MS-6380 and GeForce 3 ti 200 = kaput?

here's the story of my problem...
I got a new GeForce 3 yesterday and when I put it in my Asus K7V 133 board replaceing a GeForce256 it wouldn't boot. A little steamed I tried it on my other system an MSI MS-6380 DDR board, and it booted! I was thrilled and moved my hardware around to take advantage of this marvalous upgrade.

Then problems started all over the place, I felt like getting it setup in Windows first (I want to recompile the kernel and all in Linux which would take a while and I wanted to try out the new card first :) ) graphics were at 16 colors. Of course this was OK because it was a new card so I downloaded the latest nVidia drivers and installed them. Nope, they were 'unable to detect an NVIDIA chipset' <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" />

What?!? The BIOS bootup said it was a

GeForce 3 ti 200
128MB DDR

So I messed around with this for awhile with no luck. OK, let's try it in Linux. I booted, it detected all the new hardware and set it up. X would not start, OK, 'setup' 'X Configurator' and went along with the install. It detected the GeForce 3 ti 200, my monitor with the same settings as before...then it could not read the video memory, so I manually set it for 128 and continued with the resolution settings and then tested X...it wouldn't start. After trying several resolution settings with no luck, I checked the /var/log/XF86config.0.log and noticed it was having problems with the v-sync...odd, I've seen this with improper monitor settings in the past, but I am using the same settings as before...

I'm thinking there is a problem with the motherboard, I've been using a Voodoo Banshee on the MS-6380 because all the other GeForce cards I've tried failed to boot (Geforce256 and a GeForce 2 MX) because it did not support AGP Pro, which is why I was a bit shocked that this one worked.

Do I need to get a new board that supports AGP Pro 2.0 for this to work? If so, any suggestions? I need it to work with DDR memory, GeForce 3 ti 200 and an Athlon XP 1600.

Sorry for the Linux stuff, I go both ways <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

I think you are somewhat confused on the terminoligy, an agp version 2.0 slot is required, dont get this confused with agp pro or agp 2x. The difference between agp 1.0 and 2.0 is the voltage and they are usually keyed different as to not allow them to be used in a non complient slot.

I also have a few questions about the card, I was unaware that Nvidia made a Geforce 3 200 Ti with 128 DDR, are you sure this info is correct?

What card do you have? Manufacturer and model? And I'm talking about the company that actually made the card, not the chipset. Obtain drivers directly from them, do not use the nVidia reference drivers until you're sure the card is working and is genuine.

The problem with online purchasing...you never know what your getting :)

The company that made it is a question I'm trying to figure out, but if the nVidia drivers don't work with it, it does make me question it's authenticy. The driver disk that shipped with it (after some digging) contains Riva TNT drivers, but also claim that 'no NVIDIA chipset detected'.

Yes, I am a bit confused with the whole AGP 1.0, 2.0 and Pro terms (that's why I need some help :) )

It may be a generic made card, but everything but the OS says it's a generic GeForce3 ti 200.

Lets start with, what SHOULD I be running this on as opposed to 'is it real'...either way, if my hardware does not support it, it won't work.

And yes Radical Dreamer, they do make them with 128 <a href="http://nvidia.com/view.asp?PAGE=geforce3" target="_blank">http://nvidia.com/view.asp?PAGE=geforce3</a>

I did find this in nVidia's FAQ, could this of suddenly become a problem with the new card?

After installing my NVIDIA-based graphics card, every time Windows loads, I get an error stating that my graphics card is not installed properly. How can I fix this?

Check in your motherboard's BIOS for the option "Assign IRQ to VGA" and make sure it is enabled. If you do not see this option in your motherboard BIOS, please contact your system/motherboard manufacturer to see if this option is available on your system. All NVIDIA-based graphics cards need to have an assigned IRQ to operate correctly.Also, conflicts with drivers from previous graphics cards can also prevent the NVIDIA drivers from installing correctly. Please remove any drivers from previous graphics cards before installing the NVIDIA-based graphics card. If you are unsure how to do this, contact the manufacturer of your graphics card for assistance with removing their display drivers correctly.

I went to the link and saw 128-BIT DDR, but not 128mb thats what I question the authenticity

Well, whatever :)
At bootup it says 128MB DDR, I found the maker of the card <a href="http://www.chaintechusa.com/Products/VGA/ag320.htm" target="_blank">Chaintech A-G320</a> which is available with the 128MB DDR memory.

But this weekend I added a 4GB drive to the primary master IDE (I was using the Promise IDE for the HD's) and moved my CD drives to the secondary IDE, and installed Windows 2000 Pro. After I installed all the motherboard drivers and service pack 2, the vid installed just fine with the nVidia drivers. But it seems to be unstable, system hangs after a a bit and needs a hard reboot. I'm wondering if this is a problem with the Geforce 3, VIA chipset, Win2k pro or the Athlon XP? I'm afraid it might be heat, is 56 C to high after a reboot? AMD claims 90 C is the threshhold for the 1600+...

Should add also that I picked up a Soyo K7V Dragon Plus! motherboard with this also. But it is almost identical to the MS-6380 (same chipsets). I have an issue open with MSI on this (I won't tell them I'm using a differant board <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" /> )