SN41G2v3 & x800 problem...

[radiator]

Hi all.

I'm having a bit of trouble with my SN41G2v3 and a Connect3D x800 Pro VIVO and was wondering if anyone's got any solutions.

My full spec:
Athlon XP3200
1Gb (2*512Mb) Corsair PC3200
WD 80Gb IDE HDD
WD 200Gb SATA HDD
Sony DVD-RW
Generic 56k modem
Connect3D x800 Pro VIVO 256Mb

After installing WindowsXP + SP1, and setting up all the drivers etc, my graphics would not display correctly. When running in VGA mode (windows drivers), it was ok, but I could not increase the resolution past 800*600.
With the ATi drivers installed, the text and graphics would not display correctly (at any resolution) - they were garbled, and the colours were messed up (eg, the logon screen had a bright pink triangle covering the bottom 8th of the screen). Also, anything 3D doesn't work (even the 'car scene' in the ATi control panel - just shows either a grey box, or it flashes black/white/green etc). I also ran dxdiag, and the 'DirectX cube' test didn't display properly (the sides of the cube would randomly disappear).
The PC also tends to crash quite randomly too - even just surfing the web with multiple browsers open can cause it to freeze (it'll stop responding, then the screen will turn black for a few seconds, and when it comes back on it's filled with coloured shapes).

I know my components are ok as I pulled them directly out of another system (and I've tested them in another PC since the problems started).

So far I have tried:
Running PC with case panel off (in case it was a heat issue)
Hooked up a standard PSU (480w Tagan)
Flashed the x800's BIOS to different makes (including ATi, ASUS, Club3D etc)
Used CATS v4.5, 5.2 & 5.4. Used Omega's v5.2 & 5.4 (used driverclean between each)
Ran PC with bare minimum install (1 HDD, no modem, 1 stick of RAM)
Tweaked voltages (BIOS)
Underclocked the CPU and FSB
Disabled 'Fast Writes' and 'AGP 8 support'
Installed latest NForce drivers
Used different molex connector for GFX card

I've taken the x800 out for the moment, and had a 9550 running instead. This appeared to work ok, but crashed after 5 or 6 hours sitting idle.

I also tried an old 7500, which worked 100% no problems (looped 3DMark01SE for a few hours).


Now, things get really strange after I do any kind of hardware fiddling.
IE, if I take out the modem, and restart the PC, the x800 will work. But after a reboot it'll **** up again.
The same thing happened when I took out a stick of RAM.
And also when I've taken the 7500 out and put the x800 back in. It'll work when first booted, but will cause problems again following a reset/reboot.

Why would it do this?

One other thing I noticed is that when the ATi control panel is loaded, it states 'AGP Speed: Off'. I've tried setting this to 'x8' and rebooting, but it just reverts back to 'Off' every time.


Has anyone experienced this before? Is it just a GFX incompatibility issue? Anyone know which brand x800's actually work in an SN41G2v3?

thanks

(sorry I've rambled on for so long - just wanted to get as much detail in as possible. I bet I've still missed something!)

[radiator]

...anyone?

I've also just tried a Powercolor x800XT and get the same problem.

[menthel]

Does it have the 250w silentx psu in it? Another thing to check is that you are not overheating!

[radiator]

Yup, got the 250w PSU.

Also, it can't be heat as I'm running with the case panel off, and the HDD/CD cage outside of the case.

[Apex]

seems very strange... i got a x800 xt pe in my sn45g and it's running fine :s

[Firebar]

http://global.shuttle.com/Support/SupportList.asp?Item=SN41G2%20V3&ver=SN41G2%20V3(FN41U

[radiator]

http://global.shuttle.com/Support/SupportList.asp?Item=SN41G2%20V3&ver=SN41G2%20V3(FN41U

Yeah yeah, I know. I've already read through that, and I've seen my card isn't listed.

But the question is: what's the difference between an ASUS x800Pro and a Connect3D x800Pro?

Also, why is it that I've read of many other people using SN41's and x800's/x850's that aren't listed (ie, Powercolor, Sapphire etc)?!?

...and look at the nVidia supported cards (ie, made by nVidia) - only one listed...?!

That list is pretty poor. If you go by what they're saying, then the SN41 only (officially) supports 40 different GFX cards...

[scotty6435]

Have you got any other cards to try?

Using CD or newest drivers?

Updates drivers for all components?

Has your system worked at all before? It may be your RAM.

[radiator]

Have you got any other cards to try?

Using CD or newest drivers?

Updates drivers for all components?

Has your system worked at all before? It may be your RAM.

I did try a 9550 card, which worked for a few hours, then caused the system to crash.

I've also tried a 7500, which worked perfectly.

I've used ATi drivers 3.5, 5.2 & 5.4 and also Omega drivers 5.2 & 5.4.
Using up-to-date NForce drivers too.

I can get the GFX to work (sort of) if I 'jiggle' the card slightly before turning it on (not sure if this is just coincidence though). I've managed to play Unreal Tournament, but more intense stuff like GTA-VC and BF1942, won't work properly.

On one occasion (when the x800 worked) I was able to loop 3DMark for around 3 hours with no problems.

I don't think it's any other component causing the problem because if I remove the GFX card, and use the onboard GF4mx, I can run the system perfectly for hours and hours...

I'm starting to think that the AGP port is fooked. I'll be contacting the place I bought from on monday and seeing what they've got to say...

[radiator]

Well, the system was sent back for repair/replacement a few weeks ago.
It arrived yesterday with a report stating that they couldn't find a fault.

They set it up with a 2800 CPU, 512Mb RAM and a 128Mb 9800Pro - they were then able to run stress tests, benchmarks, and even a game of Lego Star Wars.

So it's down to some wierd incompatiblity with the x800 card..?!

I've contacted ATi, hoping they'll be able to tell me what causes the problem (I figured that if I know what causes it, I'm halfway to solving it).