2005-11-23, 11:18 PM
I'm back!!! With a new motherboard!
I always had the random problem with GBPVR stopping the AVI transcode to MPG when I was watching my DVDs on the MVP. I also started seeing random freezes when I was playing games, so last week, I decided to test my system.
I downloaded Prime95, and ran the torture test in blend mode. To my susprise, Prime95 reported my computer was making erroneous calculations. I spent the last week trying to diagnose, and it ended up being a defective capacitor on my mobo. I noticed that during intense calculations, my Vdd (chipset voltage) started dropping from 1.6 down to 1.4v every once in a while. I looked at the cap, and it was slightly cracked on the top. Barely visible with the naked eye.
I had a friend run the same test on the same mobo+CPU and RAM, and his Vdd was rock stable.
So i'm back, with an Abit NF7-S2G, that doesn't generate calculation errors anymore, and a bank account $60 lighter. Could have been worse, I guess.
So if you're having the random crashes in GBPVR, and can't really pinpoint where it comes from, it's worth running the torture test in "blend" mode of Prime95. Might reveal something you didn't know about!
Here's the link to download it: http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm
I always had the random problem with GBPVR stopping the AVI transcode to MPG when I was watching my DVDs on the MVP. I also started seeing random freezes when I was playing games, so last week, I decided to test my system.
I downloaded Prime95, and ran the torture test in blend mode. To my susprise, Prime95 reported my computer was making erroneous calculations. I spent the last week trying to diagnose, and it ended up being a defective capacitor on my mobo. I noticed that during intense calculations, my Vdd (chipset voltage) started dropping from 1.6 down to 1.4v every once in a while. I looked at the cap, and it was slightly cracked on the top. Barely visible with the naked eye.
I had a friend run the same test on the same mobo+CPU and RAM, and his Vdd was rock stable.
So i'm back, with an Abit NF7-S2G, that doesn't generate calculation errors anymore, and a bank account $60 lighter. Could have been worse, I guess.
So if you're having the random crashes in GBPVR, and can't really pinpoint where it comes from, it's worth running the torture test in "blend" mode of Prime95. Might reveal something you didn't know about!
Here's the link to download it: http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm