Odd Audio/Video Problem wth Dell System

[jjdeltor]

Note: I originally put this in general hardware, but could not see how to move it here.

I recently upgraded my brother to a more reliable (Enermax) PSU and to an X800 Pro (AGP) video card. I first installed the new PSU and then tested the system and everything went fine. Unfortunately, there were problems with the video card install.

The first thing I noticed was that the Dell splash screen was distorted. There were 2 distortion lines across the bottom third of the screen. They basically looked like a solid line of artifacts across the screen. Fortunately to date this is the only place they show up. So for now they are really just an annoyance I would like to dispose of. Possibly related to this, I have found that fast writes is on in the SmartGart tab in Windows Advanced screen setting. I try to turn this option off and I am hit with a window that says this must be tested first and a restart is necessary. When it restarts, fast writes is back on, WTF :mad: . I feel that this may be related to the splash screen, but am also unsure on this.

The second issue is a little more problematic. After the video card install, the audio in certain games is screwed up (so far only in Halo and HL2). In Halo the audio is almost like it is on fast forward and in HL2 it is completely indiscernible. While HL2 has not been updated yet (no high speed), Halo originally worked just fine with my brother's old video card (GF4 Ti4200). To date Dell has been helpless; just do a clean install of everything was all they could offer.

Now here is what I have found out. On the Dell site there is currently a chipset update listed for his computer. The file is dated 2003, but on the Intel site there is an update from the middle of 2004. Is it safe to use newer update from the Intel site; also how are these drivers installed (I ask because from reading it seems that more is required than just running the program)? Dell also has a bios update listed for this computer; would a bios update alleviate an apparent agp/pci conflict (this is my speculation as to what is happening)?

I am really at a lose here, especially since I built my machine from scratch and have had no where near as much trouble. Thanks for any advise/info you can send my way.

- Jason

Here is a little on my brothers computer:
-Dimension 4600 w/ 2.8GHz P4 (no HT)
-533 FSB
-1 Gig PC2700 (3 sticks; 1 512MB and 2x 256MB)
-Enermax PSU w/ 26amps on 12volt rail 9the rail I believe powers the vid card)
-120 gig HD
-Soundblaster Live 5.1 (this is the Dell version which is different from all other versions on market, its model# is SB0200 or SB0203)

[jjdeltor]

Hate to be a jerk; please guys, a little help?

[bigspice]

go to the dell forums, support.dell.com and do a search, you want to confirm that you can put a std. ATX power supply in that chassis. some of the older models did not use std. power supplies. also, test the system with the old PSU and the new video card to see if the problem goes away. then, test with the new PSU and old card. also, uninstall the driver, run driver cleaner, and reinstall... see if this helps.
try putting the vid card on its own power rail.. i.e.. plug the hard drive and cd drive into one rail and the vid card on another.
unseat and reseat the card. see if this works.
also.... go into the bios and make sure that it is set to use the AGP slot and not the integrated graphics.

let me know if these help.

[the adam]

you can use rivatuner to force fastwrites off cause dell doesn't give u that option in the bios. Also find out what the new bios do but i dont see how it can hurt(I used to have a dell and its pretty easy to change the bios. Just follow the directions). Also do as the guy above me said and use the original PSU and if it crashes just use the new enermax on the vid card and the original one for the system stuff.(Link to website on how to setup dual PSU's without cutting wires) (http://www.burningissues.net/how_to/power/psu.htm)

[Avatar28]

The PSU should be standard ATX. If it wasn't, he would have fried something already. The old ones haven't been used since the Dimension 8100 and the Dimension 2100. As far as I know, all the Dimensions since those have been standard ATX. Swapping the PSUs and cards around isn't a bad idea. I'd probably swap the card first, though, since it's easier.

Also, that system uses dual channel memory. By having that one 512 MB stick in there, you kicked it out of dual channel and are running single channel. Not a huge performance loss there, but there is some.

You could try moving some cards around too. Or start by pulling all the PCI cards and see if that helps the issue go away.