ATi Radeon 9700 AE2 Stepping AGP 8x Bug

[Mr.Tweak]

[ragingWS6]

How do you know what stepping stone you have? Is there some kind of identifier on the board? Please let me know.

[Wiggo]

Usually the chips themselves have it marked on them and sometimes they're put spec stickers but never actually handlin' one of those I can't say for sure. :smokin:
<center>:cheers:</center>

[saidin]

So how do we go about ordering the correct one....i do not want to get a defective part.......:no:

[Wiggo]

Now that depends on if ya can find a honest sales person (yeah I know) who is well informed (yeah, yeah, lay off) but there maybe a few around here who can give ya an idea on what to look for. ;)
<center>:cheers:</center>

[hivez]

Is this isolated to the ATI cards only or will this effect the gigabyte cards? BTW I have an ASUS A7V8X

Thanks
Hivez

[Mr.Tweak]

All cards using the AE2 stepping chip.

[Bathrone]

How do you query the VPU for what stepping it is?

I need to know what stepping mine is.

Not sure based on looking at the card.

[saidin]

Hopefully ATI will officially recognize this problem to the consumers and except an exchange for one that works with 8x AGP.

[lancero]

P4 2.533 B
Abit SR7-8X latest bios revision B
Ati radeon 9700 Pro bulk (sapphire)
Latest driver from Ati web site
AGP111.exe from SIS
Fast write AGP disabled in bios.

The computer work about 10 minutes in windows and after that he change the screen resolution from 1280X1024 32 bit to 800x600 in 4 bit "Windows has to correct a problem with an Hardware ...". I can still work but only in this resolution.
I tried some games MHAA, NHL 2002 they hang up after 2 minutes of playbut i think for that its a direct x problem. Anyone tried direct x 9 beta ?
Same problems with 3D software test after 10 minutes ...

I don't know what to do maybe its an Ati driver problem or an SIS AGP driver problem. I don't think its a power problem (PSU) because if it was the system will directly hang up or refuse to start ...

got this from kyle at hardocp

This is one of the things that comes with being first to market with new technology and you guys need to be aware of it. The Asus KT400 is the only board we have found so far that it does not work with.

Our buddies over at Asus had their two cents to add as well.


The problem is caused by a combination of power supply and motherboard +5V voltage ramp curves creating a situation where certain process corners in the ASIC will intermittently return an incorrect value for the ASIC ID after a cold boot.

Fix:
* Short-term solution is diligent screening prior to shipping.
* Long-term there are 2 options:

1. A modification to the motherboard BIOS (system BIOS) to create an extra read of the ASIC ID, the return value of which is ignored. The second read of the ASIC ID will then return the correct value

2. A board modification to monitor the read of the ASIC ID using programmable logic which will generate a NAK command back to the Northbridge controller while allowing the Radeon 9700 Pro to act as if the read command were executed successfully in order to cause the Northbridge to reissue the read command.


Any help would be appreciate ...

[Mr.Tweak]

ATI responds:

ATI is aware of a small number of reports of incompatibility between the RADEON 9700 PRO graphics accelerator and certain AGP 8X motherboards. It is important to emphasize that the number of incidents is very low. Extensive testing has been done, in conjunction with motherboard chipset manufacturers, motherboard manufacturers and with retail available motherboards, to determine if compatibility issues exists. From these tests, it has been concluded that no compatibility issues exist with the current or soon to be released AGP 8X motherboards.

Some end users have reported issues to our Customer Service department that we are investigating. From the data that has been gathered, it appears that issues that have been reported are caused by individual board issues and are not indicative of a general compatibility issue. RADEON 9700 PRO product owners are encouraged to contact our Customer Service Department should they have an operational problem with their product.

In addition, it is important to ensure that appropriate system preparation is done prior to installing the RADEON 9700 PRO. We recommend installing the latest motherboard BIOS in the system as well as the latest available AGP drivers. Many of the 8X issues have been resolved with an updated BIOS from the motherboard manufacturer.

- From www.rage3d.com

[Deathjag]

I know tio is working on a review of the p4s8x, and he's had nothing but problems with it. Any processor clocked above 2 ghz needs serious restrictions placed on it in the bios on order to work correctly. (I've already read the full review even though it hasn't been posted). I don't think that it is the AE2 stepping, and more likely the sis 648 chipset, combined with some possible instabilities from the new video card. However I can't explain the issues with the other motherboards..

[saidin]

updates in mobo bios, a bigger power supply, RMA'd cards, etc have all been solutions to the problems with the radeon 9700. Go to www.Rage3d.com 's forums and check out the different problems and solutions to the 8x issue.

[Jamur411]

Re: ATi Radeon 9700 AE2 Stepping AGP 8x Bug

I FIXED THE PROBLEM!!! I've done everthing you can imagine to fix my BSOD and agp lockups including changing video cards, reinstalling windows, reformating, benchmarks, quick fixes and I've finally found the problem that I believe is plaguing a wealth of computer gamers who have built their own machines or who have had unoptimized systems from manufacturer: RAM TIMING ISSUES!!! After a month of sleepless nights and an incredible amount of research I determined that my SOYO P4x400 mobo was not properly determining the RAM timing in my system bios. After searching pages for optimized ram timing in the bios, i plugged in some new numbers and my computer finally became the beastly machine I wanted it to be. The reason AGP cards cause errors in unoptimized RAM is becuase they right directly to the system memory. If any of the timing options are off by a little, the video card might try to overwrite a section of memory containging windows information, therefore creating a General protection fault of a BSOD. So go find the right optimized ram options and fix your broken computers

SOYO P4X400 Ultra Platinum Edition
Cmedia 8738
1 Ghz Ultra PC3200 DDR 400
3.06 Ghz Intel Pentium 4
Pny Verto Nvidia 5900 XT