VIA Chipset / ATI Compatibility Problem?

[faulkner132]

History: http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=144448

I figured I would start a new thread since this is a problem I am persistently having.
The skinny: I have an ATI 9200SE 8x AGP 128MB, AMD 2600+, Soyo Dragon KT600 (VIA Chipset). When turn on the computer/reboot, the computer will start up 50% of the time. Usually a press or two on the reset button gets it to come up. Not a problem if I am at the computer, but if I reboot it remotely/have a power failure, a big problem. Once the machine is up, it will run forever without a problem. Checking Soyo's site, the exact symptom pretty much says there is a problem with the graphics card.

Before I go out and drop $70 on a new nVidia card, I want to be sure this would take care of the problem.

What I have done to troubleshoot: I tried plugging in an old PCI graphics card and set the MB to boot off PCI first. I removed the AGP card and reboot. Gives me strange beeping, most likely indicating a graphics card problem, yet watching the HD light indicator, it continues the boot process... did this 5 times in a row without a hitch. I can only assume the PCI card doesn't work or is not compatible with my system (I tried 2, one from 96 and one from 97, both did the same thing). Yet, the system continues the boot process... looks like a graphics card problem.

Further investigation: Checking Soyo's compatibility chart (http://www.soyousa.com/kb/kbdesc.php?id=285) there is one MB based on the KT600 chipset with known ATI issues (the Ultra PE). Mine is the Plus v1.0, and it says there are no compatibility issues, but since they are based on the same chipset, I am going to assume there is. Is this a reasonable assumption?

(Hopefully) The solution: In anyone's opinion, do you think moving to a card based on the nVidia 6 series (which the Soyo compatibility list shows no MB's have compatibility issues with) would fix the problem? I really only want to get another graphics card as an absolute last resolve, as this one works fine other than the booting problem, not to mention the money I have to spend.

The card I was thinking was this:
PNY VCG62128AP Geforce 6200 128MB DDR AGP 4X/8X Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814133149

But again, only if the physical hardware is the only thing which will solve this problem. I greatly appreciate any help.

[Alfie]

I have a 9200se that has worked flawlessly on 2 via boards,including the 600, this could be specific to the motherboard manufacturer,have you checked the voltage supplied to the agp card?
Is the beeping 1 long and 3 short or is it numerous beeps?

[ereed]

I've heard this beep before, 1 long and 3 short on my last system I put together with asus sli board and pci express 6600 card. So that means its the card and not the motherboard issue? I know this isn't my thread but the beep thing caught my attention and thought maybe you might know what that means since I'm having those beeps with cmos checksum error at the screen.

[flanzig1]

I have the same mother board that I have had constant lock-ups(image freezes) and that is with many different video cards. The KT600 has been nothing but a pain in the rear for me.