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    GA-78LMT-USB3 Video freezes system with artifacts

    Found this board
    Black edition CPU
    1 X 2GB RAM stick (tried in different slots)
    Clean install Windows 7
    RAM tests OK with Memtest
    The system freezes randomly when playing videos (Speakers make a bad sound, and the picture freezes with a some artifacting)
    Happens with, or without onboard graphics.
    Running Prime95 caused it to freeze in a couple of minutes
    Most likely a bad AMD760 northhbridge chip?
    Last edited by socketa; 07-11-2020, 03:48 PM.

    #2
    Re: GA-78LMT-USB3 Video freezes system with artifacts

    Well, not really artifacting; just some ghosting and/or areas of red glowing pixels when the screen freezes.
    It also froze when windows loaded, after manual reboot from a frozen Prime95 screen, without me touching anything
    Haven't had it freeze on the BIOS screen yet.
    Last edited by socketa; 07-11-2020, 07:38 PM.

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      #3
      Re: GA-78LMT-USB3 Video freezes system with artifacts

      Clean the motherboard and check for any dust bunnies bridging cap legs.
      ASRock B550 PG Velocita

      Ryzen 9 "Vermeer" 5900X

      16 GB AData XPG Spectrix D41

      Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 6750 XT

      eVGA Supernova G3 750W

      Western Digital Black SN850 1TB NVMe SSD

      Alienware AW3423DWF OLED




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      "did I see a chair fly? I think I did! Time for popcorn!" -ratdude747

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        #4
        Re: GA-78LMT-USB3 Video freezes system with artifacts

        The CPU heatsink had no paste on it - it was loose when i unlatched it.
        The heatsink is the same as the one below - i note that the square pad on it is smaller than the size of the CPU. Is that OK, or would it be better to use one with an entirely flat base that totally contacts with the entire surface of the CPU?
        i also came across a post saying that 770 780 790 chipsets are prone to failure - so 760 should be good?
        Attached Files
        Last edited by socketa; 07-19-2020, 03:35 AM.

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          #5
          Re: GA-78LMT-USB3 Video freezes system with artifacts

          Reseated the CPU, put the heatsink back on with some paste, and cleaned the board.
          Same problem. Computer locks up, showing a frozen video frame (from the movie) but with a vertical area of red glowing pixels
          i get the feeling that the 760 chip is bad.
          Sound about right?

          Comment


            #6
            Re: GA-78LMT-USB3 Video freezes system with artifacts

            Originally posted by socketa View Post
            Found this board
            Black edition CPU
            1 X 2GB RAM stick (tried in different slots)
            Clean install Windows 7
            RAM tests OK with Memtest
            The system freezes randomly when playing videos (Speakers make a bad sound, and the picture freezes with a some artifacting)
            Happens with, or without onboard graphics.
            Running Prime95 caused it to freeze in a couple of minutes
            Most likely a bad AMD760 northhbridge chip?
            Good work with the troubleshooting.

            So this problem happens both with onboard video and with an add-on/discrete GPU? If yes, did you have the onboard video disabled?

            ^ Reason I ask the last question above is because some of these Gigabyte boards support Crossfire between the on-board GPU and discrete graphics (though it only works with certain AMD/ATI Radeon HD2k/3k/4k cards.)

            On that note, I do have an AM2/AM2+ Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-USH2 mobo that does have a similar issue. Although mine doesn't crash, I do get random video stutter (accompanied by audio stutter, like when a system freezes and the same sound buffer repeating over and over) when playing videos with VLC player and on YouTube. Same in Counter-Strike Source. All other 3D games work fine though. This happens both with IGP and discrete AMD cards, so I think my issue is not related to chipset, but rather the RAM. I have not tried different RAM, though, simply because I've moved away from that PC for gaming and instead only use it for browsing and cloning HDDs.

            With that said, I know you said your RAM passed Memtest, but since you get the same issue both with onboard and discrete GPU, I'm not entirely convinced the chipset is bad (yet.) If available to you, try different RAM stick(s) - maybe even dual channel. Also another thing that might be worth doing is to read the RAM SPD timings with CPU-Z and then go into BIOS and set all RAM timings manually to match that. I've seen it before where some motherboards don't always pick the best / most optimal RAM timings, and as a result the system is marginally stable or only stable some of the time.

            Also look around more in BIOS for other options like spread-spectrum. Try disabling or enabling that, along with AMD Coon'n'Quiet, among other things.

            Another question: what CPU do you have exactly? By saying black edition (BE), would that be a 1st or 2nd gen Phenom? IIRC, 1st gens were a bit buggy... and ironically, that's what I have installed on my GA-MA78GM-USH2 mobo (a low-power Phenom X4 9150e). You could try a BIOS update, if there is one for your mobo... though with the system unstable like that, this may not be the best idea yet.

