PIII 866 @133 +g400dh32mb

[Wishbone]

I've just bought a PIII 866 @133. I've got an aopen ax6bc pro which can handle and supports this cpu. I've got the mb set to 2/3. I've tried to run a number of different games and they all crash after 10 or so seconds.In windows the pc runs fine, only in games it crashes. I reduced the fsb and my system was running stable. The g400 has a fan the heat sink, it isn't overclocked. I tried with me audio card not installed and it wasn't working either.

The graphics looked fine while the games are running so could it be something else like ram? (both d3d and opengl)

[Kruzin]

Could be RAM. You might try slowing down the RAM timings in the mobo BIOS.

Also, what is the G400 running at (1x,2x,4x)?
Forcing 1x(or 2x if currently at 4x) with the Matrox TS tweaker might stabilise it...

[Sisyfos]

With BX boards AGP is running at 89 MHz when you choose 133 MHz FSB, so it's hardly surprising that the G400 doesn't run stable.

Try forcing it to 1x as Kruzin said.

If Aopen officially supports PIIIEB with this board, they should note "with PCI VGA or yous may get trouble"

[Wishbone]

Well what i've ended up doing is reducing the fsb to 129. Not much of a drop but enough so far, games seem to be running fine. Which matrox utilities would you recommend to change the agp setting or should i do this through jumper settings on the motherboard?

[Admiral]

Matrox Tech Support Utility

unzip it, run it, under AGP check the 1x box and click reebot now when it asks.



[This message has been edited by Admiral (edited 11 April 2001).]

[Bellyofthebeast]

As already stated by Kruzin, take a very close look at your memory & bios configuration. Memory slot arrangement can also play a role in determining your optimum.

With a similar system I use, P3 933@1033 256MB(2 pieces) pc150 2,3,2 Mushkin memory, AX6BC pro gold (bios ver R1.12), fsb147, G400Max(not O'clocked), AGP (command 2X, status 1X2X), Aperture 256K, slot 1, Win2K, it is very solid & stable. MTSU did not improve anything.

Previous problems when using pc100 and sometimes pc133 memory, especially with games. I found the memory module (manufacturer) selection crucial (no pun intended) & mobo bios configuration to be the limiting factors here. If using pc133 memory, it must be 2,2,2 & high quality to get the stability you're after. In essence, the fsb capacity of the (440BX) AX6BC pro is no problem (~153Mhz), but the SDRAM module itself requires stability BEYOND where you want the setting to be. Equal SDRAM modules from varying manufacturers will crash at different fsb settings. Try to find out what the real world specs are on your modules.

Finally, just to cover all bases, with AOpen AX6BC pro mobos, there is an issue with the particular lot# board that you may have. Certain lot#s supposedly will not work correctly with P3. On the AOPen website, there is (or at least used to be) a breakdown of how to find your board lot# & the numbers that have been verified/deemed ok for P3 use. If your board lot# is not ok, then I believe there is a possibility you can exchange the board for a correct one, through AOpen tech support. Also, update your mobo bios if need be.

Your jumper setting, 2/3, is correct. There are no other jumper settings to play with here, except to try clearing the CMOS, resetting mobo configuration, & re-booting, after changes. (Sometimes, the value of clearing CMOS is overlooked.)

Perhaps, tweaking/adjusting with the MTSU will make a difference for you.

[This message has been edited by Bellyofthebeast (edited 11 April 2001).]