400MAX problems with VIA694X chipset???

[Goofer]

I cannot get beyond midway in the second test in 3DMark2000 and about 50% of the time I cannot complete the G400 Tech Demo. In both cases the systems just freezes. Apart from this I have no other apparent instability.

My set up is 550E clocked 143x5.5, MS6309 AMIBIOS v1.30 c/w VIA694X chipset, Windows98-4.10.1998, 128mb-133mHz RAM, 20B monitor 1024x768-75hz and G400Max with 5.25.019 drivers. I tried the latest 5.52 drivers but they only made the problem worse.

Can anyone please suggest some possible causes of the problem before I revert to my Riva TNT?

[EchoWars]

Will jump in here before a few of the BX-boys make their opinion known

Are you using the latest VIA drivers? Go download the stand-alone AGP GART driver and install it, NOT the one from the 4-in-1 pack (trust me, they are different, although they are not supposed to be). Should take care of your problems.
Also, you should be able to use the Powerdesk version 5.41
If the above doesn't work, post some more detailed system info (irq's , etc..)
Is it necessary to overclock your system to the brink of self-destruction What happens when you clock-back?

[Livius]

Hi!
My suggestion: install Windows98 (SE if available) anew. Do not install ANY VIA drivers except for the AGP gart (4.17 seems to be less problem-ridden than 4.20). Try to use your CPU at default speed until you can ascertain it is not the cause of the problem. From my experience both Techdemo and 3DM2000 are some of the most sensible programs when it comes to overclocking (they were the only 2 programs not to allow me to use my celeron ar 570MHz; both crashed sooner or later while Quake3 and UT ran flawlessly).

[Livius]

Hi!
My suggestion: install Windows98 (SE if available) anew. Do not install ANY VIA drivers except for the AGP gart (4.17 seems to be less problem-ridden than 4.20). Try to use your CPU at default speed until you can ascertain it is not the cause of the problem. From my experience both Techdemo and 3DM2000 are some of the most sensible programs when it comes to overclocking (they were the only 2 programs not to allow me to use my celeron ar 570MHz; both crashed sooner or later while Quake3 and UT ran flawlessly).

[paulcs]

Don't do anything extreme yet. Try the latest VIA driver and if that doesn't work for you, try the 4.19 4in1 set.

Before you do that, get Matrox's 5.25 drivers off your machine using Matrox's uninstaller. They are extremely old, slow, and buggy. The 5.5X drivers are known to have problems with some VIA chipsets. Try PowerDesk Versions 5.41 and 5.30 in that order. Many VIA users have success with 5.41, but I think 5.30 should be your Matrox driver set of last resort.

Some VIA users, and this has nothing to do with Matrox, have reported problems with the AGP driver (v. 4.0) included with the 4.20 set. The other three drivers are not a problem, and you may not have even needed to install them. As far as I know, the widespread problems associated with VIA's 4.0 AGP driver were not reported with 4.18 and 4.19. If I were you, and I continued to have problems with the 4.20 AGP set, I'd try the 4.19 4in1's. The 4.17 AGP driver fixes a performance problem associated with the Asus P3V4X. If you're using the Asus board, you should use the 4.17 AGP driver. If not, VIA has stated they do not recommend you use them.

Again, uninstall the Matrox 5.25 drivers. Use Matrox's uninstaller and make sure all reference to the drivers are gone. Follow the installation instructions. Do not install with the inf. Use the setup program, and launch it from Windows' Standard VGA Mode.

There are other issues you should be concerned with:

Go into your motherboard's BIOS, and if you already haven't done so, open your AGP aperture to 256 as Matrox recommends.

Disable all *video* caching and shadowing.

This is important. If you continue to have problems, remove the screw from your video card and make absolutely certain it is properly aligned and all the way in the slot. Looks can be deceiving. Give it a good push and make sure the back edge doesn't pop up a little when you screw the board back in.

Good luck.

Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net

[This message has been edited by paulcs (edited 11 April 2000).]

[paulcs]

I forgot something really important. The G400 should either be on IRQ 9, 10, or 11 and it should not be sharing with anything other than IRQ Holder for PCI steering.

Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net

[The PIT]

Us Bx boys say anything? Never. Just hope the fixes they gave you work.