I'm running Ubuntu 10.10 with Asus NVIDIA GT430

2.6.35-32-generic-pae #65-Ubuntu SMP Tue Jan 24 14:06:16 UTC 2012 i686 GNU/Linux

Nvidia binary driver: 260.19.06

The screen sometimes completely freezes and locks up or everything starts going very slow:

[1903398.100007] NVRM: os_schedule: Attempted to yield the CPU while in atomic or interrupt context
[1903402.373210] NVRM: Xid (0001:00): 53, CMDre 00000000 00000080 00000000 00000005 00000005
[1903405.374503] NVRM: Xid (0001:00): 53, CMDre 00000001 00000080 00000000 00000005 0000000b
[1903405.374550] NVRM: Xid (0001:00): 53, CMDre 00000000 00000080 00000000 00000005 00000005
[1903405.374564] NVRM: Xid (0001:00): 53, CMDre 00000001 00000080 00000000 00000005 0000000b
[1903416.452881] NVRM: Xid (0001:00): 53, CMDre 00000001 00000080 00000000 00000005 0000000b
[1903427.691501] NVRM: Xid (0001:00): 53, CMDre 00000000 00000080 00000000 00000005 00000005
[1903427.691610] NVRM: Xid (0001:00): 53, CMDre 00000000 00000080 00000000 00000005 00000005
[1903433.457628] NVRM: Xid (0001:00): 53, CMDre 00000000 00000080 00000000 00000005 00000005
[1903433.457679] NVRM: Xid (0001:00): 53, CMDre 00000000 00000080 00000000 00000005 00000005
[1903433.505902] NVRM: Xid (0001:00): 53, CMDre 00000000 00000080 00000000 00000005 00000005
[1903433.505948] NVRM: Xid (0001:00): 53, CMDre 00000000 00000080 00000000 00000005 00000005
[1903433.617132] NVRM: Xid (0001:00): 53, CMDre 00000000 00000080 00000000 00000005 00000005
[1903433.617176] NVRM: Xid (0001:00): 53, CMDre 00000000 00000080 00000000 00000005 00000005
[1903433.762362] NVRM: Xid (0001:00): 53, CMDre 00000000 00000080 00000000 00000005 00000005
[1903433.762408] NVRM: Xid (0001:00): 53, CMDre 00000000 00000080 00000000 00000005 00000005
[1903433.794451] NVRM: Xid (0001:00): 53, CMDre 00000000 00000080 00000000 00000005 00000005
[1909741.186316] NVRM: os_schedule: Attempted to yield the CPU while in atomic or interrupt context
 

I'm not sure what the cause of this issue is or how to fix it but I'm documenting it for now while trying to find the cause/solution.

2012-04-05 Update

I believe I found the culprit and the solution and you can read more about my experience here: http://realtechtalk.com/The_Importance_of_a_High_Quality_Power_SupplyPower_Supplies_To_Prevent_OverheatingSystem_CrashHardware_Damage-1246-articles

The above mainly happened when the computer had been running longer and longer, basically my already bad/weak power supply couldn't handle the draw of the GT430 even though it requires a 300W PS, my 550W Optimax supply couldn't deliver enough power obviously and eventually died altogether.  In the days leading up to this I didn't it was my PS making very loud screeching sounds as it was slowly dying.

I've now upgraded to an Antec 450C 80 Plus power supply and I'm very happy.  It's very quiet and runs cooler, it even has the GT430 running cooler than it ever has because it's so efficient.  I've learned my lesson and I'm never going to use cheap/no-name PS's again.

2012-04-11 update, more than 9 days later my system is still stable, no freezes, lockups or slowdowns so far and the average temperature of the GPU is just 58-59 degrees.  If the system goes another week without any freezes, lockups or slowdowns with the graphics like before I'll be very happy.  I'm quite sure I was right about it being the power supply.  On that note before switching to this NVIDIA card I was getting similar issues with my ATI on-board card (weird ATI driver errors in the kernel) but I just thought it was the on-board card dying (it was getting slow etc.. and I believe occassionally freezing).  The NVIDIA worked good on the stock power supply but eventually had issues because the crap Optimax 550W supply couldn't even support the onboard let alone the PCIe NVIDIA.

2012-04-15 update

The system is still stable and quick and the GPU has been running as low as 56-58 degrees on average and never higher than 60.  I'm very happy with this Antec Power Supply and can't believe the difference it's made considering the requirement was 300W and my 550W Optimax PS couldn't even keep up with this low-end graphics card..

2012-04-18 Update

I'm definitely considering this problem solved after this length of time.  The power supply was definitely 100% the cause of the issues as I wasn't able to run smoothly without freezing and total lockups for more than a few days before this new Antec PS.

After 16 days of running I haven't had a single lockup or hitch and everything is running fast.  One symptom of the bad power supply with this card and even my on-board ATI is that the graphics started to become slower (eg. switching windows or tabs in any program was noticeably slower and laggy).  With the new Antec, I'm not having this problem.

18:20:18 up 16 days,  7:25, 27 users,  load average: 2.23, 2.12, 2.13

2012-04-27 Final Update

Things are still running perfect and smooth after more than 24 days.  No crashing, freezing, lockups or messages like before.  I'm still amazed at how bad the original power supply was and how much better this Antec is.

 02:42:53 up 24 days, 15:47, 36 users,  load average: 0.70, 0.35, 0.27

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