P4 Hyperthreading Problem

C

CEpeep

Supreme [H]ardness
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Oct 23, 2004
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I think there's something wrong with my P4 or the way I have it set up. I'm running a P4 630 in an ASRock Dual-915GL mobo.

Whenever I do something that pushes my machine to the limits (usually games), one of the virtual CPUs will max out (50% usage for the machine) and effectively lock up. Anything running on that virtual CPU will become unusable and crash. If I turn Hyperthreading off, the whole CPU maxes out and crashes the box. During gaming, my CPU seems to get up around 70C. Is it running too hot? Is the processor defective? If anyone has any ideas on how I can fix this, please let me know. I have already tried reinstalling the OS (Win XP) and the drivers on the off-chance that it was a software problem. Any help is greatly appreciated.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that I'm not overclocking or anything. Running strictly stock at this point.
 
sounds like you are runing too hot, check your case airflow and make sure your hsf is seated properly, also what are your ambient temps

a p4 with HT will display in windows as a physical cpu and a logical cpu (i dont think it is labeled) , but it shouldnt show up as more than one cpu
 
pstang said:
sounds like you are runing too hot, check your case airflow and make sure your hsf is seated properly, also what are your ambient temps
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Airflow seems ok. There don't seem to be any obstructions in the way of the airflow. CPU temps idle are about 55C. I had some problems installing the HSF (It's just the stock Intel one) but assumed I had it on right in the end as it was firmly stuck in place.

pstang said:
a p4 with HT will display in windows as a physical cpu and a logical cpu (i dont think it is labeled) , but it shouldnt show up as more than one cpu
Click to expand...

What I am referring to is in the Task Manager, under Performance where it shows the graphs for CPU activity, there are 2 similar graphs that show each CPU. Sometimes it is the 1st one that gets maxed out, sometimes it is the second one. When it happens, the line on the graph goes all the way to the top of its graph and just stays there.
 
CEpeep said:
Airflow seems ok. There don't seem to be any obstructions in the way of the airflow. CPU temps idle are about 55C. I had some problems installing the HSF (It's just the stock Intel one) but assumed I had it on right in the end as it was firmly stuck in place.

55 degrees is pretty hot for idle, i got a 640 and it idle at 37-42 degrees with winamp and msn messenger running.
Click to expand...
 
I would highly recommend pulling the heatsink off and reseating it because that chip should not be that hot. If it's not making proper contact it would explain why your temps are so high and why your PC keeps locking up.
 
And if intel is still using the gray gunk and foil sandwich, you're going to have to get all of that off and make sure the surfaces are completely clean before putting new thermal paste and the HSF back on or else your temps may still be bad.
 
CEpeep said:
I think there's something wrong with my P4 or the way I have it set up. I'm running a P4 630 in an ASRock Dual-915GL mobo.

Whenever I do something that pushes my machine to the limits (usually games), one of the virtual CPUs will max out (50% usage for the machine) and effectively lock up. Anything running on that virtual CPU will become unusable and crash. If I turn Hyperthreading off, the whole CPU maxes out and crashes the box. During gaming, my CPU seems to get up around 70C. Is it running too hot? Is the processor defective? If anyone has any ideas on how I can fix this, please let me know. I have already tried reinstalling the OS (Win XP) and the drivers on the off-chance that it was a software problem. Any help is greatly appreciated.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that I'm not overclocking or anything. Running strictly stock at this point.
Click to expand...

It's not defective, just runs way hot. I sport the P4 630 in my game server and when I slapped that puppy in with a Directron P12 (http://www.directron.com/p12heatsink.html) with an 80mm Antec fan, it idled at 72C. I couldn't even install Windows without it locking up.

I ended up blowing some $$ on a Coolermaster Aquagate Mini (http://www.ninjalane.com/display.aspx?docname=aquamini ). Cheap little thing and I didn't have to bother with building a WC setup piece by piece (even though I'm in the process now of doing it). While the temps feel high to me, they are perfectly acceptable in terms of Prescott temps. It rolls at 50C and stays there regardless of what I do.
 
I guess the HSF was on wrong or something. I just reseated it, replaced the "gray gunk" with Arctic Silver 5, and now I'm getting idle temps of just under 40C (37-38) as opposed to 55C. Don't have time to test out games right now, but at least I took care of one problem.
 
Well, even though the temps are lower, that still didn;t fix it. :(

It just locked up again about 20 minutes ago with the same problem. Does anyone think it could be a faulty CPU or motherboard? I wish I knew what was causing this so I could take care of it. It sucks not being able to do much with my computer. :(
 
i would lean toward it being a mobo problem before i considered it being the cpu.... ASrock isnt known for being top of the line :(
 
pstang said:
i would lean toward it being a mobo problem before i considered it being the cpu.... ASrock isnt known for being top of the line :(
Click to expand...

Ok, I suppose I can have Newegg RMA it, though I've never had a problem with ASRock before. I guess I'll keep trying stuff here, but if I run out of options, that'll be my fallback.
 
{bmf}CrackSmoke said:
you turned hyper-threading on in the BIOS correct? Mine was turned off when it shipped from th efactory
Click to expand...

It came turned on from the factory.
 
{bmf}CrackSmoke said:
but does it say you have 1 physical and 1 logical proccesor in your Device Manager?
Click to expand...

