P128 Retail DOA?

[R.Carter]

Me, I think its their power supply. A dual PIII 1GHz with 2 SCSI hard drives running on a 300W power supply..

Did you yry removing stuff from your system and see if it boots okay?

[Jupp]

Yeah - it even happens with all peripherals disconnected and the Adaptec pulled out.


R.

[R.Carter]

Originally posted by Jupp
Yeah - it even happens with all peripherals disconnected and the Adaptec pulled out.


R.

When you get the RMA replacement, try this test first. Make sure it works before you go connecting all of your peripherals.

The minimum power supply is listed as a 300W but that is for your standard desktop. Not one with dual CPUs, 2 SCSI hard drivers (+ controller) and 2 optical drives.

[Jupp]

Yeah - that's what I thought too.

On the other hand, that simple BX box with just 1 hdd and 1 nic where I did an additional test should at least provide enough power (250W) for a stable post and bios display for longer than approx. 15 seconds.


R.

[R.Carter]

Originally posted by Jupp
Yeah - that's what I thought too.

On the other hand, that simple BX box with just 1 hdd and 1 nic where I did an additional test should at least provide enough power (250W) for a stable post and bios display for longer than approx. 15 seconds.


R.

Again, the requirement is listed as 300W.

I seem to recall that Matrox tried it in some typical desktops with 250W supplys and it didn't work. Hence the 300W requirement.

Not sure if a undervoltage condition could cause physical damage the card or system though. But the fact that your BIOS settings were getting scambled can't be a good thing.

[Jupp]

Whoah - this is almost like a chat.

Got your point. It's stated in the manual too.


R.

[UtwigMU]

Try PII350 with 300W PSU.

I'm running PII350@466 Micron 512MB PC133 CAS2, WDAC 8.4GB hard drive, Philips IDE CD-ROM, TEAC SCSI CD-ROM, TEAC SCSI CD-R, G400 16MB SH, Adaptec 2904CD, Creative SB64 PCI and USR V90 ISA Modem. 300W Macase PSU is adequate while the previous 200W wasn't.

[Haig]

If it doesn't work with a more power PS, then fill out the rma form (if it's passed your 30 day on line store warranty) at www.rma.matrox.com and you'll get a replacement.

If it's < 30 days, then our on line store will swap it out for you.

Just wanted to know your serial # becuase you're the 2nd one to report the same problem but the other user had a 350w PS, Asus mobo but not the same as yours.

I pulled out a board from the same lot as where yours came from and all was fine on my end.

[Jupp]

Hi there,

tested my Parhelia today in a brand new Compaq Pentium 4 workstation at work.

Result was the same, I had a display for about 20 seconds during the boot process, then the monitor turned off and the machine crashed.
I noticed that the card was pretty warm during that short period.

If I find some time tomorrow and that Athlon XP workstation isn't occupied I'll have another go with that one.
This one has a 400W PSU for sure.


R.

[Jupp]

Hi folks,

my replacement board arrived while I was on a short trip in London.

Guess what - it runs flawlessly, absolutely no probs at all.

Oh - and yes, this is a beast of a gfx card - IQ definetly is beyond my expectations.


R.