General: I Need Help - Radeon 3870x2 Reboots on Windows Startup

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  1.  
    • CommentAuthorajelcocks
    • CommentTimeDec 30th 2008
     

    Hello, I came to your (old) forums a looong time ago and you were very helpful then, I hope you can help me now. I am runnig out of ideas :(
    I built a new machine, Gigabyte X48T-DQ6, Intel Q9550, 2MB OCZ PC3 14400, Antec 1000W TruePower and VisionTek Radeon 3870x2 1GB

    When I first built it I installed Vista, managed to boot and everything seemed fine, but I got the occasional spontaneous reboot in games. Then, about a month after, the pc kept rebooting after the windows loading screen disappeared before showing the desktop. I suspected the video card, given the problems I had been having. Swapped it with an x1900, and that worked fine.

    I told VisionTek and they RMA'd me (what they tell me is) a new board, but I still get the same behaviour.

    I can install XP with the 3807x2 and windows starts, but if I run the dxdiag for direct3d the machine hangs and eventually the machine reboots. Sometimes I manage to cancel the test. When I do I see a "VPU Recover has reset your graphics accellerator" message.

    Note: I can get into a fresh install of Vista (at 640x480x4bit) and install Catalyst drivers. But once that happens I get the continuous reboot. If I run recovery and restore to the point before installing catalyst, then Vista starts

    Could the (2nd) graphics card also be 'bad' ?

    The (first) card did work for a while and then stopped. The new card wont work - which would suggest the condition is in the motherboard ? ... but the x1900 works

    The x1900 only has 1 power connector, 3870x2 has two - could it be the power ? But it XP works, if it was power wouldn't it happen all the time ?

    I am so lost ! Any thoughts you guys have would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks
    Anthony

    (sorry for the long post)

    •  
      CommentAuthorClubBarf
    • CommentTimeJan 2nd 2009
     

    A 1000W PSU should have more than enough grunt to run that card. 3 of them, in fact. No sweat. As for XP working vs power, a GPU sucks up much, much more power when under load. Same as a CPU does.

    It could be a driver issue. Try installing older drivers. Sounds like a power issue to me, or a faulty GPU, but it's worth a try.

    I'd recommend you check your PSU's manual and try to find out if the rails that supply your motherboard are the same rails that supply your molex and PCI-e power connectors. If they are, then try getting molex to PCI-e adapters and running your card off different rails to your motherboard - a Q9550 sucks up a fair amount of juice, and if you're running everything off one rail, you might find that rail only has 250W of available power (I think your PSU is quad rail)

    I think it would be dumb of Antec to put the PCI-e connectors on the same rail, but I don't know for sure.

    Try making sure that the two power connectors for the graphics card are on different rails.

    If you're still having trouble, take the card out and stick it in another machine. If the problem transfers itself to the new machine, RMA your card again. If they send you another faulty card (or the same one back again) then you can probably ask for your money back since the product is unfit for purpose under law.

    Try marking the card with a UV reactive pen before you send it back if you think they just sent you back the same card.

    • CommentAuthorajelcocks
    • CommentTimeJan 4th 2009
     

    Thanks for the reply.

    The PS has two leads labeled as PCIe, which I am using. I believe they come off the first rail, because the PS is part pre-wired and part modular. The modular connections are labeled 2,3 and 4. I have the hd on 2 and the dvd on 3.

    But I don't think it's the PS.
    I have done some more tests and think it may be the mobo.

    To summarize...

    Box 1: ABit AA8 DuraMax, Intel P4 3Ghz, 2x1MB RAM, Antec 650W
    Box2: Gigabyte X48T-DQ6, Intel Q9550, 2MB OCZ PC3 14400, Antec 1000W TruePower

    OS on both Vista SP1 with Catalyst 8.2 or 8.12 - it makes no difference
    Vid cards Radeon x1900 and 3870x2

    Box1+3870x2 - works fine, DX10 recognized by Biosphere
    Box2+3870x2 - constant reboot
    Box2+x1900 - works fine

    The Box2+3870 worked for about a month with occasional crashes and no DX10 in Biosphere
    The x1900 is not DX10 or PCIe 2.0

    Given those facts I think something must be wrong on the mobo with either DX10 or PCIe 2.0
    I don't know enough about mobos,PCIe 2.0 or DX10 to know if that is feasible, but the symptoms sure point to that.

    If only the x1900 didn't work in Box2, that would prove it for me.

    •  
      CommentAuthorcrazy pete
    • CommentTimeJan 4th 2009
     

    In that case I'd try flashing the mobo with new firmware.

    •  
      CommentAuthorClubBarf
    • CommentTimeJan 5th 2009 edited
     

    Mmmhmmm - that does sound like a good plan.

    Do you know anyone with an LGA775 machine you can test your card in? If flashing the BIOS doesn't help, try putting the card in another machine that has a core2 quad compatible motherboard to test it before buying a new mobo.

    And ebay off your old mobo if it turns out that's the problem... Or, better still, since it's not "fit for purpose" as such, get your vendor/retailer to give you your money back! ;)

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