At the End of My FSX Rope............

[MudMarine]

My system, specs to come, keeps locking up FSX on me. It's a random occurance, sometimes it happens right away sometimes at the end of a flight. Either way it's fustrating as hell! I'm just looking for some ideas on what to do, I'm fresh out of them.

XP Home: all current updates
Q9450 CPU quadcore: not OC'd
FSX Accel SP2
EVGA 790i Ultra board
Artic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro: set at 85%
PC Power & Coolling Silncer 750 quad power supply
Corsair DDR3 Memory
GeForce 8800 GT video card
WDC WD Raptor 10,0 RPM HD

Anything I forgot just let me know and I'll fill in the blanks. I know it's hard to fix something that not in front of you, it is for me, but I appreciate the thoughts!

[harleyman]

That EVGA board is well known for being problematic..

Flash the bios , as that has cured many of the lock ups...

Other than that I see no problem

[olaf1924]

I have the same video card as you and also had the same problem. The solution for me was to change video drivers.

[MudMarine]

I've done the BIOS flash.........about 5 times.

[MudMarine]

I have the same video card as you and also had the same problem. The solution for me was to change video drivers.

Tried that also, still locked up. What drivers do you recommend? I'll give it a go again.

[harleyman]

I've done the BIOS flash.........about 5 times.



5 times...Thats alot of times...Were you flashing the same one? Or just the newest?

The 169 series is a good start looking into driver problems..Its just before the PhysX stuff was added into the mix.

[MudMarine]

Copy on the 169 series. I've had to flash the BIOS so many times because of updates and troubleshooting during my build. Come to find out it was a bad memory stick. I replaced the OCZ with Corsair.

[harleyman]

Good News.. that OCZ has been giving lots of people trouble lately..

[Cactuskid]

Hey Mud, Looks like your rig is similar to mine. Post your BIOS settings over at the EVGA 790i forum. Those guys helped me out a lot with getting my rig stable.

http://www.evga.com/forums/tt.asp?forumid=40

It seems that memory settings are the #1 culprit with lock-ups. The 790i is a great board when tweaked correctly, but is finicky when it comes to what RAM you have installed. Mine was harder to tweak because I made the mistake of installing 4x1Gb RAM instead of 2x2Gb. The board is easier to tweak when only two mem slots are loaded. I assume you've run memtest on your RAM, yes? Once you get the system stable, then it's a very easy matter to bump that Q9450 up over 3 gigs without increasing the core voltage (much). I drop in to the EVGA forum now and then, and I'll check to see if you posted your settings. Maybe I can help...

Good luck!

[Bjoern]

Good News.. that OCZ has been giving lots of people trouble lately..

Not me. *Shrugs*

Mud, what drivers were you running? 185s?

[kilo delta]

Hey Mud, Looks like your rig is similar to mine. Post your BIOS settings over at the EVGA 790i forum. Those guys helped me out a lot with getting my rig stable.

http://www.evga.com/forums/tt.asp?forumid=40

It seems that memory settings are the #1 culprit with lock-ups. The 790i is a great board when tweaked correctly, but is finicky when it comes to what RAM you have installed. Mine was harder to tweak because I made the mistake of installing 4x1Gb RAM instead of 2x2Gb. The board is easier to tweak when only two mem slots are loaded. I assume you've run memtest on your RAM, yes? Once you get the system stable, then it's a very easy matter to bump that Q9450 up over 3 gigs without increasing the core voltage (much). I drop in to the EVGA forum now and then, and I'll check to see if you posted your settings. Maybe I can help...

Good luck!

+1 .... I've had numerous RAM issues with the 790i Ultra boards right from their initial release (though in fairness I'm running mine with all slot's populated with 8gb of memory). I've gone through a few set's of DDR3 in order to have my system running well. I've found that the Patriot Viper series are more stable on this board.

[MudMarine]

Not me. *Shrugs*

Mud, what drivers were you running? 185s?

I was but I've switched back to the 175's to see what happens's.

[MudMarine]

Hey Mud, Looks like your rig is similar to mine. Post your BIOS settings over at the EVGA 790i forum. Those guys helped me out a lot with getting my rig stable.

http://www.evga.com/forums/tt.asp?forumid=40

It seems that memory settings are the #1 culprit with lock-ups. The 790i is a great board when tweaked correctly, but is finicky when it comes to what RAM you have installed. Mine was harder to tweak because I made the mistake of installing 4x1Gb RAM instead of 2x2Gb. The board is easier to tweak when only two mem slots are loaded. I assume you've run memtest on your RAM, yes? Once you get the system stable, then it's a very easy matter to bump that Q9450 up over 3 gigs without increasing the core voltage (much). I drop in to the EVGA forum now and then, and I'll check to see if you posted your settings. Maybe I can help...

Good luck!

Thanks CK, I'll check it out. I did do a memtest and my RAM is fine. But I do have a feeling that it's a memory/board issue just the way it acting.........? Now I have to take screenies of my BIOS.......no clue! :kilroy:

[Cactuskid]

Thanks CK, I'll check it out. I did do a memtest and my RAM is fine. But I do have a feeling that it's a memory/board issue just the way it acting.........? Now I have to take screenies of my BIOS.......no clue! :kilroy:

Mud, use the 790i BIOS template that's posted in the stickies on the forum: http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.asp?m=489699

Copy it into wordpad or some such. I printed out a copy and filled it in as I went through my BIOS. It should only take a few minutes. You can then make a document that you can paste into the forum with the values added...

