Motherboard/CPU issue

Macker

Macker

Macker

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5 Apr 2008
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Hi - i'm new here, not entirely sure if this is in the correct section of the forum, so I appologise if it's not.

So, after quite some time having a pc that crashed with no apparent explanation I came to the conclusion that a capacitor (or capacitors) on the motherboard had buggered up and so replaced the motherboard.

Initial stress tests show that this has cured the problem, but sadly it's made a new problem arise and that is that the cpu usage when running audio/video applications skyrockets to 100% briefly (around .25 to .5 of a second) and then returns to normal again. This happens roughly every 10 to 15 seconds and causes audio & video to glitch/skip.

First thing I did was format the pc, which has done nothing. I'm currently running a computer with nothing but a (fully up-to-date) copy of windows xp sp2 (32 bit) and all the latest drivers for sound cards, graphics cards etc.

I've also replaced the old 667MHz ram with 1066MHz ram to match the CPU FSB - didn't solve it. I've tested without my soundcard in, using the onboard sound and that didn't solve it, i've also swapped the graphics card over for the slightly less powerful 8600GTS, and that didn't solve it either.

Aside from changing the boot device priorities and updating the bios, i've done nothing to the motherboard. So i'm thinking that the problem could be that all the motherboard settings (aside from the ones I just mentioned) are set to default - so perhaps it's not set up optimally for my cpu/ram. I also tested with the minimum amount of bits connected as possible (1 gig ram, 8600GTS, no soundcard) and no usb stuff - just to see if it was a power consumption issue - to no avail.

My system specs are as follows;

Mobo: Asus P5K-E WiFi/AP Edition
CPU: Intel Conroe E6600 Core 2 Duo (2x2.4GHz)
Ram: 4GB Crucial Ballistix PC2 8500 (DDR2 1066MHz)
Graphics: NVidia 8800GTS 640Mb
Soundcard: E-MU 1212m PCI

Any suggestions for possible remedies? Being a producer, having a computer that makes audio glitch is incredibly frustrating and pretty much stopping me from doing what I do!

I'm quite sure this isn't a software issue (although not 100%) as it wasn't happening on the old motherboard, with pretty much the same software setup. Let me know if you need any other details. I am really beginning to think that i've been sent a faulty motherboard; unless there's something you lot can think of that I can't.
 
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is it the application it self thats causing the cpu to max out ?

go into bios and make sure you have the cpu voltage set manually to the default voltage.

make sure that the memory is getting enough voltage, ballistix needs 2.2v, double check what the manual says it supplies as default (my gigabyte only supplies 1.8v) and adjust accordingly.

download orthos and run the small fft's see if that runs ok.

also download cpu-z and see if the voltage it displays drops when orthos is running.
 
You ain't got something like spyware doctor running have you, that caused my system to spike at 100% every 30 secs or so, was a nightmare.

While your watching the video look at task manager and see what process is using the most cpu% when it spikes.
 
what is the CPU voltage supposed to be set to then? keeping in mind i'm not overclocking it.

Task manager doesn't refresh fast enough to register the cpu spikes, despite me hitting F5 as fast as I can - there's not telling what application (if any) is causing it. And my system is running post format, so there's no programs running, just fully up-to-date windows & all required drivers.
 
In task manger click on processes and then on the little cpu so it sorts them in order of % used, does the spike show up in task manager at all?

You don't need to hit F5 just watch it.
 
the spike only shows up on the graph - it happens too fast to see it under processes.

btw:

CPU.JPG


MEM.JPG


Shouldn't the ram speed be 1066/533?^

I took out 2 gigs of ram - just in case you're wondering about any erronous results in these pics.
 
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from the look of the cpu-z cpu screen the processor is running sub stock speed, if you in the specification box on the same screen its supposed to run at 2.4ghz.

Go into the bios and change the fsb to 400.

From what i've read the cpu voltage can vary by processor, if you go into the bios, when the cpu voltage is on auto there is normally a figure displayed above or below that, that shows the voltage (my e6300 is 1.325).
 
You could have speedstep enabled, why your cpu multiplier is 6, try running a stress programme to ensure it raises to 9, if not you may need to manualy up the multplier to 9 in the BIOS, and manualy adjust the ram settings, there should be a sticker on the RAM module stating the recommended voltage and timmings.

Hope the above helps.:)

Rob :)
 
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