            Originally posted by socketa View Post
            The CPU heatsink had no paste on it - it was loose when i unlatched it.
            WOW.
            Someone goofed up badly.

            Wonder if the CPU is OK and maybe part of the issue? After all, on AMD systems with socket 754 and newer, memory controller is built into the CPU. So even if your RAM stick is good, perhaps the CPU is screwing things up somehow.

            On that note, maybe you can get a cheap sub-$5 Athlon II X2 CPU to see if the problem remains??

            Originally posted by socketa View Post
            The heatsink is the same as the one below - i note that the square pad on it is smaller than the size of the CPU. Is that OK, or would it be better to use one with an entirely flat base that totally contacts with the entire surface of the CPU?
            It's OK. Slightly smaller contact surface might increase the CPU temperature 1-3 degrees C more, but generally isn't an issue. Not having thermal compound is a BIG issue, though. Also, depending on what CPU you have, that heatsink may or may not be adequate. For a 65 to 90-Watt TDP CPU, that heatsink is probably OK. But if your CPU is one of those 100+ Watt TDP burners, you should consider getting a bigger heatsink (or better yet, one with heat pipes - three minimum for 100+ Watts.)

            Originally posted by socketa View Post
            i also came across a post saying that 770 780 790 chipsets are prone to failure - so 760 should be good?
            Eh... maybe. :\

            IMO, many new chipsets simply run too hot for their own good. If you can't put your finger on it, it's probably running too hot and not good for the chipset in the long run. Intel chipsets from the socket 775 era and older are the only ones IMO that can take a beating with very high temperature and not fail. Anything after that, I don't trust so much and generally just prefer to put a fan on to keep cool.
            Last edited by momaka; 07-22-2020, 06:41 PM.

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              #7
              Re: GA-78LMT-USB3 Video freezes system with artifacts

              Maybe the previous owner had the same problem of it freezing, and that's why the CPU heatsink was immediately loose when unclamped; although there was paste on it, but not much and very dry, so maybe not as well.
              I've disabled Cool 'n quiet and onboard graphics (they were previously enabled).
              There is no info info in the Manual (or BIOS) about Crossfire, although the Gigabyte page for the board mentions it (so perhaps it automatically crossfires the GPUs if the onboard GPU is not disabled?) - I think that the previous card that i had in it might have been one of those low end ATI cards that you mentioned.
              I've now put back in the Nvidia GV-N75TOC-2GI that came with it (it was loose inside the case, and i haven't used it, until just now).

              what CPU do you have exactly?
              FX-6300, Vishera, 6 cores, 6 threads

              read the RAM SPD timings with CPU-Z and then go into BIOS and set all RAM timings manually to match that
              The BIOS default timings are exactly the same as shown in CPU-Z, so i left them on auto.

              Also look around more in BIOS for other options like spread-spectrum
              I searched the manual for "spread" and "spectrum" with no matches found

              You could try a BIOS update, if there is one for your mobo... though with the system unstable like that, this may not be the best idea yet
              Agreed. Although it's never frozen at the BIOS screen, it has frozen right after windows loads.

              on AMD systems with socket 754 and newer, memory controller is built into the CPU
              Thanks - i now remember reading that fact here some time ago, but it didn't cross my mind. Thanks for the reminder.

              Only one stick of DDR3 2Gb RAM came with it, and it's the only one that i have.
              Also only have AMD CPU's that fit into AM2 sockets, and, from what i've read, they are not forward compatible with Socket AM3+
              Will look into getting another stick of RAM and/or CPU if i don't have any luck with what i've currently got

              Got it up and running again with these changes, and will leave it idling over night, and will update the thread an a day or two, with yay or nay.
              Last edited by socketa; 07-25-2020, 04:34 AM.

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                #8
                Re: GA-78LMT-USB3 Video freezes system with artifacts

                A tentative "Yay"
                It was not frozen when i checked it in the morning
                Watched a movie for 1hr 40 min (actually 28min, then i shut it down, and watched the rest later) and no problem.
                So, (at this stage) it looks like it's either the onboard GPU, or the Cool'n'Quiet?
                i'll let it idle again over night and watch another couple of movies over the next few days, and if it doesn't fault, i'll enable AMD Cool'n'Quiet and see if the issue recurs.

