Serious Problem - AMD 6000

[riaan]

Hi guys, I'm sorry to say but I've been sneaking about on AMDUsers.com for almost 2 years now every so often, and tonight I join because of a huge problem, and frankly I don't think I'd get better advice anywhere else than right here!

Old box:

AMD X2 4600 2.4ghz dual core
4GB DDR2 RAM ( 4 x 1GB PC 800 DDR2 RAM)
gigabyte k8 triton board
XP Pro, 32bit, SP2
Ran great, full boincing 24/7 up until end of August.

New box:

AMD 6000 3.0ghz dual core
4GB DDR2 RAM ( 4 x 1GB PC 800 DDR2 RAM) - taken from old box
asus m2n-mx board
fresh install XP Pro, 32bit, SP2

only (maybe) difference factor: in new box, os has been installed on old 80gb ide for easy access to swap between new linux flavors to be tested with the new hardware, instead of on a 50gb partition on sata2 320gb seagate. boinc folder resides on sata drive anyway, so not seeing much of an issue there, but stand to be corrected.


Whenever I start BOINC, it usely runs fine until just after the CPU calcs have been done... And then the slowdown begins, bigtime!

Changing tabs in Firefox takes almost 5 seconds to open up, nothing even remotely graphical, ftp raw commands and text, changing between programs causes the poor pc to have a heart attack... windows get stuck, programs not responding and I'm having all my days...

Have battled with this now since 1 sept, now i can't take it anymore... If anyone can guide me into fualtfinding where i haven't been, that would be greatly appreciated.

Know my way around computers so its a go-ahead with tech lingo, hate Intel more than I do anyone else and reckon i've found the place that might just save a few hairs on my head... any ideas?

[Robert P. Herbst]

This may be an over simplification, but have you run your disk cleanup recently? There is also a program out there I've had great luck with, it's called "Clean Up" it was free ware. I can send you a copy of the Install Program if you want me to. No guarantees, just something to try.

[riaan]

Hi Robert,


fresh install XP Pro, 32bit, SP2

[LeBo]

Have you loaded all your Motherboard drivers (IDE @SATA) that comes wit a new m/b on a CD_ROM disk?

[riaan]

Hi LeBo,

yup, uploaded all drivers... Even installed the Asus update utility, but stupid as Asus now seems, you need to update the utility itself first and the software is not to be found via their current software... doubt whether it's the bios levels though...

[BobCat13]

Have you disabled AMD Cool 'n' Quiet in the BIOS? Asus boards have Cool 'n' Quiet enabled by default, I believe.

Since boinc runs at low priority, the system may be slowing down to 1.0 ghz. When I first setup my X2 6000+ on an M2N-SLI Deluxe it would not run full speed until I disabled the CnQ option in BIOS.

[riaan]

Hi BobCat13, thnx for the first lead i haven't checked, will reply

I'm going to check the BIOS first thing in the morning for the Cool 'n' Quiet option like you suggested...

I followed one of the links to QCPUID/CPU Status and according to that the CPU is running full steam at 3013.87/88mhz.... Running Boinc and watching it die it's slow death, it jumps up to 3014.10MHz, so not sure whether that's the issue, but it's one I haven't thought about....

Another question for you, would the AMD Cool 'n' Quiet driver installed from the CD also be a culprit in this if the bios options solves this problem?

[PoorBoy]

fresh install XP Pro, 32bit, SP2

After you do a Fresh Install of the Windows OS is when it's the most Fragmented and in dire need of Defragging. I've seen as much as 30% - 40% Fragmentation after a OS installation.

[BobCat13]

I followed one of the links to QCPUID/CPU Status and according to that the CPU is running full steam at 3013.87/88mhz....

Is that a typo? Only 88 MHz on the system clock reading? For reference, I am showing 3030.50/202.03 MHz with a multiplier of 15.


Another question for you, would the AMD Cool 'n' Quiet driver installed from the CD also be a culprit in this if the bios options solves this problem?

It might be, but I cannot say for sure. I never installed that from the CD as I knew I wasn't going to be using it. :)

You can always try uninstalling it to see if it helps.

[riaan]

Is that a typo? Only 88 MHz on the system clock reading? For reference, I am showing 3030.50/202.03 MHz with a multiplier of 15.

BobCat13,

it's running constant at 3013.87 / 3013.88 MHz.... full speed the entire time...

Haven't checked the bios yet, but, just checked the A'n'Q software, the version on the CD that came with the board, had installed as K8 A'n'Q.... WTF????

Just need to do something about one of the competitions I run for the next hour or so, and then will reboot and see what hapens...


PoorBoy,

The max amount of defragmentation I ever got after a clean install is maybe 3%... And even after installing the full suite of software I use every day, it only goes up to about 4%...

What installation method do you use to get 30%/40% fragmentation? (not arrogant, valid question)

[Evil-Dragon]

Check your memory timings in BIOS. Make sure they are set correctly.

