Need help for new configuration

[TechnoFeather]

I would never start to change the components in my system, before I don't know what is causing the problem.

First of:
Try to find out the out going voltages from your power supply. You will find those ether in the bios or with some monitoring software, but i would use the bios in this case. ;)
Then we can see, if your PSU is having problems to serve all the needed power.

Oh: Does your computer crash/freeze when you run a game or something like 3DMark01?

Next:
If the PSU ist ok, try another video card. If the problem is still there - its not the video card. ;)

Then:
test your RAM via "MemTest86" or something. But you need a 3,5" Disk to run the test.


If everything seems to be ok, then it might be the Mainboard or the CPU.

It would perhaps be best, if you could give us some more information about what exacly is happening after the crash (bluescreen, etc.) and what OS, CPU Temps, more Hardware, etc. you have got.

greez

TF

[Selpakius]

TF, thanks a lot for your quick reply my friend :)

I recently checked the BIOS..I type in everything i saw there:

spread spectrum : enabled
stop unused PCI slot / DIMM Clk : Enabled
CPU ratio: Locked
Detect cpu FSB Clock: Auto
CPU FSB Clock(Mhz): 133 Mhz
CPU : DRAM Clock ratio : By SPD
DRAM Frequency : 333 Mhz
CPU Voltage Adjust: Auto
Dram Volatge Adjust : 2.6 V

I hope this will give you an idea about the outgoing voltage..ohh, by the way, i live in NY/USA..

one more thing.. My PS is: Eagle, model: DR-A300ATX, ATX 300W switching Powewr Supply


I am not playing games on my PC..I only use it for 3D animation..the funny thing is that, last night, even though i wasn't using 3DsMAX ,it crashed couple of times when i tried playing some AVI files on Winamp!! really short animation movies, each one is at most 8 seconds long..nothing to force my PC i guess?

When it crashes, i don't see any blue screeen or anything like that, it just goes black and reboots ..Actually, it happened once when i wasn't doing anything ..I was on the phone, and all of a sudden it crashed !!

Actually, my cDrom is making some funny noises too.. so, i think the problem my be caused by the PS..i think it doesn't distribute the voltage to the PC parts in a way that it should be doing!!??

Well, this is what i have so far, i'm waiting for your reply for the next step.. :)

THANKS A LOT

Serkan

[motoxpress]

Have you checked your temps? Sounds like an overheat to me. You may also want to go through the inside and de-dust it with some compressed air and a vaccum.

gl

[Selpakius]

I have recently cleaned up the box, si i think it doesn't happen because of dust. The fan is working actually.but how can i check the Temp?Thanks..

[motoxpress]

Find a cpu/system temp utility like MBM 5 (http://mbm.livewiredev.com/) should work. I find temps have a lot to do with instability in the modern processors.

gl

[Selpakius]

I don't know if this will sound stupid but, when you say `Temps`, is that the windows temporary files (internet files)...If so, how is it different to use windows tools to clean these Temps then using MBM5 to clean it. Is it more accurate?

Thanks..

[motoxpress]

Sorry, I meant temperature. If your CPU is overheating then it will shutdown like this and cause crashes. MBM 5 will let you see what your cpu temp is as well as other system vitals.

gl

[Selpakius]

Oh, ok :) My bad :)

Well I think its temperature is ok, The fan is working, actually i had the same thought a month ago and took off the right panel of the hardcase, to minimize the overtheating issues..but didn't help much :(

Well, i don't wanna take this thread to a different area but since i have already mentioned my current configuration and the problems i am having with, i was just wondering if someone could suggest me any good combination of a graphics card and a motherboard for upgrading my system? I have a budget of at most 800 dolars..

i did a little pricewatch.com researche and found out that my graphics card + my motherboard costs only 70$ nowadays. I knew that they were old, but wasn't expecting this old though :)
so, basically , what i am looking for, is asystem that twill allow me to use dual monitors, good rendering and no crashes! hehe..i know no one can promise it, but maybe you are using a system that doesn't crash (works good with MAX7.0) , then please let me know what it is?


the graphics card i have in my mind is Nvidia Geforce 6800 GT...


thanks a lot..

