Continual Beeping from Moethboard.....only during gameplay?

Artic6 · Joined: Nov 21, 2009 Posts: 2

Hi all,

I have a eVga 680i motherboard (the SLI one) with the BIOS version P33 installed running Windows 7 x64 Ultimate and during startup all is OK....the memory is tested and the GPU states it has all the power it required (more in a bit)

Windows 7 boots and all is fine, I can use Windows without any issues, however if I try to start Steam and play Left 4 Dead 2, Killing Floor....or any game for that matter....the motherboard starts to emit a continual beep.....which I am not sure if I can ignore this or react to it.....

If I quite the game the beeping stops and you can still use Windows 7 without any BSOD's or hnags or crashes....

I have a 768MB Leadtek Winfast 8800GTX as the GPu that requires 2 external power connections...these are both connected

I have tried the Windows 7 Memory Diagnositcs toolkit and this comes back as "No Fault"

I know that eVga motherboards have a track record for killing memory, but I would expect Windows errors if this were the case.

I am curious as to how this worked fine all day yesterday, but does not work at all today......anyway here are the stats.....

Here the Temperatures/Core Volatges/Fan Speeds for my system running normally....the CPU is not overheating.....the max is 42 degrees

Motherboard 32 °C (90 °F)
CPU 37 °C (99 °F)
CPU #1 / Core #1 37 °C (99 °F)
CPU #1 / Core #2 37 °C (99 °F)
CPU #1 / Core #3 32 °C (90 °F)
CPU #1 / Core #4 32 °C (90 °F)
MCP 36 °C (97 °F)
GPU 42 °C (108 °F)
GPU Diode 47 °C (117 °F)
GPU Ambient 38 °C (100 °F)

Cooling Fans
CPU 2377 RPM
Chassis 1654 RPM
Chassis #2 1654 RPM
GPU 1618 RPM (60%)

Voltage Values
CPU Core 1.28 V
+3.3 V 3.30 V
+5 V 4.92 V
+12 V 11.83 V
+5 V Standby 4.97 V
VBAT Battery 2.19 V
3.3V Dual 3.28 V
FSB VTT 1.19 V
DIMM 1.86 V
GPU Vcc 3.30 V

I am thinking that this is either a faulty GPU OR the PSU is not supplying the GPU with the correct volatge under load...as when you start a game the GPU will require more voltage off the GPU Vcc...

So I am guessing this is either a GPU or a PSU faulty ????

Came anyone confirm this ???? Also, my last step is to re-seat the GPU...which I cannot see this solving the issue!

Finally, the system summary:

Computer Type ACPI x64-based PC
Operating System Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate
OS Service Pack - Internet Explorer 8.0.7600.16385
DirectX DirectX 10.0
Computer Name GAMINGRIGV6 (Artic6 Gaming Computer v6.0a)

Motherboard
CPU Type QuadCore Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850, 3000 MHz (9 x 333)
Motherboard Name EVGA NF68 (2 PCI, 2 PCI-E x1, 3 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Dual Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394)
Motherboard Chipset nVIDIA nForce 680i SLI
System Memory 4096 MB (DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM)
BIOS Type Award (09/04/0 Cool

Display
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX (768 MB)
3D Accelerator nVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX
Monitor HP LP2475w Wide LCD Monitor [NoDB] (CZC90102DJ)

Multimedia
Audio Adapter Creative SB X-Fi XtremeGamer Sound Card

Storage
IDE Controller NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller
IDE Controller NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller
IDE Controller NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller
IDE Controller Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
Disk Drive SAMSUNG HD501LJ SCSI Disk Device (500 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)
Disk Drive SAMSUNG HD501LJ SCSI Disk Device (500 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)
Optical Drive PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-112D ATA Device (DVD+R9:10x, DVD-R9:10x, DVD+RW:18x/8x, DVD-RW:16x/6x, DVD-ROM:16x, CD:40x/32x/40x DVD+RW/DVD-RW)
Optical Drive PLEXTOR DVDR PX-800A ATA Device (DVD+R9:8x, DVD-R9:8x, DVD+RW:18x/8x, DVD-RW:18x/6x, DVD-RAM:12x, DVD-ROM:16x, CD:48x/32x/48x DVD+RW/DVD-RW/DVD-RAM)
SMART Hard Disks Status Unknown