[riaan]

Allrighty then... starting to get mission critical... Facing a full 2 weeks now without getting this resolved...

Removed C'n'Q, no C'n'Q option in BIOS to disable... WPCPUID still shows running at max speed on both cores, even though it's only running at 1% or less usage...

Boinc comes on, not even 5 minutes and it takes a dive, pretty sure my old k8-1.6ghz performed better...

If anyone else can shed some light, please help, I'm about to loose my spot in the top 10k in the world...

[riaan]

Hi Evil Dragon -- memory timings are all on AUTO, I'm not an OC kind of person, so nothing was changed there... RAM still the same as on previous board, 4 x 1GB DDR2 pc800 DIMM...

[riaan]

-------------------------
CPU-Z version 1.41
-------------------------

Processors Map
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of processors 1
Number of threads 2

Processor 0
-- Core 0
-- Thread 0
-- Core 1
-- Thread 0


Processors Information
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Processor 1 (ID = 0)
Number of cores 2
Number of threads 2 (max 2)
Name AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+
Codename Windsor
Specification AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+
Package Socket AM2 (940)
CPUID F.3.3
Extended CPUID F.43
Brand ID 4
Core Stepping JH-F3
Technology 90 nm
Core Speed 3013.8 MHz (15.0 x 200.9 MHz)
HT Link speed 1004.6 MHz
Stock frequency 3000 MHz
Instructions sets MMX (+), 3DNow! (+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, x86-64
L1 Data cache 2 x 64 KBytes, 2-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L1 Instruction cache 2 x 64 KBytes, 2-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache 2 x 1024 KBytes, 16-way set associative, 64-byte line size
FID/VID Control yes
max FID 15.0x
max VID 1.400 V
Features XD, VT
K8 Thermal sensor yes
K8 Revision ID 5.3
Attached device PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 0
Attached device PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 1
Attached device PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 2
Attached device PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 3

[Strongbow]

Hi Riaan,

What version of BOINC are you running? ...and in TaskMgr is it BOINC taking all your CPU? ...what priority have you set for BOINC if it is?

[vaughan]

So let's recap: are the temps all OK? At IDLE its OK, under load (BOINC running) its performance drops 100 fold? What's the temp like under load?

Have you tried re-seating the hsf on the CPU and used a heat conducting paste eg Arctic silver?


Have you tried using only 2 x 1MB sticks of RAM instead of the 4 sticks? I read somewhere that some m/b cannot handle 4 sticks properly.

[riaan]

Hi Strongbow,

Microsoft Windows XP: Professional Edition, Service Pack 2, (05.01.2600.00)
Starting BOINC client version 5.10.20 for windows_intelx86

QMC - 50% - 81MB mem usage
Ufluids - 50% - 31MB mem usage
boincmgr.exe - 0% - 8MB mem usage

Boinc is set to run at 100%, same as what my x2-4600 was set as.

Hi Vaughan,

Temps fine, see attached image for stats when idle... Temp under load climbs 6 degrees, mb climbs 3degrees... not even bothering really... Asus Probe is giving me warning for MB at 45 degrees, but reckons thats BS, I've run hotter before, just installed it to get stats so not set up yet...

Remove both hsf / cpu, reseated both after checking for broken/bent pins... arctic silver applied again... running a coolermaster centurion 532 case, front intake, rear exit, both 12cm so airflow is good, cpu fan channel for air from outside... all sata cables, even dvd, so airflow in case is unobstructed. 1 ide cable for os drive, round cable. no 1.44mb.

400w psu, onboard graphics set at 128mb, not a gaming rig, built for work/boinc

haven't done the 2x1gb check yet... expected it to work as it did in previous gigabyte board. board is asus m2n-mx, can take 800 DDR2 4gb total. had memtest86+ running now for 4 hours, no errors, was at 19% when i killed it. will test 2 dimms and reply.

[Strongbow]

Coming from the S/W side; download 'What's Running' (http://www.majorgeeks.com/Whats_Running_d4778.html) and save a snapshot before BOINC and then run compare when it has it's slowdown to see if there is anything cheeky in there.

[riaan]

comparison.xml included in zip... Can you see anything funny?

[riaan]

aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhhhhh............ ...

have removed 2 dimms, slots filled now ia a1/b1, manual says correct for dual channel...

I'm trying to type this message, im a quick typer.... every damn word i type takes 30 seconds of one letter at a time to come up...

looking at asus pc probe, voltage on vcore is jumping between 1.3V and 1.41V in a slow procession... 5 maybe 10 seconds between jump... every time it hits 1.31 the machine is crap, higher up it works semi decent but still at slower speeds than my x2-4600....

I'm thinking of getting on the phone to Asus first thing monday morning...

--> I have another board/cpu... same board and chip... will build it tomorrow, and just replace what i have in this box, see if simular situation returns...

this is absolute crap.... sold 1 x2 4600 and bought 2 amd 6000 for boinc, and i havent seen anything for it so far...

