Crazy problem, need solution.

Q

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n00b
Joined
May 30, 2005
Messages
18
I've had a reoccuring problem that just bugs me to no end. My system is usually pretty stable, I only have problems playing some higher-end games like Battlefield 2 and America's Army. I currently have the following hardware installed.

Athlon XP 3200+ Barton 400 Mhz FSB
2x512mb Cosair Value Select 3200DDR Memory
Gigabyte 7N400 Pro2 Rev1 Motherboard
eVGA GeforceFX 5900 128mb
WinXP Pro SP2

So I run Prime95 and it fails after 3-4 minutes on Small FFT stress test. I test my voltage with my voltmeter, since I don't trust mobo sensors much, and the voltages seem stable enough under load. The weird thing is I played around with what settings I could alter, and when I bump my FSB from 200mhz down to 166mhz, it runs stable. Now even though I have my FSB set to 166, the memory is still running stable at 200mhz, which makes me think it is a problem with the processor or the motherboard.

Has anyone delt with a problem like this before and can share some tips on how to solve this problem. I'm pretty poor at the moment, so if I can narrow the problem down to a single component I would be much happier. Thanks.
 
hmm, you kind of have to take a gamble, like you said it could be the proc or the mobo. The best thing to do would be to test your proc in another machine if you have that capability(a friends PC for example)

Those kind of problems can be annoying, I had a PSU blow up on me one time and I didn't even know that was the source of the problem, I kept troubleshooting everything else but that lol. Good luck.
 
what temps are you getting?
what type of PSU do you have?
Do you have the equiptment to check the powersupply's power and temps?
 
Arise dead thread, arise!

I've been gone a couple a weeks, now its time to find out whats wrong with this sucker. In reply to the last poster, I have a generic fry's 500w power supply, however on my voltmeter the +12 and +5 checks out very well, I also used one of those ATX Testers and all the rails lit up. As far as the tempatures go, MBM5 reports the CPU at 53C idle /~63C loaded / 35C ambient room tempature. I don't have any equipment to verify that the tempatures. An intresting thing I've noticed is that MBM5 reports my +5v @ 3.1v when my quality voltmeter reads it as 5.2v.
 
Have you tried setting you mobo to "optimal settings" just to see if it was something you tinkered with.

You may have wrote this before, but what is the VOLTage on your CPU set to.

Did you use Thermal compound on your heatsink to cpu?

Please post any other information you can scrounge up.

thx
 
It sounds like a voltage problem definitely. I'd suggest checking out any BIOS updates to start. One of my previous boards was way over voltaging my proc by default, causing all kinds of heat problems. and a little instability. I'd check recommended voltage on the proc, vs. what your board is feeding it.
 
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