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                  #9
                  Re: GA-78LMT-USB3 Video freezes system with artifacts

                  The problem returned without changing anything else
                  i'll order a cheap Athlon II X3 CPU (since it's the same price as the cheapest X2) and see what happens then.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: GA-78LMT-USB3 Video freezes system with artifacts

                    Got the replacement CPU, and installed it - all appears to be good so far, after letting a few movies play (before i replaced it, it was lucky to run more than 5mins without freezing)
                    Seems that dry thermal compound might not be good for CPUs

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                      #11
                      Re: GA-78LMT-USB3 Video freezes system with artifacts

                      Fingers crossed now.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: GA-78LMT-USB3 Video freezes system with artifacts

                        After all of that good behaviour, it started the same "freezing and shutting down after a few minutes or so".
                        Looks like the issue pertains to the original hard drive.
                        Changed the hard drive, did a fresh install, and noted that a plug and play mouse that wasn't previously recognized, is now recognized.
                        Ran a disk check then did a fresh install after a disk check, on the original drive, and it froze right after it was up and running for a couple of minutes and after opening the control panel window
                        When it's frozen i can hear the drive making a repetitive tick tock - - tick tock - - noise.
                        Last edited by socketa; 08-23-2020, 05:03 PM.

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                          #13
                          Re: GA-78LMT-USB3 Video freezes system with artifacts

                          Now the freezing is happening with the replacement hard drive
                          Next steps:
                          Try a using SATA drive,
                          Wait for some cheap RAM
                          Last edited by socketa; 08-23-2020, 08:00 PM.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: GA-78LMT-USB3 Video freezes system with artifacts

                            Tried a SATA drive with a fresh Windows install (from a USB stick), and the PS/2 optical mouse was not recognized (although the red light on the mouse was glowing as usual)
                            So thought that it might be a power issue, so swapped the Aywun 550W with a known good Corsair 650W and the mouse was recognized; but still the computer froze.
                            I also used different cables to eliminate the possibility of faulty cables/connectors.
                            Using occams razor - i suspect that the culprit is causing the non-recognized mouse and the freezing.
                            The only swappable component that is left, is the RAM (and the computer never freezes when windows is being installed three times), which tests good - so i'm very doubtful that it's the RAM.
                            Perhaps there could be some power supply problem on the board itself. What's the odds that the caps could be going bad? - They are the newer small unvented polymer(?) kind.
                            Last edited by socketa; 08-24-2020, 04:02 PM.

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                              #15
                              Re: GA-78LMT-USB3 Video freezes system with artifacts

                              Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to be the RAM... but then again, I do have an FM2 system with A4-5400b CPU that artifacts randomly when using certain RAM sticks... or rather it seems to work properly only with one set of Samsung DDR3 sticks I have. Not sure why, but after I found it worked stable with those, I left it like that and it's been a pretty reliable machine otherwise.

                              With that said, try lowering the frequency of the RAM first manually in BIOS, one step at a time until you reach the slowest speed. If system still crashes, check the default timings for the highest speed and increase them manually in BIOS too.

                              Originally posted by socketa View Post
                              Perhaps there could be some power supply problem on the board itself. What's the odds that the caps could be going bad? - They are the newer small unvented polymer(?) kind.
                              Unlikely.

                              Artifacts are data corruption somewhere between CPU, RAM, and PCI-E bus if you've determined the artifacts are the same regardless of whether you use on-board or discrete GPU.

                              Another thing to try is lower either the HT frequency or HT multiplier (not sure which one of these will be available as an option in your BIOS, but they do the same thing essentially.)

                              Let's see what changing these do before swapping RAM... unless you can easily get new RAM to test with.

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                                #16
                                Re: GA-78LMT-USB3 Video freezes system with artifacts

                                Artifacts
                                Although that's what i initially thought the symptom was - the actual symptoms are either freezing or rebooting.
                                Nevertheless, i'll try tweaking those settings and see how it goes, since you said that changing the RAM frequency may prevent the crashing.
                                Will post results back here (may take some time)

                                i've lowered the RAM frequency to 1066, although the frequency on the sticker of the RAM says 1333.
                                Last edited by socketa; 09-04-2020, 03:18 PM.

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                                  #17
                                  Re: GA-78LMT-USB3 Video freezes system with artifacts

                                  Have being using this computer for more a day now, and no problems thus far.
                                  If the RAM is set to auto - which is 1333mhz, or even manually selecting 1333mhz, then there was crashing. I also manually changed all of the timings etc upwards, to match SPD.
                                  So, thanks for that suggestion.
                                  Ordered a stick of 1600 RAM and will see if that makes a difference
                                  Last edited by socketa; 09-09-2020, 05:23 PM.

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                                    #18
                                    Re: GA-78LMT-USB3 Video freezes system with artifacts

                                    Fingers crossed... again.

                                    I used to use that trick with cheaper sticks of RAM that would otherwise crash / not work.

                                    If you still experience occasional crashing (but less frequently), you can also increase the RAM timings while keeping the lower RAM frequency (i.e. use the 1333 timings with the RAM clocked at 1066). This would decrease RAM performance even further, but may give more stability... or not, we will see.

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