xfx 5850 endless reboot loop

[y2k3lee]

hi all

New to forums but have used website alot for info etc, today i have a problem with 2 xfx 5850's but before i start i would like to say what my specs are:

CPU: AMD Phenom II X2 555 (unlocked to X4 B55 4GHz, only 3 cores though)
RAM: 2x2GB Ripjaw 1600MHz (running at 1773MHz)
HDD: SATA II 250GB
GFX: 8800GS 384MB
Mobo: M4A88T-M
OS: WinXP SP3

i replace my current card which is in the specs above and put in 1 of the 5850's but it goes into a loop of restarts of about 5 seconds between them, does the same with other 5850.
i have defaulted bios but same still happens.

If i use onboard with either 5850 i can boot into windows and windows can see the 5850's and try and install drivers but xp cant find them, i can install drivers for the onboard and the 5850's fine pc stays running. Only when i try and boot the 5850's as primaries will they go into the endless restart loop.

my current PSU is a Q-Tec 650w with 30A on 12v rail. Have tried on a friends motherboard a DFI x38-T2R with a 750w Cit PSU with 2 18A 12v rails and it haults at code 26 which i have found out is 1. Graphics card defective, 2 Wrong bios initial process (clock-gen circuit/superIO circuit). what does wrong bios initial process mean? is that mobo bios or gfx bios?

Confused as to what the problem is as my friend had them and they worked, i have re-applied paste on 1 card but that did nothing, i have also reflashed bios but still same problem.
Any help appreciated, hope we can get it sorted

Lee

 

[FreedomEclipse]

It would be the Q-tec PSU thats giving you problems... Its a shit brand and I highly doubt it provides anywhere near 650 that you would need to power a crossfire system.

Get rid of it and go for a 750w PSU from corsair, OCZ or Antec.

Q-tec has been defunct for a very long long time. Id trust a Q-tec to run a low end system. but for something that needs a lot more horsepower. the PSU just doesnt have it because its cheap and it uses cheap capacitors and chokes.

id go back to your old set up until you manage to get a good PSU cuz you could end up blowing something

 

[y2k3lee]

hi cheers for reply

i thought it would be, have had it for about 5+ years and has felt like it has been slowly giving up bit by bit.

i am currently lookin at a ocz 600w stealthxstream 2 i can get it for £50 or so instead of around £80, i have been told it will run that card fine and it is alot better than the 1st stealhxstream, its just a matter of getting it in stock in a shop near me.

any recommendations on a psu around £50-£60 mark that would also do the job and also be ample enough to power the 2 cards in CF when i upgrade mobo?

any news on that "Wrong bios initial process (clock-gen circuit/superIO circuit)" code? cant find anything on net about it yet, boggling me a lot.

Help is appreciated.

Lee

 

[FreedomEclipse]

600w is cutting it close. AMD specifys that you need a minimum of 600w to run 2 5850s in crossfire.

But rule of thumb is its better to over compensate for this a little and go with something like 750w so you know youre not pushing your PSU to the limit. the harder you push the PSU, the quicker the components inside degrade. - on top of that, you also have extra power for any future upgrades.

If you really need to go for a 600w then get a Corsair CX600 If you can spend a little more then a Corsair TX650

I highly recommending getting at least a 750w Just to be on the safe side.

I know PSU's can be expensive. My own cost around £160-180. but if you run a lot of expensive high end equipment then you need to make sure your powersupply is of equal quality.

£85 for a 750w PSU might seem a lot. but would you rather be spending hundreds more on replacing damaged parts when a PSU goes bad and frys everything or would you rather be safe?

All corsair PSU's come with a 7year warranty. Dont think of it as forking out £85, think of it more like investing in the future. 4 or 5 years down the line you'll be still using the same PSU and it will still run as good as the day you bought it.

as for the bios codes. I have no idea as i havent encounterd anything like this before. Try update the bios to the latest one, Otherwise clock-gen sounds like something CPU related Super I/O could be many things. googling it turns up a few hits.

many of the suggestions say go into the bios and loading the safety/default settings. see if that fixes the problem.

 

[y2k3lee]

hi

i am about to purchase CORSAIR Gaming Series GS700 700W Power Supply Unit for £69.99. not really up for getting online as i want it now to test these 2 cards to see if they are dead or not, will end up keepin psu even if the cards dont work, will save up to buy new gfx card(s) and mobo in future.

has single 12v rail at around 56A continuous so should be fine for when i go CF in future too.

would like some input before i actually go get it though just to know im getting a good quality/power for what i plan to do

Cheers again

Lee

 

[FreedomEclipse]

The GS700 will be fine. and should be fairly safe for crossfire depending what cards you get.

 

[y2k3lee]

dam man do you live on this forum

you have been a gr8 help will tell you the outcome of these maybe dead 5850s.

Lee

 

[FreedomEclipse]

I dont think they are dead.

