Graphics Crashes

[M_Jones]

I bought an AGP X1950 512mb Pro today (This One) and im having black screen crashes that require a reboot or VPU Recovers. It seems as soon as i do anything graphical (including loading TechSpot forums) it crashes out. There doesn't seem to be any heating problem because it does it so quickly and the card is so cool. The card has its own dedicated power supply from the PSU and seems to function correctly. I have done some internet reading but haven't been able to locate any fixes that work for me.

Asus K8V-MX motherboard (AGP)
AMD Sempron 3000+ Processor
1GB Memory
500W PSU
Latest Catalyst Drivers 7.1
Windows XP SP2
DirectX 9.0c

Much appreciate the help.

Martin

 

[zephead]

what brand and model is the power supply? lower quality supplies tend to balk when power is suddenly demanded. make sure you have the most recent drivers installed for both your video card and your chipset (all system drivers should be kept up to date anyways).

 

[M_Jones]

Hi, i just went out and bought a 600W Jeantech power supply but im still experiencing crashes :S The power supply now shouldn't be an issue at all.

I think i have up to date mobo bios but i dont have a floppy so i cant update it.. anyone know a way for me to update it? Its an ASUS KV8-MX Motherboard.

Any ideas?

 

[zephead]

that 600w rating doesn't mean anything on a jeantech, or any other low quality supply for that matter. it's always best to have a high quality (name brand) supply, particularly because lower quality supplies have high failure rates and often cause problems like this. the jeantech may hold up for now, but i recommend investing in a good supply from antec or enermax (>500w) to reduce the very real possibility of having to replace the curent PSU within a year.

many mobo companies make it possible to flash the bios using an application that can be run from windows. some companies even have bootable CD images that you cna download, burn to a CD, and boot to that. sometimes these files are given deceptive labels, so its best to take a careful look at the ASUS support pages.

 

[M_Jones]

Well, i flashed the BIOS and im still having the problem... Do you think i need to take the PSU back then and get a better branded model? I do find it crazy that this doesn't work though, it has the ability to run dual graphics cards yet cant run mine by itself

 

[beef_jerky4104]

First install the latest drivers from ATi's website. If that doesn't work then return the power supply and get a better one. Make sure its made by a good company. Like OCZ!

 

[zephead]

if you have update the mobo and graphics drivers and firmware, and the problem persists, i would suspect the graphics card or the PSU. that jeantech is bound to fail prematurely in your system anyways, i would try returning it. since you're probably going to end up replacing the jeantech anyways, i reccomend getting yourself a good supply now and not have to worry about it in the future.

i reccomend an antec smartpower 2.0 500w supply. it would be ideal for your situation, i use them all the time in builds and repairs. for about $70 (USD) you get a quiet PSU with a 3 year warranty and modular cabling support, it's a great buy.

did you buy the card online, or from a retail store?

alternatively, you can take/send the card back, i'm sure they would give you a new one without hassle, but a new card isn't going to help at all if you have a bad PSU.

 

[rrychlowski]

My kid has the same board and the exact same problem once I installed an APG card. The board has no option to disable the on board video but it does it automatically when you install the video card.

I have been through all the troubleshooting and its the board. Buy the ASUS K8N-E as its the best socket 754 board out there.

The K8V-MX works great unless you install an AGP card.

Just trying to save you some trouble...

 

[M_Jones]

I've never had the problem before with AGP cards on the mobo, in fact I have used a few in this machine, the prior being a X800.

This is actually my second HIS X1950 512Mb AGP card because I RMAed the other, still on the same problems so im getting a full refund. Shame I couldn't come to any fix but apparently there is a huge number of these faulty HIS cards on the market.

I did try the PSU and bought a 700W Jeantech Storm but also I got a PowerExpress from Thermaltake which is a 250w PSU for the graphics card alone, neither fixed the crashes.

 

[HSC]

I recently fitted that very same AGP card in my sons Dell Optiplex PC, it works faultlessly with the drivers from the CD, it uses the standard dell power supply with the additional of a PCI express to 2 x molex power adaptor, he plays his WOW with all the game settings maxed out no problems

To avoid potential conflicts you could try uninstalling the drivers for the onboard graphics card by booting to the safe mode menu and selecting "Use VGA Mode" from the menu then uninstalling the drivers from add remove programs before you fit the new card

Cheers HSC

 

[rrychlowski]

K8V-MX video crashes

I have tried 3 different AGP cards and all with the same result. I try the AGP cards in different motherboards and they work perfectly. I swapped out everything else (including the power supply) with no difference. I did find that updating the VIA chipset drivers improved the time between crashes to about 20 minutes. Windows doesn't crash, you can still hear the game playing but the graphics card stops. A clean install of XP doesn't fix it either. I am picking up a replacement motherboard today. An ASUS K8N-E which is rock solid in my machine.

My opinion is that the ASUS K8V-MX is a good board as long as you don't put an APG card in it. The video never crashes using the onboard graphics.

If for some reason the video still crashes with the new board, I'll let you know what happens to a computer when you throw it out of a moving vehicle at 65MPH.