PC problem

fman · 21 Feb 2011 at 21:48

Ok I've managed to get the bios updated, I tried both files on one disc, thanks for that.
But it hasnt helped, if I remove the card the pc will run with on board gpu, but when I install the 460 it crashes randomly. I have just reinstalled the x1950 and it's running so far, I'm wondering now should I just upgrade the rest of the kit as I've already invested in a new psu and gpu. I don't know if the 460 could be faulty, but it's the same problem I was having with the x1950 only a lot worse. Maybe there's a compatibility issue with the board?
Any opinions would be great.

Thanks

Hagar · 21 Feb 2011 at 22:06

PCI-e slot is generation 1 in your motherboard.

PCI-e cards gen 2 and 2.1+ are generally compatible with earlier slot but at the reduced bandwidth.

Could be a cause of instability, look for earlier drivers which may help.

EDIT

Options for upgrade

existing CPU and ram + AM3 mobo supporting DDR2 (check CPU support)
existing CPU + AM3 mobo and 4Gb kit of DDR3 (check CPU support)
Wait for AM3+ boards, imminent.

andy.

Predicament · 21 Feb 2011 at 22:15

I think the problem is that you let your son play World of Warcraft.

Tell him to go outside, go swimming, read a book, or get laid

fman · 21 Feb 2011 at 23:15

I agree Predicament, should be out playing the field lol.

Stulid spec'd me some stuff a couple of weeks ago, for my other sons pc, including a gtx 460 and its running sweet, I'm tempted to go ahead and order everything from that spec, bar the gpu and psu, because the time I'm wasting on this is really starting to **** me off

What do you think, I'll see if I can find a link to the post.

Cheers

fman · 21 Feb 2011 at 23:38

Heres the stuff that he spec'd me which i bought for my other son, I've only listed the items from it that i would need for this upgrade.

AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £109.99
(£91.66) £109.99
(£91.66)
Asus M4A78LT-M 760G (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £45.59
(£37.99) £45.59
(£37.99)
OCZ Special OPS 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3SOE1600LV4GK) £34.99
(£29.16) £34.99
(£29.16)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £31.99
(£26.66) £31.99
(£26.66)

What you reckon, should i go for it, and if so would you recommend anything different to this.(I'm using a 32bit vista so it wont use 4 gb of ram, but should still be ok?)

cheers

WHOOSH! · 21 Feb 2011 at 23:52

Just to be on the safe side make sure you update all your nvidia drivers to the latest ones and uninstall all the old ati drivers. I may look like an idiot if you have already done this. Your issue just happened to me when i upgraded from 2 9600GTs to 2 GTX460s. Hope this helps.

fman · 22 Feb 2011 at 00:03

Yes I uninstalled all ati software before i installed the nvidia card.

Regards

redrooster303 · 22 Feb 2011 at 02:36

fman said:
Ok I've managed to get the bios updated, I tried both files on one disc, thanks for that.
But it hasnt helped, if I remove the card the pc will run with on board gpu, but when I install the 460 it crashes randomly. I have just reinstalled the x1950 and it's running so far, I'm wondering now should I just upgrade the rest of the kit as I've already invested in a new psu and gpu. I don't know if the 460 could be faulty, but it's the same problem I was having with the x1950 only a lot worse. Maybe there's a compatibility issue with the board?
Any opinions would be great.

Thanks

------------------It might not be the issue but it seems (as you have checked almost everything else) that the pci-e slot may be the fault here. It might be a dodgy pin or something so its making it crash now and again (someone else had a similar issue). I say this because the onboard graphics work fine so its not the drivers or bios etc.
Seen as though the onboard works (this rules out a lot of other things) the common denominator is the pci-e slot.
Like I say it might not be this but its looking that way.

fman · 22 Feb 2011 at 08:30

Yes you could be right.
Before I jump in and order the new kit, I was going to swap out the gtx 460 with the one in the other pc, although they are both gtx 460s they are different brands, one is asus and one us pny, and one came factory overclocked, would this make any difference?

Regards

Hagar · 22 Feb 2011 at 08:35

AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 840 "95W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £81.98
(£68.32) £81.98
(£68.32)
Asus M4A88T-M AMD 880G (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £54.98
(£45.82) £54.98
(£45.82)
Sub Total : £114.14
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.00
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £24.63
Total : £147.77

Alternative cheaper CPU and more expensive motherboard 880G chipset. Overall with Ram and HDD very similar. 3.2GHz 95W CPU not black edition.

andy.

WHOOSH! · 22 Feb 2011 at 15:28

I knew a guy that had some dust in his pci slot which made him crash now and again. Maybe de-dust your pc with a can of air?

fman · 22 Feb 2011 at 20:22

Well I've installed the card in the other pc which is already running with a gtx460, and guess what, it dosent work!
After all that I've got a faulty card