What could be the cause of this?

dipstick · Jan 24, 2003, 09:52 PM

What could be making games freeze up after 195MHz fsb? I mean I have been able to run Sandras Burn-in wizzard overnight and everything I normally do at an fsb of 210MHz, but games will not run at anything past 195. What could be making anything 3d freeze up? The agp is locked at 66MHz so I don't think it's that. Heat is also not an issue as the chipset never goes over 28C. Any ideas would be very helpfull.
Specs are;
Epox 8RDA(not +)
Athlon XP 2400+
XMS PC3200C2
R9700 Pro

sinjin · Jan 24, 2003, 09:55 PM

when my games freeze its usually due to aggressive memory timing. or the time i split coffee on my keyboard...

jp306 · Jan 24, 2003, 10:37 PM

Because your AGP bus is supposed to be 66mhz and in most bios there is a setting to adjust your AGP bus divider that looks kind of like 1/2 if at 133 and other dividers acording to your bus speed. Most AGP cards will run fine up to 75 mhz AGP bus, but after that it's real iffy. So if your agp bus is set to 1/2 divider it's running at 97.5 at 195mhz fsb and that is no good, but if you can change this to 1/3 divider it would be running at 65 mhz and work just find and if you set your fsb to 210 mhz then your agp bus would be 70 at 1/3 divider and that should work just fine too.

jp306 · Jan 24, 2003, 11:05 PM

Even though your agp bus is supposed to be locked still check divider and you might want to check your pci bus settings as well

Vampyromaniac · Jan 25, 2003, 04:06 AM

Have you read this?
http://www.vr-zone.com/guides/EPoX/8RDA+/
even though it's the '+' version, it prob still applies

Quote:

8RDA+ by default can only be stable up to 200Mhz FSB . . . The most important factor determining overclockability is the VDD (voltage to the nForce2 chipset) and next important factor is the VDDR (voltage to the memories).

Zarathustra · Jan 25, 2003, 06:46 AM

The AGP/PCI are definitely locked on those boards unless you change it manually. It could very well be the Vdd that Vamp linked to. But I'd also play with your memory timings and voltage.

dipstick · Jan 25, 2003, 01:58 PM

Thanks alot for the tips guys. I have tried playing around with mem timings and put them at their slowest, but it's still no go after 195MHz; (running 4/2/2/2 at 195). Even 196 is a no go, no matter what. It probably needs the Vmod, but I'm not sure if I wanna try it yet. It's more than enough for me right now, so I'll leave it as is. Do you guys believe I gained 2k 3Dmarks just by going to the nForce2. I love this board even if it can't do 200

Thanks for all the help

reno · Jan 25, 2003, 11:09 PM

Are you SURE the heat probe is directly under your northbridge? My "system chipset" probe is located on the bottom corner of my board...and remains constant (or variates by 1-2 degrees c) like yours. With Sandra, you aren't stressing the AGP bus almost at all, and if you're locking up at the same speeds Sandra runs overnight on, my guess is the northbridge is getting freaky deaky hot and pooping out.

Just a guess, memory timings would have a noticable impact on Sandra, so I wouldn't say it's that, but it could be.

shuki · Jan 26, 2003, 10:26 AM

have you tried different dimm slot(s)? and have you maxed your vmem?

dipstick · Jan 26, 2003, 09:18 PM

Scratch that. It won't do 200 for more than afew hours

Anyway's it's fast enough at 195. Thanks for all the help

Jan 24, 2003, 09:52 PM	#1
dipstick HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: USA Posts: 3,609 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	What could be the cause of this? What could be making games freeze up after 195MHz fsb? I mean I have been able to run Sandras Burn-in wizzard overnight and everything I normally do at an fsb of 210MHz, but games will not run at anything past 195. What could be making anything 3d freeze up? The agp is locked at 66MHz so I don't think it's that. Heat is also not an issue as the chipset never goes over 28C. Any ideas would be very helpfull. Specs are; Epox 8RDA(not +) Athlon XP 2400+ XMS PC3200C2 R9700 Pro

Jan 24, 2003, 09:55 PM	#2
sinjin the last samurai Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 1,086 Rep Power: 0	when my games freeze its usually due to aggressive memory timing. or the time i split coffee on my keyboard... __________________

Jan 24, 2003, 10:37 PM	#3
jp306 DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 309 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Because your AGP bus is supposed to be 66mhz and in most bios there is a setting to adjust your AGP bus divider that looks kind of like 1/2 if at 133 and other dividers acording to your bus speed. Most AGP cards will run fine up to 75 mhz AGP bus, but after that it's real iffy. So if your agp bus is set to 1/2 divider it's running at 97.5 at 195mhz fsb and that is no good, but if you can change this to 1/3 divider it would be running at 65 mhz and work just find and if you set your fsb to 210 mhz then your agp bus would be 70 at 1/3 divider and that should work just fine too. __________________ "I told my psychiatrist that everyone hates me. He said I was being ridiculous - everyone hasn't met me yet." Rodney Dangerfield.

Jan 24, 2003, 11:05 PM	#4
jp306 DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 309 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Even though your agp bus is supposed to be locked still check divider and you might want to check your pci bus settings as well __________________ "I told my psychiatrist that everyone hates me. He said I was being ridiculous - everyone hasn't met me yet." Rodney Dangerfield.

Jan 25, 2003, 11:09 PM	#8
reno Painlord of Ichor Join Date: May 2002 Location: bloinkin! Posts: 1,610 Rep Power: 0	sfg Are you SURE the heat probe is directly under your northbridge? My "system chipset" probe is located on the bottom corner of my board...and remains constant (or variates by 1-2 degrees c) like yours. With Sandra, you aren't stressing the AGP bus almost at all, and if you're locking up at the same speeds Sandra runs overnight on, my guess is the northbridge is getting freaky deaky hot and pooping out. Just a guess, memory timings would have a noticable impact on Sandra, so I wouldn't say it's that, but it could be.

Jan 25, 2003, 06:46 AM	#6
Zarathustra Elite Bastard Join Date: May 2002 Location: The Confederacy Posts: 841 Rep Power: 0	The AGP/PCI are definitely locked on those boards unless you change it manually. It could very well be the Vdd that Vamp linked to. But I'd also play with your memory timings and voltage.

Jan 25, 2003, 01:58 PM	Thread Starter #7
dipstick HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: USA Posts: 3,609 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	Thanks alot for the tips guys. I have tried playing around with mem timings and put them at their slowest, but it's still no go after 195MHz; (running 4/2/2/2 at 195). Even 196 is a no go, no matter what. It probably needs the Vmod, but I'm not sure if I wanna try it yet. It's more than enough for me right now, so I'll leave it as is. Do you guys believe I gained 2k 3Dmarks just by going to the nForce2. I love this board even if it can't do 200 Thanks for all the help

Jan 26, 2003, 10:26 AM	#9
shuki DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: in the hidden place Posts: 1,975 Rep Power: 0	have you tried different dimm slot(s)? and have you maxed your vmem?

Jan 26, 2003, 09:18 PM	Thread Starter #10
dipstick HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: USA Posts: 3,609 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	Scratch that. It won't do 200 for more than afew hours Anyway's it's fast enough at 195. Thanks for all the help Last edited by dipstick; Jan 27, 2003 at 10:07 PM.