Partitions
C: (NTFS) 249999 MB (43191 MB free)
D: (NTFS) 476937 MB (47902 MB free)
E: (NTFS) 7095 MB (2935 MB free)
F: (NTFS) 219840 MB (129312 MB free)
Total Size 931.5 GB (218.1 GB free)

Input
Keyboard HID Keyboard Device
Mouse HID-compliant mouse

Network
Primary IP Address x.x.x.x
Primary MAC Address x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Network Adapter NVIDIA nForce Ethernet (192.168.0.24)

Thanks in advanced!!!!

Artic6

drwho07 · Joined: Nov 29, 2007 Posts: 1629 Location: Central FL, USA

Hmmmmm!

Nothing said about the Power Supply ???
With that power hungry list of hardware, I'd think that at least a 750 watt supply would be in order.

And why four CD/DVD drives, or am I misreading the stats?
All drives are active and their logic boards are drawing power even when they are not reading or writing disks.

For troubleshooting purposes, unplug all those CD/DVD drives and one HD unless you're running them both in RAID configuration.
Then see if the games play without beeps.

I would have thought that a gaming computer would have more ram. ??

You first said Windows 7, but the stat list says Vista. Which is it?

I fix computers and I have no doubt I could fix yours, but it might involve some hardware changes. Like a bigger or better Power Supply.

Fill in the blanks,

The Doctor Cool

Artic6 · Joined: Nov 21, 2009 Posts: 2

Its a 650W PSU

Baby_Tux · Joined: Mar 06, 2007 Posts: 964

My FIRST thought was that it was a THERMAL warning as the newer boards have this out the wazoo. But your temp. readings look OK - so my next thought was voltage. But I'm not up on what this current hardware is supposed to use (other than what is posted) so not sure but some look a bit low to me & at that level, even a volt can make a difference. (not to mention the CURRENT required - & that [usually] isn't displayed)

I have to agree with DOC, you have quite a bit of stuff running there & I can NOT see a 650W handling it at peak loads. (normal levels, maybe) - so yes, my hunch is a voltage problem. (More likely, current, so I'll change this to a POWER problem)

BUT... Unless the manufacturers have changed things, like BIOS readouts instead, all (at least POST) beeps from a computer should be coded & there meaning should be available on the MoBo company's site. (or at least from there "help desk"?)- Thermal warnings probably aren't coded but SHOULD be a unique sound to tell you it IS a warning. - I suggest starting there. (along with doing what DOC suggested)

NOTE: I NEED to get up to par on this new hardware (working on that as I type) so I MAY not be 100% on everything, but the analogy should be the same.

drwho07 · Joined: Nov 29, 2007 Posts: 1629 Location: Central FL, USA

There are very good PSU's with multiple power rails and then there are cheap ones with only a single power rail.

Of course, since you didn't say, I have no idea which one you have.
But, Know This, the rated wattage is NOT the all day running wattage. That's the one second Maximum power that the PSU can supply to start all the motors and charge the mobo cap's.
Derate that printed rating by 30% or so, for the all-day operating wattage.

If you could put a digital volt meter on the 5v and 12v rails and watch the voltages when you're playing games, I'm pretty sure you'd see a serious voltage drop under heavy load. That would be an obvious step for a technician.

I use only Antec Earthwatts 650's on my two main systems.
On this PC I'm running an AMD, dual core cpu, 6 gigs of ram, four hard drives, two DVD drives, a 128meg Video Card and several add-on cards. I never have a low power condition.

There is just NO substitute for AMPLE power.

Good Luck!

The Doctor Cool

goretsky · Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 6:30 am Post subject:

Hello,

I understand that the nVidia 680 does tend to run a little hotter than comparable chipsets from Intel and AMD/ATI, however, the fact that the problem only occurs during game play leads me to believe the video card's waste heat is not properly being vented from the system.

You may wish to replace some of the existing case fans with models that move more CFM than the currently installed ones.

Also, the suggestions to remove unused optical disk drives and install a good quality higher-wattage power supply will further reduce temperatures inside the case.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky