IS it my memory or mobo causing the problem?

[BlwnSS]

My comp has been running like ass and locking up.

Rig:
Epox 8k3a+
XP 2000+
Corsair XMS Platinum PC3200 512mb 1 chip only
Albatron FX5900 128mb

I started getting blue screen errors. One of those screens mentioned that my BIOS was not compatible with ACPI. (Only saw that one time) Then it just started crashing. Screen would just cut off and I couldn't get it to post when I turned it off and on. I have to let it sit for a while before turning it back on. Then it wouldn't get past the post at all, so I set mobo to fail safe default. Fail safe settings set my memory to PC2100 speed and it has ran for 24hrs without locking like that.

My memory never ran at the advertised PC3200 and I couldn't figure out how to turn it up. It's always ran at PC2700. I used to be able to run it at Turbo settings, but haven't been able to for awhile.

With this info in mind, I assume my mem. stick is bad. But, I ran memtest for over 12hrs with 0 errors last night. Which makes me wonder if it's not my mobo.

Thanks for the help.

[johan851]

Well, the Epox 8K3A+ is an nForce2 mobo, not an nForce2 Ultra 400. It's not really designed to do 200fsb. Some have done it, but I believe it usually requires a chipset voltmod. Have you tried that?

[BlwnSS]

It's a VIA chipset, not Nforce2.

[ShadowCat66]

This might be reaching a bit,but you might want to check and see if your power supply is keeping up its end of the bargain.Look for it to drop under load,things like that.

[BlwnSS]

How do I check my PSU to see if it's dropping under load?

I have an Antec Smart Power SL350 PSU.

Last night, I updated the BIOS and set my ram back to PC2700 for the hell of it. It booted and ran SySoft membench just fine. I then ran 3dmark2001se to see if it could handle a game. I scored about where I should be on 3dmark. I let the comp relax for a minute, then ran 3dmark again.

This time, it ran for about 2mins into the benchmark and the screen started to tare, then the comp locked up. I turned it back on and it gave an error report (WinXP-pro) saying that the problem was caused by my video card driver.

I set my ram back to PC2100 and went to playing games. Within 10mins of playing, the screen froze, but I could still talk on voice for about 3 secs, the the comp froze. This happened 2 times and then I went to bed.

My video card is about 1 month old.

[vidgion]

maybe you could try older drivers or just reinstall them-

[ShadowCat66]

You could install Motherboard moniter to check how your 12 and 5 volts are holding up.

I would check into the Video card a bit more,in your last post it sounds like it could be a driver or a card trouble.Even if it is only a month old,dont count it out to quickly.

[computerbias]

Even if your mem is not too good, I wonder if it would really show as an error because it don't perform well.

I don't think you have a mobo issue, it may be your bios. something in the programing anyhow.