AGP Help Please?

Ok, I've been trying to figure out why my system has been so unstable, and I think I am on the right track. I have the Abit KG7-Raid motherboard with a AMD XP 1900 cpu with the 3D Blaster Annihilator 2 (GeForce2 GTS) card.

Scenario: When I chose the proper settings for the CPU speed and FSB clock for my chip (which are 1600 and 133 respectively), I have problems with my system. I believe it is the video card. When I set the FSB to 100 (instead of 133) then the system runs fine. I have read that when you run your system on the stock 100Mhz FSB the AGP bus runs at 2/3 of that speed (66Mhz). The problem comes when you increase the FSB. By going to 133Mhz, the AGP bus increases to 89Mhz (2/3 of 100 about 89Mhz). Im guessing that this speed is too high for my card???

Solution:???

I have read that some boards have AGP dividers that allow you to slow down things a bit, but I don't think my motherboard has this feature OR I'm not sure how to do it. Any advice or suggestions?

Thank you!!!

P.S. My temperatures are ok, my power is ok, and I have the correct memory to handle the 133 FSB. I'm almost positive it's because of the video card/AGP/FSB problems.

Welcome To The Forums

How are you adjusting the FSB on your MoBo? Have you checked with Paul? He has got a bunch of details on your MoBo. Please type here what your SOFT MENU III looks like.

Thanks! Glad to be here.

I am adjusting the FSB in the Bios and yes I have read Pauls faq many times in search for some help. : )

I'm not sure what you would like to know regarding my bios. I have many options for the CPU and FSB. For my system, I should be picking the 1600 CPU speed and the FSB 133. However, no matter what CPU speed I pick, as long as the FSB is 133 I seem to have problems. When I set the FSB to 100, all the problems go away. This is what leads me to believe that the increase in FSB is causing my AGP bus to be too fast for my card to handle. I know that my problems are related to this, and that some people can get around this because they have the option to use an AGP divider which lowers the AGP bus down a little. My problem is that I don't think my motherboard supports this, but I'm not sure if that's a fact or not. I can't find any documentation anywhere confirming or denying this. I would think that a lot more people would be complaining if this couldn't be done with this board...but I just can't seem to figure out if it's possible or not. If it's not, are there any other options besides buying a new motherboard or video card?

Thanks though!

The 761 chipset actually has 1/4, 1/5 & 1/6 dividers that made it a good candidate for high FSB overclocking so your problem might be the way you set the BIOS so again type eactly what you see in SOFT MENU III. What BIOS version are you using?

Here are my bios settings (I'm using the latest that Abit offers...I've updated everything that I can from their site).

CPU Operating Speed 1600+(133)

when I pick that setting, the following are pre-selected for me...

CPU FSB Clock 133MHz
FSB Rate (CPU:SDRAMCI 4:4:1
Speed Error Hold Disabled

There is also the option of choosing "User Defined" in which I believe you have more control over all the options.

Thanks again for your help. Much appreciated.


- More Info -

[BIOS Information]
Vendor String : Award Software International, Inc.
Version String : 6.00 PG
Release Date : 10/22/2001
ROM Size : 256 KB

[Motherboard Information]
Manufacturer : ABIT
Product String : 761-686B(KG7)
Version String : Rev:1.0

[Chipset Information]

Host Bridg : 1022 700E 13 00000000 AMD-761
ISA Bridg : 1106 0686 40 A702147B VIA VT82C686B
IDE Controller : 1106 0571 06 05711106
VGA Device : 10DE 0150 A3 10471102 NVIDIA GeForce2 GTS/Pro

AGP Revision : 2.0 / Enabled
(Status) (Command)
Data Rate : 1x 2x 4x / 4x
Fast Write : Supported / Enabled
4GB Addressing : Not Supported / Disabled
Side Band Addr.: Supported / Disabled
Aperture Size : 64 MB

At either 100, or 133mhz, your AGP bus will be the same speed.

Get the free copy of SiSoft Sandra, and take a look at the mobo properties. It will show you the bus frequencies.

Have you tried reseating your board. Lots of ppl have had problem similar to yours because of poorly seated ram, or video boards.

Also, I suggest It may be memory related. Try pulling all but 1 stick. If that helps, try 2, then 3. Switch them around. See if there is any correlation.

Another thing, what are you using for a PSU?

