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XFX 790i Ultra Unresolved Lockups

Submitted by chuck on Sat, 09/20/2008 - 18:25

I've been mostly pleased with the XFX 790i Ultra / Core 2 Duo E8400 combo. The only thing that's really disappointing is the occasional lockup while running games or playing at DVD.

Currently, the system is running Kubuntu 8.04. I put together a little tool in python to monitor the CPU / GPU temps. I'll probably post the script once I get it a little more refined. Anyway, I'm averaging about 44-49C on the CPU and 45-58C on the nVidia 8600GT. I'm pretty sure it's not a thermal lockup.

Reading some of the posts on bjorn3d leads me to believe that it's instability in the 790i chipset. Here's what I've tried on that front:

  • Installed the P06 firmware update
  • Adjusted the RAM timings to 8-8-8-8-24-T2
  • Manually set the CPU voltage to 1.25 from Auto

Still getting the intermittent lockups after these measures. If anyone has any ideas, I'd appreciate it. After this and the experience with the Asus Striker II Extreme, I'm seriously considering punting and ordering either a 780i based board or an Intel X38 based board.

-chuck