[novadude]

I don't think that there is a system out there that won't crash, especially with Max :)

What is your RAM speed?

[Selpakius]

At the beginning of this thread i had two rams, but then i borrowed one of my roommate's rams,now I have three 512 MB DDR 333 MHz Ram.. total of 1.5 GB..

But it still ceashes time to time :(

[alvin777]

Hi, also try checking for viruses or malware (spyware, adware, etc.). Are you using a firewall software and/or hardware one? If it can't clean or delete it, write down whatever it finds then reboot to safe mode or a Win98 boot disk assuming it's not NTFS and manually delete. Check in the Folder options, if it's not hiding any system files or other files, it should show all (you can opt to bring it back to its original setting). Use the search. If it's in DOS uses a /s parameter. A 6800 might not be the card that would balance out your system, though. It could be a 6600. Anandtech has some recommendations on systems. A Mac could also be a good second computer for back-up and vice-versa but there's no 3DS on OS X, you'll spend more time doing things (the main purpose of the computer anway) than fixing or tweaking things.

Also, isolate the settings on the BIOS, start with the most basic and slowest timings. Research more on the parts you have specifically the features of the video card and 3DS features. I do feel that it's the 64MB video card which might not support a feature that 3DS is doing.

anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=2378
antivirus.com
symantec.com/product/

On your purchase: I just saw now an ECS A939 Nforce4 (not sure if it has Cool n' Quiet) and PCI-e, then an Xpertvision 6600GT 128MB PCI-e if you're not focusing on brand that much but on the technology involved. I might buy this for my planned Athlon 64 socket 939 3000 (will still check in the store if it's 90nm core @ 1.8Ghz) and Thermaltake Silent Boost, PQI ram (basic), setup under tight budget as well but I'll wait see what else comes up at the store here. In God's time, it'll just get better.

God bless,
Alvin http://www.applecatholic.com
Philippines

[Selpakius]

Hey Alvin, thanks a lot for your suggestions.. I don't think it is a malware or virus problem, because I format my PC almost every month and I use some protection programs..Well, is there a big difference between 6600 and 6800? I read the article you mentioned, but i still can't decide with which card to go with.I feel so stupid when it comes down to technical stuff like cards :) Let's say i buy an Nvidia Geforce6800 GT and a reasonable mother board, do you think they would work on my current setup?

Thanks a lot

Serkan

[Selpakius]

Hi guys,

I was looking for a website to purchase my new desktop PC. www.ibuypower.com (http://www.ibuypower.com/) looked like the best one I found.Here is what i am thinking of buying with some questions on the side :)

Memory: 1024 MB [512MB X2] DDR-400 PC3200 Memory Module
-------i will most likely upgrade this in a while)

Graphics card: Nvidia GeForce 6800-GT 256MB w/DVI + TV Out 8x AGP Video
-------they also have 6600GT 128 MB ... Eventhough I have read almost all the threads about this issue, i am still confused..do you think that there is a big difference between these two? 6600 is 200$ cheaper then 6800.. is 6800 worth to buy ?


Hard Drive: 80 GB 7200 RPM Ultra ATA-100
-------i have an external drive, so this is enough for me

Processor: Socket-775] Intel® Pentium-4 Processor 530 [3.0GHz, 1MB Cache, 800MHz FSB, HT Ready
--------they also have Intel® Pentium-4 Processor 630 [3.0GHz, 2MB Cache, 800MHz FSB, 64-Bit + HT Ready . this one is 50 $ more. but how much difference would this make?


Mother board :[Socket 775] Asus P5P800 i865 Chipset w/LAN, 5.1 Sound, USB 2.0 8x AGP


Well, I use 3Dsmax7.0 all day..also photoshop and combustion are most of the time open.I mostly do high poly character animation and high-poly modeling with GI rendering..So i just wanna be sure that this system will work good under my needs.

Thanks for your time

Serkan

[Selpakius]

anyone? please?

[CGTalk Moderation]

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.