Doctor

That's not what I've read. I've heard that when running your system on the stock 100Mhz FSB the AGP bus runs at 2/3 of that speed (66Mhz). The problem comes when you increase the FSB. By going to 133Mhz, the AGP bus increases to 89Mhz (2/3 of 100 about 89Mhz). A 89Mhz AGP bus appears to be too high for my 3D Blaster Annihilator 2 (GeForce2 GTS) card. With the use of an AGP divider, you can lower the speed so that it operates within the cards limits.

I do not believe it is memory related. I have only one chip which is the correct speed. This has been verified.

I have a 250 watt psu. I know this is too low, but I only have 1 hard drive, 1 cd rom, a video card, and my ethernet card plugged in right now to keep it safe. I have checked through diagnostics to see if my power is too low, and it seems to be ok. I'm expecting my new 400 psu on Monday.

I do have a copy of SiSoft Sandra...acutally, it was this program that helped me determine what the problem was. Below is some of the output that I received after running a test...

(Note the following):

Warning W2521 AGP bus speed is too high. Reduce FSB speed or FSB/AGP multiplier.


----------------------------- SiSoft output -----------------------------
[General]
Program Version 2001.5.8.11
Licence Status Unregistered Shareware Evaluation Copy. FREE for personal use.
Licence Extra See Ordering Document for information on the Professional version.
Report Done On Friday, December 07, 2001
Report Done At 11:20:45 PM

[Mainboard Information ]
Warning W2533 Disabled host controllers are present. Check BIOS settings.
Notice N224 SMBIOS/DMI information may be inaccurate.
Warning W2521 AGP bus speed is too high. Reduce FSB speed or FSB/AGP multiplier.

[CPU & BIOS Information]
Tip T212 System BIOS : BIOS can be shadowed so check whether it is.
Tip T211 System BIOS : BIOS is flash-able and socketed so it can be upgraded when needed.
Warning W2533 Processor 1 : Disabled host controllers are present. Check BIOS settings.


Thanks again for your suggestions! Hopefully I won't have to get a new motherboard or a new video card. I'm really starting to spend more than I wanted to. I haven't heard too much complaining about this board, so I'm hoping that there is a way to fix this.

How are you increasing the FSB to 133? Why have you not typed EXACTLY WHAT YOU SEE IN SOFT MENU III????? Like I said before your bourd HAS the dividers for the AGP to work properly.

FSB = AGP = PCI
100 = 2/3 = 1/3
133 = 1/2 = 1/4

You need to do a lot more reading & make sure your sources are correct.

Sonny, a few posts up I have typed exactly what I saw in Soft menu. I will copy it again for you to see.

---------------- Soft Menu Output Start --------------------
CPU Operating Speed 1600+(133)

when I pick that setting, the following are pre-selected for me...

CPU FSB Clock 133MHz
FSB Rate (CPU:SDRAMCI) 4:4:1
Speed Error Hold Disabled

There is also the option of choosing "User Defined" in which I believe you have more control over all the options.
---------------- Soft Menu Output End --------------------

The CPU Operating Speed can be chosen from a list which looks like this:

User Define....[ ]
1500+(100).....[ ] (When chosen, Multiplier=X13, FSB=100, FSBRate=3:3:1)
1600+(100).....[ ] (When chosen, Multiplier=AboveX13, FSB=100, FSBRate=3:3:1)
1500+(133).....[ ] (When chosen, Multiplier=X10, FSB=133, FSBRate=4:4:1)
1600+(133).....[X] (When chosen, Multiplier=X10.5, FSB=133, FSBRate=4:4:1)
1700+(133).....[ ] (When chosen, Multiplier=X11, FSB=133, FSBRate=4:4:1)
1800+(133).....[ ] (When chosen, Multiplier=X11.5, FSB=133, FSBRate=4:4:1)
1900+(133).....[ ] (When chosen, Multiplier=X12, FSB=133, FSBRate=4:4:1)

As far as reading and sources being correct....I have been reading as much as I can so that I don't have to bother anyone. However, it is the lack of information in my manual as well as Abit's site that forces me to ask for help. Nowhere in my manual is anything like this addressed. I've read faqs on my board and gone through a ton of posts, but I haven't come across an answer. Also, I've tried to provide what information I think to be true in an effort to explain what my thoughts are. If you would like me to check my sources, what may I ask do you find objectionable?

I do appreciate your help on this, and I apologize if I'm not explaining things clearly.

