PCA Forums

Everytime I try to run a benchmark test after installing my new evga 6800GS 256megger I get hard locks/freezes. I have tried every driver I can find out there. Any ideas whats causing it?

*edit
I've had enough.... I am going to buy a new motherboard. Any recomendations? Given these parts?

Proc: Amd Athon XP
RAM: 2 one GB sticks of pc2100
Hard Drive: 250gig IDE
Video: Evga 6800GS 256megs GDDR3 AGP 8X
400w power supply
I need a board better than FIC AM35 listed here http://www.fic.com.tw/product/motherboa ... odel_id=44

This effing free system is killing me. I could have built towards a better one!

FIC makes crummy mobos - certainly not a gamer's board. They're cheap budget boards. Worse it's a combo board with onboard video and there's always issues getting an add-on card to work with onboard video.

To be fair, though, the problem may not be the mobo. Could be the PSU - you didn't mention the brand. If it's not a modern dual 12v rail design it might not be stable enough for a power hungry video card like that 6800.

Could also be you need a firmware upgrade for the mobo to improve compatibility with modern video cards. Or it could be that you just need to update the motherboard chipset drivers (AGP driver specifically).

You'd certainly be better off replacing the mobo, though, just be aware that you may still have issues if it turns out the cause of the problem is a weak PSU.

What speed is the CPU?

I would recommend any nForce2 mobo. You can't go wrong. This Epox 8RDA3+ Pro is a rock solid performer: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813123233

I just ordered one of these for my XP 3000+. I love the fact that it will let me overclock my Barton without having to hardmod it. Considering the fact you're running DDR266, it's gonna be a slower proc, but it'll definetly work fine. Good luck!

for athlon xp barton core my favorite is an abit NF7-S v2, not to be confused with the NF7-S2. if you want features, NF7-S has plenty.

for solid muscle, i like the Shuttle AN35N-Ultra 400. not as feature-rich but less expensive. i have like 4 of those running.

if you have athlon xp 2400-2800 and want to overclock, on either of those boards you can use some quality pc3200 ddr and get some pretty dramatic results.