One of the reasons I haven't been very active around here lately is that my antique rig is rather unstable. It's difficult to work on a project when you get random BSOD crashes even while doing trivial things like streaming videos. I've run scores of diagnostics, it's definitely some sort of video issue. And the fact that the latest BIOS is nine years old is surely part of the problem. But one thing I can't find an answer to is whether the software Gigabyte provides for their GPUs might somehow conflict with the Radeon Settings software provided by AMD. I use Radeon Settings primarily because it also allows me to record. And I can set different settings for different programs if I like. As far as I can tell, the Gigabyte software just controls the global GPU settings. Anybody know if having both installed would lead to some sort of conflict that could cause instability?

I'm still saving my pennies towards building the new rig. It would be nice to at least have this one stable for a few more months until I can gather the necessary parts.

I'm assuming you already removed, used an erasure to clean the contacts, and replaced all cards/memory sticks within you PC. Also removed and re-inserted all connectors.

Failing memory sticks also can cause weird inopportune BSODs; those are hard to pin down but there's a lot of bootup memory test programs out there to check for memory issues.

Sorry about being slow to get back. It's been a hectic few days.


I've run an assortment of diagnostics from stress tests to try and duplicate the problem to crash dumps I've had to get interpreted. The RAM tests out fine with the onboard Windows diagnostics. Nothing, from OCCT to Unigine Valley, has caused a crash. But I've had crashes while streaming Youtube. It's just bizarre. Overclocking makes the problem worse.


The only card I've messed with is the GPU. I had to pull it to get at the CMOS jumper when I had a hard crash while tinkering with the BIOS. Strangely enough, I was able to tighten up the RAM timings and overclock the CPU while keeping it stable but when I returned everything to stock it became much worse and at one point I seriously thought I'd bricked the box. Aside from the BSOD I also got a green screen multiple times and then a black screen. Even after moving the jumper to clear the CMOS I still had problems. Then they just went away.

At this point, I'm not too worried about fixing this rig. I just want to keep it stable enough for streaming until I get the parts together for the new rig. I already have the case, just need all the stuff to fill it. Since I want to make the new rig a showpiece it might take a minute to finish. Once it's up and running I'll have to go back and read tons of tutorials to remember how to use GIMP.

I hadn't realized I forgot to respond here.

It seems I've finally resolved the issue, with more than a bit of effort.

I swapped out the motherboard and CPU both for newer, but still dated, bits. A full upgrade is still beyond my reach, but $100 for a semi-upgrade was doable.

Unfortunately, that didn't resolve the issue. Even with a complete Fresh Start install of Windows and using sysprep to make sure the OS was ready for the new gear I still had instability. The "new" rig was measurably faster, but still crashed randomly. On top of that, I somehow screwed up the process and can't reactivate Windows. So I have that spiffy watermark in the bottom right corner of my screen reminding me to activate my rig. Even with the correct product code and CD code I can't fix it.

Anyhow, what finally fixed the instability was simply going into the BIOS and deactivating any and all "powersaving" features. I guess it would cut power at the wrong time and starve the GPU for juice. Or maybe it wouldn't respond in time when the GPU called for full power. Not sure why a desktop BIOS would default to powersaving features meant more for laptops.