What exactly are your problems with the system? Are there any beep codes? Does it post? All of this can help fix your problem. It is better to start from the beginning. We know that it could be your power supply. The rest will depend on your answers.



Edit: what are your temps. What is your 12 volt at? What is your five volt at? All of these at load and idle.




Edit: And what cpu do you have a 1900 like you stated in your first post. or a 1600?

I apologize if I sounded rude in my last post.

Now to the problem. I assume that the multiplier is locked so when you set the FSB to 100MHz/200FSB you are actually clocking it down. So in effect you have 12 X 100 = 1200MHz/1.2GHz & your PSU probably can keep up with this. When you go 12 X 133 = 1600MHz/1.6GHz your PSU will be hard pressed to give enough voltage at this speed. Try to get a hold of a 400W min PSU & see what happens. The AGP divider automatically goes to 1/2, staying at 66MHz, when you select the 133 option in the BIOS, that is if you are not adding MHz with the + option. AMD CPUs are power hungry to say the least & all this might be solved with a higher capacity PSU.

the 2/3 on 133 should be problem with the aging intel bx board.
most of board right now have better divider i believe. as for your problem, i am newbei in amd board myself, cant help you


best of luck

dr0p0ut

Thanks for the psu advice. I am expecting my new one tomorrow, so I will install that and post my results tomorrow evening.

Much appreciated! I hope that does the trick!!!

Kenden,

I have an AMD 1900+ XP.

Yes, it does post. No beep codes.

My temps idle right now are..45C. Under load it approaches 50. I'm going to work on this next. I know it's a little high, but should still be ok as long as it doesn't get higher. I have a MasterCooler heatsink with a thermal pad...I've heard this is crap. So, I plan on getting a Glaciator II and arctic 2 thermal compound.

Voltages are ok right now because I have my system stripped down to almost nothing to keep consumption low. I plan on installing a 400Watt PSU tomorrow.

Thanks.

fella10 said:

Kenden,

I have an AMD 1900+ XP.

Yes, it does post. No beep codes.

My temps idle right now are..45C. Under load it approaches 50. I'm going to work on this next. I know it's a little high, but should still be ok as long as it doesn't get higher. I have a MasterCooler heatsink with a thermal pad...I've heard this is crap. So, I plan on getting a Glaciator II and arctic 2 thermal compound.

Voltages are ok right now because I have my system stripped down to almost nothing to keep consumption low. I plan on installing a 400Watt PSU tomorrow.

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Then why are you trying to set it in the bios as a 1600+?
What problems are occuring? (bsod's, instability, etc...)

Kendan,

The XP 1900+ has a 1.6Ghz processor and a 133Mhz Front-side bus. These are the settings that I am trying to pick in my bios- that is where the 1600(133) is coming from. However, when I do pick these settings (or anything for that matter with a FSB of 133), my system locks up. It may boot up fine, and work for a few mins, even 10 or 15, but it eventually freezes up on me. Heat is fine (I am monitoring it). I believe I have narrowed it down to the video card. Why? because I ran some tests on SiSoft Sandra which gave me the following error:

Warning W2521 AGP bus speed is too high. Reduce FSB speed or FSB/AGP multiplier.

After doing some reading, it apears that the increase in FSB causes the AGP bus to run faster...and my card (even though it's not too old - GeForce 2 card) just can't handle it. Now I've heard that there are AGP dividers which can reduce this AGP bus speed, but there is nothing in my Abit KG7-Raid manual that says anything about them. So, I am just trying to expalin my problem, and what I *think* may be the cause, and then ask someone on this board for some advice. I should also mention, that when I choose a slower FSB (100 instead of 133) then my system runs fine and does not freeze up at all.

Since my power supply is too low for this setup (250Watt), I would like to rule that out first. I am getting one tomorrow, so I will post my results after I install it. Perhaps that will fix everything! : )

Thanks.

Sorry about the multiplier thing I just spaced (damn AMD marketing) lets hope the battery fixes all your problems. what bios are you running?

Did you ever solve this problem?
i have an abit kg7
xp1700
and also a geforce 2 and i am experiencing much the same problem.
My xp will not boot up even. I had it to boot on an epox board but then it stayed at the 100 bus speed also, and if i tried to set it to the correct cpu it locked up on boot.
I have tried 2 xp cpus and 3 motherboards and no luck......
......argh.

Pogue - Are you still having trouble with your KG7 and 1700+?

It took me a while to get mine up and running too! I'll help out as best I can.