Hey everyone. I recently upgraded an ABS PC with a Athlon XP 2000+, ATi 9700 Pro, SB Audigy, and 2x 512MB Kingston PC2700 ValuRam (One Single Sided, the other Double Sided.) for my dad's friend.
The motherboard was kind of flakey since he bought this PC 3 yrs ago. It would always no matter what, even the day he got it, hang when you rebooted the PC. Well, he Wanted to upgrade to a 3000+, so he decided hell, why not buy a new mobo. The mobo that came with the ABS was a MSI KT4AV, so we bought another. Great, we get everything together, reformat, install all the drivers, and try a game. Damn, it freezes. So we try 3D Mark 2003. That exits out to the desktop with a Send Error Report message.
So, I try different drivers, raising memory voltage, raising AGP Voltage 0.1v, tried Raising timings, tried both of the sticks independantly, etc. Still no go!
Everything is at default now.
Well, today we decided to investigate deeper.
I first swapped the 9700Pro out for a GeForce 2 GTS, to eliminate the PSU as a possible suspect, which btw is the same model Enermax 350w that has powered my PC with my P4 in it, so that should be fine, anyway.
Then we tried the 9700Pro in MY pc, and it worked great!
So, then we tried the 9700Pro in the ABS with my psu, and it still froze, so there again, it isn't his PSU.
Now, that leaves us with the motherboard. I don't think the mobo is busted, so it isnt worth RMA'ing, as another, nVidia AGP card, works in there.
Obviously it's the Motherboard, so what is the best Socket A motherboard out there for reliability, stability, and nice features, and not an MSI.
This PC won't be overclocked, or benchmarked. It's for casual gaming and web surfing.
I was thinking VIA Chipset but don't they have numerous issues with Sound Blasters and ATi's? I was also thinking about nForce, but, they're picky with RAM (aren't they?)
I was looking at SiS, but I've never had any experiences with SiS, except for my friends MSI SiS board that sucked. Maybe cos it was an MSI, but, that's a whole other topic.
Anyway, could someone throw out a few suggestions?
Thank's. And please, try to keep it at a reasonable price. ATX-Size board, for ~$80 or less.
Thanks, again.
I was looking @ the following.
(In order by choice)
Obviously I would buy the Giga-Byte because I have had a flawless relationship with them, so that's why I'm leaning towards it. That EPoX is also nice. The ABIT, is ok.
The motherboard was kind of flakey since he bought this PC 3 yrs ago. It would always no matter what, even the day he got it, hang when you rebooted the PC. Well, he Wanted to upgrade to a 3000+, so he decided hell, why not buy a new mobo. The mobo that came with the ABS was a MSI KT4AV, so we bought another. Great, we get everything together, reformat, install all the drivers, and try a game. Damn, it freezes. So we try 3D Mark 2003. That exits out to the desktop with a Send Error Report message.
So, I try different drivers, raising memory voltage, raising AGP Voltage 0.1v, tried Raising timings, tried both of the sticks independantly, etc. Still no go!
Everything is at default now.
Well, today we decided to investigate deeper.
I first swapped the 9700Pro out for a GeForce 2 GTS, to eliminate the PSU as a possible suspect, which btw is the same model Enermax 350w that has powered my PC with my P4 in it, so that should be fine, anyway.
Then we tried the 9700Pro in MY pc, and it worked great!
So, then we tried the 9700Pro in the ABS with my psu, and it still froze, so there again, it isn't his PSU.
Now, that leaves us with the motherboard. I don't think the mobo is busted, so it isnt worth RMA'ing, as another, nVidia AGP card, works in there.
Obviously it's the Motherboard, so what is the best Socket A motherboard out there for reliability, stability, and nice features, and not an MSI.
This PC won't be overclocked, or benchmarked. It's for casual gaming and web surfing.
I was thinking VIA Chipset but don't they have numerous issues with Sound Blasters and ATi's? I was also thinking about nForce, but, they're picky with RAM (aren't they?)
I was looking at SiS, but I've never had any experiences with SiS, except for my friends MSI SiS board that sucked. Maybe cos it was an MSI, but, that's a whole other topic.
Anyway, could someone throw out a few suggestions?
Thank's. And please, try to keep it at a reasonable price. ATX-Size board, for ~$80 or less.
Thanks, again.
I was looking @ the following.
(In order by choice)
Obviously I would buy the Giga-Byte because I have had a flawless relationship with them, so that's why I'm leaning towards it. That EPoX is also nice. The ABIT, is ok.