G400,amd and 2 motherboards....

[Mik]

Don't know if it's the right place to post this..anyway my story is:
I Bought a pc with this configuration
Amd Athlon 600
Gigabyte 7ix
256 Ram
Matrox G400 DH
Win 98 2nd Edition

For the first month everything was fine the it began to crash,lock up running Q3arena,ff7 and graphics programs and even beeping (this one not if I had the case opened).

I called the shop and asked afor a bigger case (this one is ridicolous) they insisted putting double fan on cpu and other one in the case.. nothing changed I had to keep my case open..

So they said "let's change the motherboard"

So I got a Fic SD11...

Just to be sure I formatted my hd and did a clean installation.

Now Q3arena still locks in play or even return to desktop at 640x480
I also have halflife but didn't have the chance to try it... (damn the school)

When I had the gigabyte I got pd 542 and now with the fic 552 and turbogl...

I see other people have trouble with via chipsets and matrox or with some versions of matrox drivers...

What do you suggest me?
Amd drivers?
Via drivers?
Matrox drivers?

Thanks
Michele

[Damien Green]

Actually I would suggest that you check your power supply. To function correctly, Athlons need a large amount of current - and your supply might not be able to supply both the CPU and graphics cards etc. with enough juice. You're really looking for at least a 300W power supply, and preferably one that's listed on AMD compability page on their website. Problems like the one you describe are often caused by a lack of power.

[Mik]

Mmh... how do I check my power supply?
Looking at label?
As you may have imagined the guys at the shop are some kind of jerks and I had to fix some problems on my own....
Also not being a big shop I doubt they have good power supply....

[Damien Green]

Best if you look at the various mail order companies. I don't know where you live, but in the UK, there is a huge array of mail order computer companies offering all types of components, and the best thing is that you can often get next day delivery.

While you're at it, ask them for a power supply that is certified compatible with the Athlon.

On a side note, if you want to find out what your power supply is, there should be a label listing both Wattage and company name - cross reference this with the info on AMD's site and see if you're compatible.

[paulcs]

Let me recommend a power supply if yours isn't up to the task. Antec makes a very good 300 Watt unit. It's relatively inexpensive and it does a very good job.

Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net

[Mik]

Oh another thing.. since I changed Mobo (fic sd11), the Bios is different and... I don't see many graphics options like the gigabyte 7ix. (well didn't understand anything.. :-) )
What should I set to be sure everything runs fine? And what's that story of the graphics aperture size? This mobo say 32,64,128,256 and 576! And I can't see the difference... Does it have a relation with the RAM? And finally how do I check the AGP? (I know I can only get 2x but what If I don't get this?)

[Mik]

Ok..I checked my power supply and it says 250W and the manufacturer is not listed on amd site.

On tuesday the guys at the shop will change my case ('cause I need more internal space) and I'll ask them for a power supply..at least one recommended by Amd.

I'll let know on this forum if something changed.

Thanks