(con't)

UNSUCCESSFUL Video Boards installed in SC420

Triatheletguru.......Leadtek....PX6600 GT....Bios Problems (Memory Parity Errors)*
DaveH.........................XFX 6600 GT........Bios Problems (Memory Parity Errors)*
Avinash................Chaintech 6600 GT........Bios Problems (Memory Parity Errors)*
BrianB.................................6600 GT........Bios Problems (Memory Parity Errors)*
Evandena.............................6600 GT........Bios Problems (Memory Parity Errors)*
Hrbatyfan.............................6600............Bios Problems (Memory Parity Errors)*
Ouch....................................6600 GT
Foolish501............................6600 GT
Needrays..............................6600 GT
Needrays..............................6600
Crzakta................................6600 GT
Knopix....................LeadTek 6600 GT

Nate Finch................Sapphire X300 SE
Kahuna....................Sapphire X300 SE
Verysafe1................Sapphire X300 SE
Ma$$acre.................Sapphire X300 SE
CamiloSan...............Sapphire X300 SE
YM...........................Sapphire X300
Spydraver........................ATI X300 SE
Gumbico...........................ATI X300 SE 128mb
Vern..............................ASUS X300 (375 MHz)
Code65536....................ASUS X300 SE 128mb ( determined to be a bad board)
Orthoefer..................GigaByte X300 LE
Josiah Carlson........Powercolor X300 SE
Turanacus........................MSI X300 SE
Ataikf.............................ASUS X300 SE
Ataikf.............................ASUS X300 SE (2nd board)
Mrtwister...................Sapphire X600 Pro
Xciton.......................Sapphire X600XT 256mb
Gillydean...................Sapphire X600 Pro 128mb
Penceman.........................MSI X600 XT
Verysafe1..........................ATI X600
Foolish501.........................ATI X600 Pro
Lydmov...........................ABIT X600 Pro 256mb
Ataikf........................Diamond X600 Pro
Ehabs................................ATI X700 Pro 256mb (with bios issues)
Breeze......................GigaByte PCX 5300
Drh............................GeForce 5500

*Note: The Memory Parity Errors reported by users of the 6600GT mirror similar reports from multiple owners of the Dell 4700 and a few of the early 8400s. The problem has apparently been fixed with a new A05 bios revision from Dell for these two Dell models, but no such bios revision for the SC420 is likely.

Observations:

- Clearly the ATI X700 series board is the low risk choice with at least forty successful installations. One example was reported to have bios issues, but this one anomoly may have been a defective board or installation issue.

- There are seven reported successful installations of the X800 series, with no reported failures to suggest that they are very low risk boards.

- The 6800GT/GTO series still have too few samplings to make a determination, but the trend APPEARS to be positive with two successful installations and no failures for this series.

- The ATI X300 series is a mixed bag with twenty five successful and fifteen unsuccessful installations. Some of the failures may have been bad boards, or improper installation, or incorrect drivers and in time could have been sorted out. In some cases it appears that the brand of board selected may be a determining factor. One noteable point is that X300 boards removed from new Dell 4700/8400 series systems have nearly a perfect success rate compared to retail boards. Purchasing X300 retail boards remains a high risk.

- The ATI X600 is in a worse situation than the X300 with eight successful and eight unsuccessful installations, so the risk with this board remains very high.

- The 6600/6600GT series is clearly a high risk with only six successful installations compared to twelve installations resulting in problems. It is noteworthy that many of the 6600/6600GT owners had initial success and were able to run for a few minutes to several hours, to a couple of days…but eventually, nearly all succumbed to the same error message, suggesting a bios issue. The fact that this specific board has problems with other Dell motherboards suggests that the 6600/6600GT is NOT a good choice for a SC420 system.

If the issue of manufacturer brand is considered for the X300/X600/X700/X800 series ...the following comparisons by brand can be made. Be aware however, that this information was not reported by all users. It was compiled only where the board manufacturere was referenced. As such, it is incomplete and ONLY a rough guideline. Also be aware that some manufacturers did very well in a specific model of video board, but poorly in other models, so the manufacturer MAY not be the best determining factor. Note that this list is in order of greatest ratio of successful installations to unsuccessful installations, with the most successful reported brands on top:

Brand...............Successful...............Unsuccessful...............Success Rate

ATI........................42..............................5..............................89%

ABIT.......................3...............................1..............................75%

ASUS......................8...............................4..............................67%

Sapphire................15..............................9...............................63%

GigaByte.................3...............................2...............................60%

Chaintech................1................................1..............................50%

Diamond..................1...............................1................................50%

PowerColor..............0...............................1.................................0%

XFX.........................0...............................1.................................0%

LeadTek...................0...............................2.................................0%

MSI..........................0...............................2................................0%



The clear brand of choice remains ATI with ABIT not far behind. Sapphire, GigaByte, Diamond and Chaintech remain a flip of the coin as to whether your board will work or not and as such may be risky choices. Until successful reports of MSI, LeadTek, XFX and Powercolor boards are received, they cannot be recommended.

Kerry