Also, follow the instructions posted in the stickies on how to list your rig in your forum signature. I really believe that the folks there will be able to help you with your problem... :wavey:

[MudMarine]

Thanks CK!! I'll get right on it; right after I fix the major system crash I just created. Had to do a complete OS reload.......hehe.......I'm such a dumb ass. But it's just about the best way for me to learn, break it then fix it!:engel016::icon_lol:

[harleyman]

Thanks CK!! I'll get right on it; right after I fix the major system crash I just created. Had to do a complete OS reload.......hehe.......I'm such a dumb ass. But it's just about the best way for me to learn, break it then fix it!:engel016::icon_lol:




LOL Always works for me too!

My Motto...Breaking is learning...:jump:

[Bjoern]

I was but I've switched back to the 175's to see what happens's.

Any improvement with those "oldies" ( :icon_lol: )?

[MudMarine]

Well everything is up and running again! But still locking up. I've posted my BIOS settings over at EVGA and I'm PRAYING they can help me.........PLEASE!!:icon_lol:

[MudMarine]

Any improvement with those "oldies" ( :icon_lol: )?

Negative on the 175's, still locking.

[Cactuskid]

Well everything is up and running again! But still locking up. I've posted my BIOS settings over at EVGA and I'm PRAYING they can help me.........PLEASE!!:icon_lol:

Mud, the changes that Micah suggested to your BIOS settings are basically the same as mine, although my RAM voltage is up to 1.9v. The Corsair RAM doesn't seem to want to play nice above that. The 9-9-9-24 timing is what Corsair recommended for my RAM. I also use a 2T clock command and slightly higher NB voltage. Here's my BIOS settings for reference, but notice that my FSB is 1600:

BIOS Version: P06
**System **
CPU Freq, MHz: 3.20 GHZ
FSB Reference Clock, MHz: 1600
CPU Multiplier: [8X]
PCle x16-1 & 16-2, MHz: [100]
PCle x16-3, MHz: [100]
SPPc->MCP Ref Clock, MHz: [200]
nForce SPP --> nForce MCP: [5X]
nForce SPP c-- nForce MCP: [5X]
**Spread Spectrum**
CPU Spread Spectrum: [Disabled]
HT Spread Spectrum: [Disabled]
PCle Spread Spectrurn(SPP): [Disabled]
PCle Spread Spectrurn(MCP): [Disabled]
SATA Spread Spectrum: [Disabled]
**FSB & Memorv Config**
FSB - Memory Clock Mode: [linked]
FSB - Memory Ratio: [sync mode]
FSB (QDR), MHz: [1600]
Actual FSB (QDR), MHz: 1600
x MEM (DDR), MHz: 1600
Actual MEM (DDR), MHz: 1600
P1: [Enable]
P2: [Enable]
**Memory Timing Setting**
Memory Timing Setting: [expert]
tCL (CAS Latency): 9
tRCD: 9
tRP: 9
tRAS: 24
Command Per Clock: [2T]
** Advanced Memory Settings **
tRRD: [Auto] 6
tRC: [Auto] 41
tWR: [Auto] 12
tWTR: [Auto] 18
tFAW: [Auto] 25
tREF: [Auto] 7.7us
**System Voltages**
CPU Core: [1.27v]
CPU FSB: [1.20v]
Memory: [1.9v]
nForce SPP: [1.45v]
nForce MCP: [1.55v]
GTLVREF Lane 0: [Auto]
GTLVREF Lane 1: [Auto]
GTLVREF Lane 2: [Auto]
GTLVREF Lane 3: [Auto]
**CPU Configuration**
Limit CPUlD Maxval: Disabled
Intel Speedstep: Disabled
xPPM Mode: [Native]
CPU Thermal Control: [Disabled]
C1E Enhanced Halt State: [Disabled]
Execute Disable Bit: [Enabled]
Virtualization Technology: [Disabled]
CPU Core 0: [Enabled]
CPU Core 1: [Enabled]
CPU Core 2: [Enabled]
CPU Core 3: [Enabled]

Hope this helps...

Richie

[Bjoern]

Negative on the 175's, still locking.

Dang.


I guess it's time to focus on the Ram now.

[MudMarine]

Well, my BIOS is updated and went to EVGA to get the settings for my board. Everything seems to be working so far. Only one same problem, the scenery gets jumpy every now and then. It'll start to pause, sometimes stop but it continues without completely locking up.

Anyone else with a Q9450 what kind of RAM are you running?

Thanks to everyone! I'm almost enjoying FSX now.........give it a bit more time.......I hope I'm not disapointed!:icon_lol::engel016:

[Cactuskid]

Hey Mud, Glad to hear that it's getting better. Have you run Prime95 or Intel Burn Test since changing your BIOS settings? You'll want to do that, especially if you changed the timing on your RAM. Keep an eye on your core temps when you do...

I run 4x1Gb of Corsair 1600, and use the Corsair recommended 9-9-9-24 timing. Corsair recommends 1.8v for my sticks, but I'm running at 1.9v and it's a lot more stable. In cruising the EVGA forums, it seems like a lot of 9450 users are using either Corsair or Patriot RAM, and having good results...

[Bjoern]

Anyone else with a Q9450 what kind of RAM are you running?

DDR2, so I can't help with specific settings.

Anyways, I wouldn't say it's the CPU. Stick to the Ram and listen to CactusKid. Giving the sticks 0.1V more wouldn't hurt, I guess.