Just test them one at a time before putting them together.

put 1 in, install drivers and run a vantage or 3Dmark 06 or 11 bench. - you can even do 15mins of furmark if you wish.

then do the same with the other and after that ones done, you can run with both of them

 

[y2k3lee]

hi again

i opted for the gs800 as it had more pcie connectors and it was only £5 more than the gs700.

i dont have a cf mobo yet the 1 i currently have is only 1 pci-e slot but hopefully as you say they are not dead.

will reply after installing new psu and testing each card, also do i register this psu on corsair website?

Lee

 

[FreedomEclipse]

you can register it if you want. Ive never really bothered with it.

 

[y2k3lee]

still no joy windows will see the cards if i make onboard primary but it wont boot if the cards are primary. its like it cant find the cards bios, i am still awaiting asus reply if a new bios will fix it as i am already on the newest bios (2403) for this mobo.

not sure what else to try

Lee

 

[techtard]

Did you run Drivercleaner Pro or Driversweeper when you changed from an nVidia card to your new Radeons?
If you don't there could be some junk left in the registry and in the windows system files that is interfering with your new graphics cards.
It's always a good idea to boot into safe mode and run one of those programs, as well as Ccleaner to get all of the leftovers out when you switch graphics vendors.

 

[y2k3lee]

already got rid of drivers but it doesnt even post, 1 more thing to try while waiting if asus have an updated bios is to disable quick boot (read somewhere it may help).

Fingers crossed dont feel like shelling out more money after getting this new psu today, can use 8800gs a bit longer i guess.

Lee

 

[FreedomEclipse]

dont put both cards in at the same time. Try one first and leave it at that untill you get a new PSU

 

[y2k3lee]

hi,
i dont mean to be rude but i have stated many times i dont have a CF mobo at the moment and i bought the new psu today, a gs800.

i have come across a new symptom if i disable acpi 2.0, now and then i will get out of range 35.4khz 79hz.

THIS PROBLEM OCCURS AT BOOTUP (NOT POSTING) DOESNT EVEN GET TO WINDOWS.
sorry for caps but i have seen many threads on many sites and people just try and answer without even reading what has been written.

I do appreciate the help Freedom but my only chance to see if these cards work now is if ASUS reply saying theres a bios update that isnt on their website that will fix the problem or wait till my friend comes back.

Very odd its like my motherboard cant see/read xfx5850 bioses properly.

Lee

 

[erocker]

Sounds to me like the motherboard needs to be replaced by Asus. You can tell their support that. A motherboard that doesn't work with a video card with no apparent fix is unacceptable.

 

[y2k3lee]

im waiting to see if there is a bios ASUS have that will fix it, if not i will see if a shop will test them to make sure if they dead or not as i do not know when my friend is back.

i have had this motherboard/CPU/RAM for about 8months bought at the same place/same day.

Any ideas how much a shop will charge to test if cards work in the UK? i have never done it before as i have always managed to get things working or they are clearly dead.

Cheers again all

Lee

 

[erocker]

Well.. That's not what I would do. Who know how long it's going to take for Asus to come out with a new bios for an older mid-range motherboard. No need to take it to a shop really as that is more time and money out of your pocket. Good luck with the wait if that's what you choose to do.

 

[y2k3lee]

i meant take the 2 5850s to a shop to test but i see what you mean they most prob will be expensive just to test them

think i will wait a couple of days while ASUS conjour up an excuse and wait for my other friend to get his new setup and see if they work in his

if not then the cards are most probably dead, how much they go for as spares? they are 2 xfx HD5850, see if i can get some money to replace them and my very old 8800gs

Lee

 

[erocker]

i meant take the 2 5850s to a shop to test but i see what you mean they most prob will be expensive just to test them

think i will wait a couple of days while ASUS conjour up an excuse and wait for my other friend to get his new setup and see if they work in his

if not then the cards are most probably dead, how much they go for as spares? they are 2 xfx HD5850, see if i can get some money to replace them and my very old 8800gs

Lee

Very unlikely both cards are dead. Do any of the red LED's underneath the cards light up? The obvious and apparent issue is the motherboard.

 

[y2k3lee]

hi,
didnt know there were LEDs on these cards, where to are they?

Lee

 

[y2k3lee]

some good news and some bad news

managed to finally get it to post and boot into windows, installed catalyst 11.9 and then it acted wierd jumping glitches. was tired so turned it off and went to bed, today turned on pc and my pc boots up but only from onboard (gfx0 is 1st), so i load up atiflash in dos and it says "adapter not found" using atiflash -ai 0 command.

so i am stumped once again
pc still doesnt see the other 5850 but does see it when i use atiflash in dos with onboard as primary.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Sounds like the card has kicked the bucket.

Your Q-tec killed it, no doubt about that. that PSU doesnt have the juice to power a 5850 and plugging one in only overloaded it and cause the voltage regulation to fluctuate and it overvolted and fried your card.

I wouldnt be suprised if that wasnt the only thing it fried.