaord, and plugged everything else into a 250w antec. Everything booted up and worked fine on the dual PSU, except the 3.3v rail on the 350w generic PSU was still at 3.10!! I tried playing the 3d game (postal 2) with the dual PSU setup, and my computer still restarted! I was still convinced, though, that the problem was with the power supply. So I went out and bought myself a new Antec 400watter. I plugged everything in, and waited for the hardware monitor. But, the 3.3v rail on the new 400w antec with the Ti4200 in is a low 3.07!!! So I decided it wasnt a PSU problem, as im sure the antec 400w can handle a ti4200 and everything else in my case. I also knew it wasnt a heating problem, because my card stays cool with the Thermaltake fan and heatsinks on it. So I decided to finally email PNY tech support, and here was their response:

Dear Customer:
Thanks for your e-mail. PNY graphics cards only use 1.5 volts and does
not support 3.3Volts. You need to change your motherboard if you want
to use Ti4200 graphics card.

In my tech support form though, I didnt tell them what motherboard I used, so I guess they just supposed that the problem was my motherboard. Heres the thing though - I cant find ANYWHERE on the web wether the AGP slot on a Biostar M7VIG-Pro is a 3.3v or 1.5v slot! Its not in the manual, on the biostar website, or anywhere! So now I believe the problem with the dropped 3.3v rail and restarts during gaming is the motherboard AGP slot compatibility with the card. So Here are my questions:

Will getting a new motherboard, probably a A7V8X-X, fix my problem? (I.E. the 3.3v rail jumps back up to around 3.25, and no more restarts during gaming)
Or is there some way to change the AGP voltage through bios?
Does everyone agree that the problem is a compatibility one between AGP slot and my ti4200?

Thanks a lot to anyone who replies, this problem is really bugging me.

My Rig:


AMD Athlon XP 1700+ with 2500rpm Speeze heatsink + fan
PNY GF4 Ti4200 64mb AGP (replaced stock fan with Thermaltake GF4 VGA Copper cooler and fan, with heatsinks on memory.
512mb stick PC2100 DDR generic
400w Antec PP412x PSU
30gb Maxtor HDD
2gb Fireball HDD
52x/24x/52x Liteon CD-drive
Toshiba DVD-ROM CD-drive
no floppy drive
Biostar M7VIG-Pro
Windows 98SE 4.10, Build 2222

 

[SilverBack]

Any motherboard that supports an XP processor will support the nVidia 4200

In your BIOS turn off fastwrites
Turn off video shadowing
These two things will cause the problems you are describing.
Also the 1st pci slot next to the nvidia card CAN NOT be used.
nVidia cards hate sharing IRQ's which the 1st PCI slot does with the AGP slot.

 

[Myystical1]

K thanx, ill try those solutions
I know fastwrites is off, but ill check video shadowing
oh and the pci slot next to it has nothing in it

but if i wanted to use the fastwrite feature, would i have to get a new motherboard, or is it a problem with the video card?

 

[Myystical1]

OK
Fastwrites was already off
I disabled something called Video BIOS Shadowing
and theres nothing in the PCI slot next to the AGP (or any of the PCI slots)
and the 3.3v rail is still at 3.09, which probably means itll restart during gameplay..im kinda scared to try though, because the restarts taht occur during gameplay probably arent good for the card or the system.
anyone else have ideas as to what could be wrong?

 

[Myystical1]

bump

 

[Myystical1]

someones gotta have some ideas about this!

 

[Boobers]

Here are some thoughts...YMMV

1. Find out what voltage your APG slot actually is. Maybe somebody here knows? If your motherboard doesn't support 1.5v cards, then the rest of these thoughts do not apply. Make very certain you have the correct voltage at the AGP slot.

2. Did you properly remove all the old ATI drivers/control panel?

3. Even at 3.07v, that reading, while low, is only 7% below 3.3v (which is within accaptable range...YMMV)

4. Power off and try clearing the BIOS (usually a jumper on the motherboard. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about). Then go into the BIOS and select "Load Defaluts" (it might be worded differently in your BIOS). Save changes and exit. Boot and see if the video problem still exists. If it does, try this a few times in a row, just to make sure. (Some BIOS's are very stubborn about saving ALL the data to the chip that it should. Sometimes a few saves will cure this)

5. You say: "...replaced stock fan...my card stays cool..." This disturbs me, as my 4200 is very, very warm to the touch at profer operating temperature. If the heatsink feels cool, it is not making proper contact with the core, thus not transfering heat. This will cause the GPU to overheat and show visible artifacts on the screen or lockups. Are you certain you properly applied the thermal compound between the core and the heat sink? Although, I've never seen a overheated GPU restart a computer.

6.Usually (for me, at least), a restart is caused by a bad PSU, or a very bad IRQ conflict, caused by the motherboard BIOS, itself. While I'm thinking of it, make VERY sure you have the latest BIOS for your motherboard. This is very important.

7. Is "Int First" (or whatever it's called in your BIOS) set to AGP in the BIOS (not PCI)? Also, disable any extra onboard stuff that you don't use, like the serial, parallel and game ports.

Good luck!


BTW, Yes, I think a new motherboard would fix this problem. I would suggest the Asus A7N8X-E (but it's ATX). I have one and it is easily the best motherboard I've ever had.

EDIT: Oh MY, that Biostar is a Micro-ATX with a VIA chipset and onboard Savage video? Are you using the latest Hyperion motherboard drivers? Have you disabled onboard video in the BIOS? Are your memory slots DDR only, or 2+2? That board sure is cheap... The quality of the manual should embarass the manufacturer. Here's the Compatibility Report from Biostar's site. The closest thing to a 4200 listed is a GF4 MX440... that board is old...

 

[Mem]

I tried playing a 3D game, and after about an hour of play, my computer restarted. I played the game again, this time the computer restarted sooner into gameplay, about 15 minutes in

My friend had a similar problem with his ATi 9600XT and nforce2 board ,now the way he solved it is this, basically he moved some of the PCI hardware devices around and reconnected his PSU leads to his hardware(so there was no lose leads causing a short etc).I`m thinking it was an IRQ conflict with another component.

You could try minimal hardware setup and see how it goes then add the other PCI hardware one at a time,feel free to move them around.

 

[Myystical1]

Hmm well I dont have any PCI cards in, just the AGP Ti 4200....how do I go about installing the latest version of my Mobos BIOS? I have a .pro file that i downloaded from the biostar site

 

[modedepe]

Hmm I agree with boobers it could be some sort of heat problem. I doubt psu is the problem, since you've switched to a nice hefty one, but I'm surprised your 3.3v is sagging so much. Your system doesn't look like it should require that much power. You could always test with a voltmeter to see if that value is correct.

 

[akshayt]

call a mechanic