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Video Card Problem?


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#1
HyDekar

HyDekar

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Hey all!

Well, just when I thought everything was going well :)

I got myself a new Radeon 9800PRO (stock brand). Finally got it working after a few problems (my CPU overclocking was causing conflicts).

Now, I'm not really sure when it started happening, but I know it's been quite a long time, and deffinitely not before I got the video card. While playing games, noticeably WarCraft 3 (Full Graphics) and Battlefield 2 (Medium Graphics), the computer would freeze. Then a second later, the screen would go blank, and the light turn orange (no signal?).

This is what gave me the idea that it was the video card, maybe overheating? So I looked around the web, and found a few forum posts (but no official word) saying that the new Catalyst Drivers are causing heat problems in namely the 9800 series video cards.

That relieved me, as I was hoping like [bleep] that it wasn't my brand new card dying on me already.
So I read on, and read that the best solution would be to roll back to the previous version, or get more cooling. I did the next best thing and did both.

I bought a Thermaltake Extreme Giant III Video Cooler, however that hasn't arrived yet. It SHOULD arrive sometime this week.

So while waiting for it, I decided to rollback the drivers and give that a go, hoping for at least a little bit more gameplay.

I did that and installed the latest Omega Catalyst drivers instead, which are still based on the previous version.

Now, hurra, the computer didn't freeze on me! However, it did decide to restart for no apparent reason. About 10-20 minutes into a game of Warcraft, the computer just completely restarted.
I haven't tried any games since that first try, however, I'm not hopeful.

I did notice when I got my card that the heatsink was a teeny bit loose on the GPU, however a friend informed me (having owned a 9800PRO himself) that they were usually a little bit loose, however did comment that mine was looser then his own.

My Thermaltake cooler is still on it's way, so I'm hoping that will clear up the problem.

However, I thought I might be double-ey sure and check with y'all wizards at hardware out there, since I'm a software and internet bloke myself :) :tazz:

Thanks all!

More PC information (if needed):

AMD Sempron 2800+ @ 2.00Ghz
512MB KingMAX SuperRAM DDR400 PC3200
ASUS A7V880 Mainboard
Stock Brand Radeon 9800PRO
400W Power Supply
80GB HDD
2 Case Fans (window kit+rear) working
CPU and GPU fans working fully

If you need any more info, just ask...

Thanks for all the help guys :)
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#2
warriorscot

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Use rivatuner to monitor the temperatures on that card also the 5.8 drivers were just released they should be ok. Also give us some load temps from your cpu ant mobo.
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#3
HyDekar

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Okay, I downloaded Rivatuner, and played around, however for the life of me I cannot find how to monitor temperatures...
Help?
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#4
Stasiek

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by looking at your specs that you have provided the only suggestion i highly recommend is upgrading from 512 gig to 1 gig (at least) 2 if possible (for BF2 :tazz: )

the games you mentioned are intense hogs on ones hardware, believe me when i say that more ram is needed for your rig

Edited by Stasiek, 22 August 2005 - 12:04 AM.

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#5
HyDekar

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Yes, I realise this, and I have another 512 stick on it's way with the cooler (dualing it with my original 512)...

But this doesn't explain it freezing or restarting, does it?
I always knew about my lack of RAM for these games, but they run smooth as ever, even BF2 runs without any lag on medium graphics, until all of a sudden it freezes or restarts...

Hmmm...
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#6
Stasiek

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i don't have my tech book around me, to explain it better but i have read a lot of forums in regards to BF2 and there is a lot of good feedback in regards to crashes/freezing stoping after adding more ram.

if you are interested you can go to here http://www.tweakguides.com
there you can get a good walk-thru of how to set the setting for bf2 and other games. i find it very usefull.

...it would explain(somewhat) the freezing and restarting but only if it happens during playing games (in your case bf2 and wow). the cpu, video card, ram all work together especially harder during intense operations ie.games if there is a lack of resources in the chain ie.ram (512) it's a good bet that the software will crash/freeze

Edited by Stasiek, 22 August 2005 - 01:11 AM.

