Random lockups/freezes on mining rig. 0.1 BTC bounty for a fix

[Wipeout2097]

So, I have a Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3, an AMD FX-6100 CPU, a XFX 850W PSU and 1x4 GB Kingston Value Ram with currently mining with a 7970, a 6950 and a 7870

I can't get around random lockups and freezes.

At least this was attempted:

- I switched the PSU by a Corsair 650 (using just 1 card), the RAM by 2x2GB Gskill Ripjaws and the motherboard from an Asrock 970 Extreme4.
- I've disabled every single feature on the motherboard not useful for mining: Sata, firewire, sound, power saving states, turbo core and others. Likewise on Windows.
- Underclocked to down to half the speed and/or overvolted by 5 to 10% every component on the bios. I relaxed timings on RAM and ran passes of memtest86 without errors.
- I ended up modding the BIOS of the 3 videocards, however the rig locks up even if the GPU cores are down at 500 Mhz.
- I removed the hard-drive and I'm booting from an USB pen. I tested Win7 32 or 64 bits. I used one GPU at a time and switched slots.
- I've read threads online of people complaining about lockups and freezes on this platform.
- It gives me the impression that the rig locks up when left on it's own. I don't remember it even locking up once while interacting with it.
- I updated the bios of the motherboards and even used a suggested bios by someone from Asrock.
- With the autoruns.exe utility, I disabled un-needed device drivers. I test with and without MB drivers installed.
- I've read plenty of threads. For example http://forums.tweaktown.com/asrock/50970-asrock-970-extreme4-fx-8350-unstable-stock-settings-8.html and even http://www.overclock.net/t/1140459/bulldozer-overclocking-guide-performance-scaling-charts-max-ocs-ln2-results-coming
- Temperatures are fine and ventilation is good. GPUs below 60ºC and everything else below 40ºC, even down to 10. I've checked all temperature sensors available via software. Fans are working fine. The CPU cooler has Artic MX-4 thermal paste applied.

I'm pretty sure that experimented more stuff than this. The point is that I need to do something substantially different to fix this crap.
Could someone advise on how to solve this? Thanks.


Edit: I will leave for a few days to be with my family. Please keep replying to this thread, even if I cannot post from there.

Edit2: I can send 0.1 BTC to an escrow if you like. However the machine has to be stable mining 24/7 for at least a week

[1715671597]

1715671597

[1715671597]

1715671597

[hoian0809]

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/256282-30-gigabyte-ep45t-ud3p-random-freeze

[Wipeout2097]

nobody ever does after they get their solution!  

Be certain that I keep my word and give away the 0.1 BTC if a solution is found. That's nothing compared with how wasteful this have been and the peace of mind I lost

Edit: Another lockup just happened... 

[revvv]

Drop the CPU to 2 cores. Read up that the 990 needs further tweaking due to the wider ranger of unlockable cpus.

[Wipeout2097]

Drop the CPU to 2 cores. Read up that the 990 needs further tweaking due to the wider ranger of unlockable cpus.

Thanks, I had tried it already. I also tried one core per unit, i.e. triple. They are also downclocked to 800 Mhz. With dual I managed 2 hours of continuous operation and then a lockup.

Can you suggest me the cheapest (even used) CPU that works with these motherboards?

That said, one should not be forced to tweak for stability the default bios settings or any setting. Slow or lacking features, sure, but not unstable.

[scyth3]

Maybe you have a bad GPU. Test each one individually.

[Wipeout2097]

Maybe you have a bad GPU. Test each one individually.

I already did that too.

[F9F0F]

Try updating your ethernet drivers, my bfgminer stops working each time the network screws up

[Wipeout2097]

Try updating your ethernet drivers, my bfgminer stops working each time the network screws up

I'm not using ethernet, but 2 wifi usb adapters. One is a generic dongle with Ralink 2870 chipset. The other is an Alfa AWUS036H

[F9F0F]

Well a google search shows that people had/have issue with both of them, althought most people having issue with Ralink 2870 chipset was using linux.

When you say lockup/freeze, is it the entire machine or just the mining software?

[Wipeout2097]

Well a google search shows that people had/have issue with both of them, althought most people having issue with Ralink 2870 chipset was using linux.

When you say lockup/freeze, is it the entire machine or just the mining software?

Thanks man, but I guess an usb adapter is not able to freeze a machine like this. What's more I had them working fine on 2 Intel / Asus systems (Desktop and Laptop)

It is the entire machine. I need to power cycle it to come back (with Always On after power failure on the BIOS). However, now that you mention it, I'm not sure if it locks up without being mining. When I come back I will leave it 24h powered on without doing anything. That can help in troubleshooting, but obviously defeats the purpose.

To make matters worse, the store where I purchased the components have a strict policy. They are *this* close to lose my further investment.

[twib2]

Actually, I have had situations where a usb device can indeed lock up the whole machine, on both linux and windows...  I'd be leaning towards that.  If you have a gaming wireless adapter (i.e. receive wireless and convert to wired) or a wireless repeater with wired ports on it, you might try one of those to rule out the USB adapters.

[jborkl]

disable catalyst control center and install MSI afterburner instead.  CCC causes many headaches and has been known to cause the type of problems you are talking about.


If that works 13E5sY63tZutcgPtZbPdppZoTfgt2N2YnT

[Wipeout2097]

Actually, I have had situations where a usb device can indeed lock up the whole machine, on both linux and windows...  I'd be leaning towards that.  If you have a gaming wireless adapter (i.e. receive wireless and convert to wired) or a wireless repeater with wired ports on it, you might try one of those to rule out the USB adapters.

