I bought a new video card for the wife. Okay, so I actually bought a new video card for myself - but I bought so much other crap at the same time and spent too much money - that I decided to try to bribe her off by offering her the video card.
The card is an ATI 9700 Pro 256MB AGP.
The machine that I planned on putting it in has the following basic stats:
FIC KM800 Socket 754 mobo
Sempron 3300+ CPU
1.5GB PC3200 DDR (1GB + .5GB)
ATI 9600 256MB
300W Bestek PSU
WinXP
About 2-3 minutes after Windows loads, the system would either restart or the monitor would go into permanent standby. Could boot into Safe Mode and try to play with different things, none of which resolved the issue.
So, I decide to try the video card in another machine. It has the following basic stats:
ECS KT600 Socket 462 mobo
Sempron 3000+ CPU
2GB PC3200 DDR (1GBx2)
ATI 8500 128MB
400W Antec PSU
WinXP
This one black screens right after the Windows Logo. Cannot even boot into Safe Mode. Ugh! Argh! Bah!
So, I try it on a third machine - having surfed a bit by this point. The machine has the following basic stats:
ECS K7S5A (SiS735) Socket 462 mobo
Athlon XP 1800+ CPU
.5GB PC2100 DDR (256MBx2)
ATI 7500 64MB
300W Deer Park PSU
WinXP
And the card is fine . . . WTFXXOR?!?!?!?
I tried different versions of the Catalyst drivers and the VIA 4in1's. No go. I try setting them to 4x instead of 8x AGP. No go.
Definitely appears to be a compatibility issue.
Closest I can come to a possible resolution is not one at all . . . trying to adjust the AGP voltage (not an option in either BIOS).