[Strongbow]

Vcore drops when CPU use increases, this is normal for that m/b!

If you can't wait till contacting Asus on Monday then try updating the BIOS to the latest revision.

[riaan]

Hi Strongbow... Sorry for the late reply, but here's what I had to deal with today...

Was going to take the day off from working my online shop and getting more products uploaded... Today at 4pm SA time, decide to have a quick check to check the stats for the day so far and see who was currently online...

Admin page was open on firefox, so i typed in password and press login, file note found :( o crap, what now....

type in adress for main shop, file not found, bigger o crap :( :(

log onto hosting panel to check the files on the server, sweet blue uckall files... SOMEONE HACKED MY SITE AND DELETED MY FILES, uck uck uck!!!!!

So, 6.5hours later, I've restored, done more security checks, re-uploaded and fixed stuff I did since last backup, and now only is the site up and running again....

So didn't do a single thing on the CPU today....

However, thnx for confirming the vcore drop. Manually downloaded the newest BIOS from ASUS site, installed asus update for windows... ok, havent got newest version, so let it upgrade itself... great...

while we're at it, let it check for newer versions of the bios... now, the newest version i downloaded from the asus site, is 0804... asus update however says that 0301 is the newest update...

screw it, i went with the 0804 as that was the one i got from the website direct, yes it was the correct board's bios...

Still no luck...

[riaan]

No one have any more ideas?

[vaughan]

I'm out of ideas.

Dump the m/b and get a Gigabyte one.
:icon_wink:

[Nflight]

PoorBoy,

The max amount of defragmentation I ever got after a clean install is maybe 3%... And even after installing the full suite of software I use every day, it only goes up to about 4%...

What installation method do you use to get 30%/40% fragmentation? (not arrogant, valid question)

Riaan: I think this is the solution at hand. Your description of only able to get 3% of your system to finish seems to mean your impatient for the results. Allow the machine to do the full defragmentation not once, but three times. I have done this on all my machines and have even giving this advice to my instructors at the schools I have attended in the last 20 years. I have two machines on Asus boards both 4200+'s. One is on an SLI Deluxe and the other is on A8N board. A8N board is just slightly over clocked, ASUS boards do not like to O/C, they become unstable as mine has over 8%. I recommend as Vaughan has mentioned in his last post - Toss the Asus board and buy a Gigabyte and start over, My next board will be Gigabyte.
Process to do defrag: ON Windows XP; Click Start and slide to All programs, look for Accessories, then slide down to System Tools, Open Disk Defragmentor, let the program run three times. By the time your at the last time the speed of the full deframentation should be accomplished in about 1 to 3 minutes, not the initial 45 or more minutes to accomplish.

[spikey_richie]

I have one of the Gigabyte S-series AM2 M59 SLI boards. Touch wood, so far it has been flawless. The apps. that come with are a bit naff looking, but functional.

http://www.gigabyte.us/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2302

[Jason1478963]

I usually have enough other parts laying around I can try different devices to find out what the issue is. I'm not an expert, but these are a few things I like to do. I would eliminate everything you dont need. disconnect the floppy from the motherboard along with the cdrom. (I had a SATA burner that an ausus motherboard didnt like and a floppy drive that seemed to cause problems on a different asus board, but both devices worked when used in different motherboards). If those dont work try a different video card if you can(lower power requirements or driver issues with the current one). Check device manager to make sure windows finds everything correctly. It could be your hard drive has controller issues and is near the end of its life. Try a different cable and make sure your jumpers are set correctly on the IDE drive(CS/master/slave). You may wanna try pulling the SATA drive if the OS isn't installed on it. Try just the SATA if the OS is on it. If you have something bootable like UBUNTU you could try a livedcd from the cdrom as the only drive in the system. I like to run MEMTEST from the UBUNTU boot menu. The Asus board might have trouble with your memory in dual channel(try one chip). I see your power supply is a 400watt? What brand and model is it? It could be a little weak and causing some problems. (removing extra devices, using an older less power hungry video card may help you find out if your power supply cant handle the load of your newer equipment) If you get it running you can then add a device at a time until the problem shows up again.

Can you get the motherboard RMAd from the place you bought it?

Sorry to hear about your troubles

Best of luck getting these up and running

Jason

[Strongbow]

Riaan, any comeback from ASUS?

[Zacky]

got the same problem with my computer as riaan does
computer components differences:
m/b m2n-mx se plus
same amount of memory ram but 2x 2gb (ddr2 pc 1066)

so, does this story has a happy ending?

[NeoGen]

Hi riaan

I recommend checking if you have the latest bios installed... I checked on the Asus site and they recommend at least version 804 for the AMD X2 6000+.

For myself I always check and update bios/firmware of everything... motherboard, dvd writer, router, etc... and then also check on each component's website for the most up-to-date drivers.
The drivers that come on cd are always out of date (and sometimes buggy) when they reach the customers hands.

EDIT: oops... there was more pages of thread than I had seen at first. Please ignore if this has already been tried. :)