PC been freezing for 1 year now.

I switched out the bridges to see if that helps

Does it matter which port you install the SLI bridge on? my gpus have two sets of ports

I also check the bios for any SLI options, nothing found

Ahh, didn't know that, leaning towards BIOS tweaks now, Excellent choice of Power Supply, 750-850 would have been better with future upgrade in mind,

I rather use ~450W power out of a 650W PSU than ~450W out of a 850W PSU, using too little bellow 50%, lowers efficiency of the PSU causing the wasted energy in heat.

Didn't say you had the same issue, just pointing out how simple and "silly" some problems are

Good to know thank you..

I am hoping that it is somthing simple (and unexpensive)..Hopefully I can finally put this issue behind me

This will take a bit of time with me running late on at least one thread and a few other things.

Hang in there, couple days don't add much to 365 days

no worries man , i appreciate you helpin me out on this one!

I have to apologize, just saw your first post and you had your power supply there (not the exact model but close enough)

The link to your RAM and the one in your System Spec do not match.

Can you run CPUZ and attach the .txt dump (last tab) here?

What do you have plugged to the system, minus the obvious?

Are you using the stock heat sink and fan?

Have you ever tried running the system with only 2 X 2GB modules?

Might be helpful, as hard as it might sound, to write down the BIOS settings (you'll know what you can leave out) This is not a must, as we most probably will load the default and start from scratch but would be nice to have the old V. new (this is how we learn and help others)

We might have you downgrade your BIOS.

Nothing we are going to try would/ should harm the system but please back up your important data, just in case. (Sometimes I make people run away when I say this, )

I was thinking CPU but apparently they are usually OK.
It could be what is known as a " deadly embrace" where two different proceses have locked two different resources and then try to access each others resource before they release the one they hold. But that's just guessing really, there is a lot of complexity there, i am surprise d PC's actually work at all!!

I built many 6xx and 7xx series, EVGA and ASUS, as in, Striker or Formula series.

All these builds are great, even today but they do require proper BIOS setup according to the choice of CPU and RAM.

Sometimes, just an increase in a voltage or setting is all it takes.
Settings such as link or unlinked (memory - FSB), 2T to 1T ... sometimes, a needed voltage let's say at 1.20V falls below 1.2V and you have to use 1.26V to ensure you get 1.2V. VID adjustments .... just take a look at the BIOS settings, it is not like earlier boards, even DDR based.

I had a case with a 780i, working fine with one processor but not even POST with another same processor with different sSpec as in the two different Q8200 that exist (SLB5M and SLG9S).

Choice of components is good, both the Video card and the Q8200 get very hot under load, proper cooling and air flow is very important.

Some builders with certain configuration, mainly CPU and RAM, run fine with the stock heat sink fan and BIOS settings, some other need a bit of adjustment.

It is always better to have all the information in front of you when addressing an issue. CPUZ reading will tell us a lot. As well as some Qs and As.

In the times of 6xx and early 7xx series, Nvidia had a hard time with Chipset design for Intel CPUs with Intel not sharing the white papers in full with them this caused some problems at the same time and later with some GPUs and even AMD Chipsets.

Once we know a lilbit more, I'm sure with some modifications the system is going to run stable.
Even if the cause of these problems are software related as you suggest, the hardware needs to be setup right so the components can live and work together without any conflicts.

If you are typing to me, I'd be more than happy to answer your questions once I know what it is exactly you are talking about.

Here is my CPUZ reading:



CPU Arch : 1 CPU - 4 Cores - 4 Threads
CPU PSN : Intel Core2 Quad CPU Q8200 @ 2.33GHz
CPU EXT : MMX, SSE (1, 2, 3, 3S, 4.1), EM64T
CPUID : 6.7.A / Extended : 6.17
CPU Cache : L1 : 4 x 32 / 4 x 32 KB - L2 : 2 x 2048 KB
Core : Yorkfield (45 nm) / Stepping : R0
Freq : 1999.89 MHz (333.32 * 6)
MB Brand : EVGA
MB Model : 132-CK-NF79
NB : NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI SPP rev B1
SB : NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI MCP rev A3
GPU1 Type : NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250
GPU1 Clocks : Core 756 MHz / RAM 1100 MHz
GPU2 Type : NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250
GPU2 Clocks : Core 756 MHz / RAM 1100 MHz
DirectX Version : 11.0
RAM : 8192 MB DDR3 Dual Channel
RAM Speed : 533.3 MHz (5:8) @ 7-7-7-16
Slot 1 : 2048MB (8500)
Slot 1 Manufacturer : OCZ
Slot 2 : 2048MB (8500)
Slot 2 Manufacturer : OCZ
Slot 3 : 2048MB (8500)
Slot 3 Manufacturer : OCZ
Slot 4 : 2048MB (8500)
Slot 4 Manufacturer : OCZ

A couple of questions I would like to address:

1. A friend of mine that works with pc's said that my problem might be due to an error in floating point processing. Is there any way I can diagnose an issue like this?