The device manager says I have 2
Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz
devices. The properties panels look exactly the same. I can't tell if it thinks one is physical and one is logical from those windows. What's the best way to tell?
 
well if it says you have 2 and you know theres only one than HT is on. Try cleaning up your system, virus check, Spyware check, ect. you know all that stuff could just be a dirty system. Good luck
 
{bmf}CrackSmoke said:
well if it says you have 2 and you know theres only one than HT is on. Try cleaning up your system, virus check, Spyware check, ect. you know all that stuff could just be a dirty system. Good luck
Click to expand...

It's a brand new install of WinXP Pro. It was doing the same thing before I reinstalled and I thought reinstalling would fix it.
 
try running memtest86 (google will find the download for you). If it shows some errors, that may be your issue.
 
RAM is brand new, and I've already tested it.. The problem was happening before I added new RAM as well.
 
{bmf}CrackSmoke said:
did you get the computer from Dell,Gateway,HP,ect.?
Click to expand...

CEpeep said:
I think there's something wrong with my P4 or the way I have it set up. I'm running a P4 630 in an ASRock Dual-915GL mobo.
Click to expand...

Dude! Lay off the crack for a sec. This is a custom pc. :cool:

Can you post more detailed system specs please.
RAM (maker, type, and ammount):
Hard Drive (w/connection):
Video Card (AGP/PCI-e):
Power Supply (maker and Wattage):
Extra Cards (sound, NIC, etc...):

This should help with the diagnosis.
 
ICE_9 said:
Can you post more detailed system specs please.
RAM (maker, type, and ammount):
Hard Drive (w/connection):
Video Card (AGP/PCI-e):
Power Supply (maker and Wattage):
Extra Cards (sound, NIC, etc...):
Click to expand...

RAM: 1GB (2X512MB) Micron DDR333
HD: 120GB PATA WD
Video Card: MSI GeForce FX 5900XT
PS: Enermax EG365P-VE 350W
No additional cards (mobo has everything built in)
 
I talked to my dad about it this evening, and he thinks it's a faulty processor. It's a retail version, so I think I might try and RMA it. If anyone else has any tips, feel free to speak up.
 
CEpeep said:
I talked to my dad about it this evening, and he thinks it's a faulty processor. It's a retail version, so I think I might try and RMA it. If anyone else has any tips, feel free to speak up.
Click to expand...

Any chance you or a friend might have a spare P4 to test with?
 
Josh_B said:
Any chance you or a friend might have a spare P4 to test with?
Click to expand...

No. I don't know anyone who uses 775 equipment. We do use a lot of 775 equipment at work though, but the machines are all Dells and I'm not taking them apart.
 
CentronMe said:
How us the PSU performing under load?
Click to expand...

I used to have some software that would tell me how many volts it was outputting, etc, but I forget the name. If you can point out a piece of software like that, I'll post results, though I've never had a problem with this PS before. It used to run 6 HDs and a CD ROM in an Athlon server.
 
you could try motherboard monitor, although it's not been updated in a while-- it might still support the thermistors on the board.

if not, you might see if there's a temp monitoring prog provided by the mobo manufacturer.

out of curiosity, did you verify memory compatibility? there's a compatibility warning on asrock's manual for your board. and is there a setting other than "on" for HT? or is it just an AUTO setting?
 
I looked into MBM before. It doesn't work with this mobo. It also doesn't look like ASRock has any monitoring programs for this one.
 
ChronicTrees said:
This might be a little off topic but why are you running only 333mhz memory?
Click to expand...

Because that's what I have. :p Spending $100 to upgrade to 1GB 400 isn't worth it to me, at least not right now.
 
CEpeep said:
Because that's what I have. :p Spending $100 to upgrade to 1GB 400 isn't worth it to me, at least not right now.
Click to expand...

Gotcha, it probably wouldn't cause your problems anyways.
 
well, if the processor is moving on a quad pumped 200MHz front side bus. 200 x 4 = 800MHz FSB.

Ram works in parallel. usually using 400MHz in a pair 400 x 2 = 800MHz. That would put it equal to the processor speed.

If you are using DDR333 (BTW 333MHz x 2 = 666MHz) and have the FSB at 200MHz you are probably overclocking the memory by 134MHz possibly causing these errors.

Also, running the "MSI GeForce FX 5900XT" with a Prescott 630 processor with only a 350W power supply seems a bit much to me.

Try this, it may seem stupid but its worth a test:

Set your FSB at 167 MHz. That should set it and the ram at equal speeds. You processor will slow down but should still work with the hyper-threading. Run the system. See how it handles. I have never did this myself, but it sounds like an interesting test.
 
ICE_9 said:
Set your FSB at 167 MHz. That should set it and the ram at equal speeds. You processor will slow down but should still work with the hyper-threading. Run the system. See how it handles. I have never did this myself, but it sounds like an interesting test.
Click to expand...

Ok, I'll give it a shot. Also, I have another power supply that I was considering giving a shot, too.
 
ICE_9 said:
Also, running the "MSI GeForce FX 5900XT" with a Prescott 630 processor with only a 350W power supply seems a bit much to me.
Click to expand...
Having actually had this problem with two seperate systems, I'm willing to bet that you're sucking more power than you really have available. These two systems hated my guts and replacing the PSUs made them uber stable.
 
GilmourD said:
Having actually had this problem with two seperate systems, I'm willing to bet that you're sucking more power than you really have available. These two systems hated my guts and replacing the PSUs made them uber stable.
Click to expand...

Ok, I have a Whisper PS that's also 350W. Hopefully it'll put out a little more juice than this Enermax. If not, I'll check out the FS Forum and get a used 400W.
 
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