I see. That's news for me. I will try without using USB, with an ide/sata HD and the ethernet port.

[Wipeout2097]

disable catalyst control center and install MSI afterburner instead.  CCC causes many headaches and has been known to cause the type of problems you are talking about.


If that works 13E5sY63tZutcgPtZbPdppZoTfgt2N2YnT

I've tested CCC, MSI afterburner, Sapphire Trixx, Atitray and none of such software installed. Thanks.

[coin123123]

I can't get around random lockups and freezes.
.
.
- I ended up modding the BIOS of the 3 videocards, however the rig locks up even if the GPU cores are down at 500 Mhz.

from this i understand its not random freezes but happen only when videocards start working
meaning bad oc or not enough power

remove all cards and test them one by one,
if you can get max hash rate from them separately meaning they don't have enough power

or if you have another power supply try connecting 6950+7870 to other power supply (at least 600w) and 7970+system to your 850w

7970~350w
6950~300w
7870~250w
system~200w
=
1100w

[Scyntech]

Gigabyte Mobo's tend to have issues with RAM. Before you do anything extreme. Update the Bios to the latest version and make sure the RAM is stable at factory specs. If it is, then you can start to overclock them. It could also be a faulty stick or socket, just to name a few possible issues.

[Wipeout2097]

I can't get around random lockups and freezes.
.
.
- I ended up modding the BIOS of the 3 videocards, however the rig locks up even if the GPU cores are down at 500 Mhz.

from this i understand its not random freezes but happen only when videocards start working
meaning bad oc or not enough power

remove all cards and test them one by one,
if you can get max hash rate from them separately meaning they don't have enough power

or if you have another power supply try connecting 6950+7870 to other power supply (at least 600w) and 7970+system to your 850w

7970~350w
6950~300w
7870~250w
system~200w
=
1100w

This post makes me think a bit more, however the 6950 was mining for 2 months 24/7 on an Intel / Asus desktop machine and I did test each card separately. Both the Gigabyte and Asrock boards lockup with that (or any other )card mining. I also said in the OP:

... I used one GPU at a time. I switched slots.

Regarding power, I tested the power usage of each card at the "wall" with a power meter. I don't quite remember the values, but the 7870 at 900Mhz undervolted to 1v, uses a bit above 100w, far far from the 250w you mention. I remember however the power draw measured by Gpu-Z from the VRMs onboard and it pulled ~5A at 12V, while the 7970 undervolted to 1.03V pulled ~12.5A. That would mean 60w on the 7870 and 150w for the 7970.

[Kluge]

I can't get around random lockups and freezes.
.
.
- I ended up modding the BIOS of the 3 videocards, however the rig locks up even if the GPU cores are down at 500 Mhz.

from this i understand its not random freezes but happen only when videocards start working
meaning bad oc or not enough power

remove all cards and test them one by one,
if you can get max hash rate from them separately meaning they don't have enough power

or if you have another power supply try connecting 6950+7870 to other power supply (at least 600w) and 7970+system to your 850w

7970~350w
6950~300w
7870~250w
system~200w
=
1100w

This post makes me think a bit more, however the 6950 was mining for 2 months 24/7 on an Intel / Asus desktop machine and I did test each card separately. Both the Gigabyte and Asrock boards lockup with that (or any other )card mining. I also said in the OP:

... I used one GPU at a time. I switched slots.

Regarding power, I tested the power usage of each card at the "wall" with a power meter. I don't quite remember the values, but the 7870 at 900Mhz undervolted to 1v, uses a bit above 100w, far far from the 250w you mention. I remember however the power draw measured by Gpu-Z from the VRMs onboard and it pulled ~5A at 12V, while the 7970 undervolted to 1.03V pulled ~12.5A. That would mean 60w on the 7870 and 150w for the 7970.

I'm not completely sure, but I think the 20(+4) pins on MoBo operate on a different voltage, with the PCI-e slot providing 75-125W to cards (don't quite remember). Using just the 12V line wouldn't be accurate (I think...!). 850W seems really, really low. I have rigs with just 2 270s and minimal hardware pulling right around 500W at the wall.

[Wipeout2097]

Gigabyte Mobo's tend to have issues with RAM. Before you do anything extreme. Update the Bios to the latest version and make sure the RAM is stable at factory specs. If it is, then you can start to overclock them. It could also be a faulty stick or socket, just to name a few possible issues.

The bios is updated to the latest version and so is in the Asrock motherboard (there I also used experimental bios and downgrades) and except for the Gpus (for obvious hash and efficiency reasons) I don't want to use out-of-spec settings. That's precisely the problem: it doesn't work at stock. Then it doesn't work underclocked, with more voltage and with both.  On the CPU, HT, NB, PCi-e PLL and whatever more that I can't remember. It doesn't work with ram underclocked, overvolted and with 11-11-11-36 timings, either the Gskill ripjaws dual channel or the Kingston Value ram single. Whatever combination of settings at the bios that I had peace of mind to try, "Auto" or manual tweak does not solve the problem. Any combination of parts (and I have redundant everything, except the CPU as one can see in the OP), does not solve the lockup.

At this stage, I'm not even sure if some settings make the rig hold on longer than others...

I have however 2 hints of instability: the gpu-z readings on the 7870 show spikes of temperature on the vrm's. Being at 37ºC and then spike to 74ºC. That's twice and can be reading error. Also there is an "Aux" reading on the Asrock mb, measured by speedfan. There is no such issue on the Gigabyte but on the Asrock it was 125ºC !