2. ACPI? I know it is a power managment tool for windows, but is there any ACPI settings that I should make sure are correct?

3. I'm hesitant to go in and toy around with voltages, what voltages can I change to diagnose any changes in performance without blowing up my PC?

I have spent the past couple of hours searching the BIOS for anything that I may need to change in order to interact properly with an SLI setup. If you have any questions that will better help you understand what is goin on please ask. Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Please run CPUZ again, go to the last tab "about" and save as text file, attach to your next post, I need the whole text file.

You're half way there, if you have never touched the BIOS settings, we will change some values and test.

For starters is your CPC ON or OFF (1T = CPC ON 2T = CPC OFF) AKA Command Rate (IIRC)
You find it under memory timming, is it 1T or 2T. 1T is known to cause problems. We will relax it to 2T, change some other values and try 1T again, that is if it is not already on 2T.

Sorry for the late post.. here is my CPUZ.txt dump file

CPC was on (1T)..I just changed it to 2T

Thank you, it will take a little time to go through the text, can you wait till I see it has everything I need?

Many people have fixed their issues by relaxing 1T to 2T.

We still need to adjust your CPU, Chipset voltages and a few other values.

Hang in there.

EDIT:
Just what I needed, thank you. Again, it will take some time to review all the info.

no problem thank you for helpin' me out with this. If it freezes up on me after the memory change I will let you know

If you are using the stock heat sink and fan, consider something like the "Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro HSF" I had another one lined up (newer one but can't find the link)

Both your CPU and Vid card heat up quite a bit under load, see if you can re-arrange things, may be move drives, put a fan in the front bringing fresh air in blowing towards the vid card. Hard to tell till we see a picture or something, sometimes what I said disturbs the airflow design of the cards! we'll set the hardware first then worry about the rest after.

Which reminds me, what case do you have?

I have a coolermaster HAF full atx case. I monitor temps religiously as best I can. Right now I have a CoolIt domino ALC liquid CPU cooler. My case gets good airflow

EDIT:

my pc does not like the 2T setting. pc freezes but have control of the mouse/ monitor goes in and out. I'm sure that there are further settings that need to be adjusted with the 2T setting so I am not so worried about it. I will place it back to 1T until I have more information

Thank you, as long as you are running anything better than stock, don't get me wrong, the stock HSF has been good but with this CPU under load, it is better to be prepared.

I don't know why DRAM is reported at 1.84V, your Memory modules are supposed to be 1.5V (enough to cause problems with all the sockets filled, your memory controller is working over/ double time Can you check your BIOS and see what your voltage is, if it is auto, go manual 1.5V and keep checking CPUZ to see what it reads till you get as close as you can or above 1.5V.

In CPUZ it is under monitoring.
Your CPU VID is reported at 1.08V, which is OK but if need be we can relax it down all the way to 0.85V if need be.

Next post might be a while unless I see something right a way.

EDIT:
Just read the 2T ... hmmmm ... try the voltage to 1.5V. 1T is desired so it is a good thing and a sign for me to check couple more settings.

Adjusted CPU VID to .85V, PC wouldn't boot up so I put it back to auto

MEM setting put back to 2T

DRAM voltage set to manual 1.5V


EDIT>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

MEM settings pushed back to 1T

DRAM voltage still set to manual 1.5V

LOL, CPU VID is .85 to 1.34 according to Intel, yours report 1.08V which is fine, I meant if need be we will go down to .85 but not all at once, we most probably will not adjust it, we normaly just adjust the RAM and chipset, if we had to, we would go down from 1.08 to something like 1.03, not all the way down. In your case, we might go up a bit ... just a bit, only after everything else is checked.

Don't adjust any voltages till you hear from me next.

The point is, we have to change values and check the actual reading, if you set the RAM to 1.5V and CPUZ reports 1.55m we have to go down to 1.45V and check again. Mother board power management and ACPI does not always give you what you ask, it all depends on switches, voltage regulators/ changer, energy lost and such.

Once I have some figures, we will change one by one and do burn in test, it will take some time but the end results is happy system which translates to a happy you.