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#7
The Colonel

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I recommend at least 1.5 GB for BF2, and yes it does freeze when you dont have enough. I just tried it via i took my other stick out to make it jus 512. Started BF2 up, computer froze up.
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#8
HyDekar

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Cool, thanks for that guys!

Well, like I said, I've got the video cooler and the extra RAM coming at the same time (the same order)...
So once they arrive, from what you're saying, I should be all set :)
I know I'll only have 1GB, but it should still help... I'll then look into going from that and adding on another GB and making it 2... However I wouldn't hold my breath, bills are coming in tenfold lately :tazz:

Thanks for all the help guys, I'll keep y'all updated on how things pan out once my order arrives.

Also thanks for that link, Stasiek. Interesting stuff in there, that I could really use :)

If anybody else has anything to add, please feel free! I would really appreciate any and all views on this matter :)

Thanks!

- HyDekar
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#9
The Colonel

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Yea, most games like HL2 and Doom 3 run great with 1 MB of RAM, its just BF2 is a huge memory sucker
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#10
HyDekar

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Well, my stuff arrived, and I now am running what you can see in my signature... It seemed to work fine, until recently it has started freezing again.

I'm in the middle of backing up all my files (I so need a DVD burner... 6 cd's later...), and I'm going to format and start from the start... The reason for this is because I also started getting errors (though for the life of me can't remember what they were)... I'm hoping this will do something... Hopefully positively...

I'll get back to y'all when I'm up and running again, but I'd appreciate any ideas... Wouldn't be a power problem would it? 400W is what I have atm, perhaps I need to get a better PSU?

Thanks...

Edited by HyDekar, 29 August 2005 - 02:27 AM.

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#11
warriorscot

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If it is generic then i would definately say you need a better one, in rivatuner on the main page you see the name of the card in a box on the bottom right there is a triangle click on it and you get another menu temp monitoring and overclocking menus are in there.
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#12
HyDekar

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Well, after formatting, and reinstalling everything right from the start, I thought I had the problem under control... The computer seemed to be running perfectly. I ran Battlefield: Vietnam on full graphics all the way at 1024x768x32, and ran like a dream with not even a thought to crashing or freezing.

I was ecstatic about that, so continued... I then played Counter-Strike Source (after an hour of downloading... Stupid Steam)... Seemed to go alright until the second round... The computer suddenly froze, and I had to manually reset the computer...

I ordered a new 500W power supply (thanks warriorscot) (over my old 400W) which will hopefully arrive tomorrow or Monday... I'm hoping that will help, however would love anyone else's view on the matter...

I also looked at the temps, and found that they were idling and under load below any danger points, usually under a load at around 50oC... (thanks again warriorscot :))...

Help, please! Thanks guys! :) :tazz:

My setup is, as below in my signature, or for those who can't see that:

AMD Sempron 2800+ @ 2.00Ghz
1GB (Dual 512) DDR400 PC3200 KingMAX SuperRAM
Radeon 9800 Pro + Thermaltake Extreme Giant III Cooler
80GB Western Digital Hard Drive
Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2 6.1 Surround Sound Card
400W Power Supply (soon to be X-Connect 500W - Titanium with UV Blue)...

Thanks again!
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#13
idenwa

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HyDekar,

Wow, I understand your frustration. :tazz: I am having the same woes with my Radeon 9800 Pro. I bought the card 3 months ago and everything was fine until one day I started playing UT. The next day I woke up, my screens were black (with orange light) with no signal.

I smelt something burning and first thought it was my CPU until I pulled out the video card and it had that lovly smelling of burning hair.

I touched the fan on the Radeon 9800 Pro and the blades would not move. So the fan was screwed. I replaced the fan and all was well until this one burned out too a week later. So I have sent my card back to the dist for a replacment. We'll see what happens. :)

idnewa
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#14
warriorscot

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Have you downloaded and installed the latest 5.8 drivers and the .net framework 1.1.
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#15
idenwa

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Yes I did. Now waiting for my replacment Radeon 9800 Pro from the vendor. btw - been reading many issues with heating with Radeon 9800 Pro, does anyone know ATI has confirmed a problem?

Cheers,

idenwa
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