BFG 7900 GT OC Problems

[Dragonfall]

This is actually my second BFG 7900, and they both suffer from artifacts. It was ok for a few days, then BOOM, artifacts everywhere in games like Oblivion. BF2 also started crashing a lot. I got it from Futureshop so I'm able to return or exchange it. Or I could send it directly back to BFG. However, I'm rather distrustful of this series now. I have an SLI mobo so I'll have to buy an nVidia card. What do you recommend?

 

[prozac26]

You don't need an nVidia card for a SLI mobo, any PCI-E is fine.

I say return it, get your money back, and order a order a different card from www.ncix.com or www.anitec.com or www.tigerdirect.com

 

[Dragonfall]

What I mean is that I plan to get 1 card now, and maybe half a year later get another and SLI them for cheap. So I'll need to get an nVidia card.

If I don't exchange this one, what would you recommend?

 

[prozac26]

Don't do that. Adding another card in the future because it's "cheap" is a total ripoff. Won't help you at all.

I'd recommend you get your money back, and order a different card, like X1800XT, and see if it'll run better (without artifacting).

 

[waylander]

I agree, if you are going to SLI do it now...

In 2 years your card will be hard to find and will probably still cost $200. By then DX10 cards will be out and a single $350 card will beat both your cards in SLI. It just isn't worth it to buy one now and buy another later (unless you get the second for like $50 or less).

 

[cranbers]

This is actually my second BFG 7900, and they both suffer from artifacts. It was ok for a few days, then BOOM, artifacts everywhere in games like Oblivion. BF2 also started crashing a lot. I got it from Futureshop so I'm able to return or exchange it. Or I could send it directly back to BFG. However, I'm rather distrustful of this series now. I have an SLI mobo so I'll have to buy an nVidia card. What do you recommend?

Go with EVGA's 7900GT the KO series with 584 or 583 in the sku have all been fixed, they have been udpated in such a way as to eliminate the problem that we have all had with this series of cards, I went through 2 xfx 7900 gt's with the same problem as yours and well i got tierd of it, i read up on the subject and found out evga is the only company reall doing something about it and put out a new card that has some new memory which appearsr to have bee the problem also the voltage regulators are cool to the touch instead of almost burning you.

I would say return yours and ge one of these here is it son newegg.com: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130033

I have one and I love it, you couldn't pry it from my hands, as you can see by my signature it over clocks even more then what it already was at, stock on this card is 500 and 1500ddr memory. I got itup to the 580's and memory in the mid 1600's. So don't wait!! beutiful blistering frame rates (without artifacts) awaits!!

 

[Dragonfall]

I live in Quebec, and for some reason no store near me carries evga (that I know of), and shipping from the states will cost me a lot. I'll look into it though. Newegg does not ship to Canada for some reason.

I've also considered maybe getting 2 x 7600GT and sli them. What do you think?

 

[prozac26]

I've also considered maybe getting 2 x 7600GT and sli them. What do you think?

At best, they should be as good as a single 7900GT. That's at best, which in most cases is rare. Stick to single 7900GT, SLI is only if you can get two top lines cards (two 7900GTs for example) at same time.

 

[cranbers]

The performance vs price point would make it stupid to buy 2 7600's I tried ut those as well and the performance is 30 percent less then a single 7900gt if not more. Not to mention two 7600's would cost you almost as much. I would say stick with bfg from the local store, try it out with 3dmark testing suites from all versions. Look for artifacts like before, the best way to test is to over clock it even more, try to break it essentially. I can't get this one to break, if I over clock it it just doesn't work i lower the clock it goes back to normal which is the way it should be. None of this you over cloc it fries the card, I never heard of that until I bought this card from XFX and read up on the forums.

You may find a good one eventually , the companies claim that only a percentage of the cards are bad, so its a matter of chance getting a good one. I personally think they all are broke, just takes someone with some power using experience, and running high end games/benchmarks to notice, I never knew anything was wrong until 3dmark 2006 was ran and then 3dmark 2001 point sprites test, had weird artifacts start appearing and then it would crash the system, or else it would keep switching between 3d mode back to the desk top. over and over until I just hit reset on the computer. In other words, the card worked fine in games and in 2d desktop use, internet music all that stuff was fine.

So yeah, buying locally is the way to go in this situation, also stick with the 7900gt. it is a great card, if you can find a good one. If youd o want the one from evga Just do a search for a Canada online retailer or else order directly from evga, go to their website click on resellers or that you want to buy from the evga store.

Now keep in mind when you go to return it at a local store just tell them it doesnt work right don't say you did anything to it or they may not accept it and your screwed.

I hope some of this helps.

 

[Dragonfall]

Anyone know where to get one of the NEW evga 7900's in Canada? Newegg, etc, don't ship to Canada for some reason.

 

[cranbers]

do a google search for this term: buy evga 7900gt n584

I did find a few stores but I dont have the time to do a heavy search I did find a few stores but as you said they dont ship to canada. There are several though that do you just have to find them. Dont forget to go to evga.com you can order directly from their store. they also have a list of third party retailors

 

[cranbers]

Here is a link to the website:

http://www.evga.com/articles/317.asp

 

[paybax]

Dragonfall I HAVE 2 7900GT OCs and they work fine. NOw I;m not saying that you are imagining things because I'm sure you know what artifacting is.

I say if you are FED UP with these cards and want to try another one, then do what these other guys recommend. They are all good solid recommendations.

HOWEVER.........I had 2 BFG 7800GTX OC's and I was having a problem with one of them. I Bought them here in Ottawa Canada but I dealt with the tech supp at BFG. After several driver tests and chipset swapping, I discussed it with them and we singled out the ONE PROBLEM CARD. After talking to him about the problem of replacing the ONE BAD CARD, I did not want to receive a card with (a different bios version, or another bad card, or etc etc) so he agreed that the best thing to do is RMA BOTH CARDS !!!!!
Long story short, he called me back once he received my cards and he told me that since these cards were brand new, they were going to move me up to 2 BRAND NEW 7900 GT OC's and before they ship them out, they were going to test both of them in SLI WITH GAMES,,,,,,, NOT JUST BENCHMARK TESTS cuz we all know that means SQUAT when it comes to playing games.
Bottoom line is I have my new cards back now and they work great!!!!

All I"m saying is that when you have different high performance parts working together, you have to expect some hiccups once in a while and have to have some patience when it comes to IRONING THEM OUT so to speak.

Give BFG tech a chance because they are good cards and their warranty is very good too. By the way I don't work for BFG, I just gave them some respect when trying to solve a problem and I was rewarded in return with 2 UNBELIEVABLE gaming cards
Hang in there Dragon it will be worth it

Mike aka paybax

RIG specs
Antec P180 PerformanceSeries Mid-Tower Case
SeaSonic S12 600 watt power supply
Asus A8N32 SLI mobo AMD N-Force 4 SLIX16 (bios 1103 V02.58)
RealTek 97 onboard digital 5.1 Surround
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Toledo Core, 2 X 1mb L2 cache (AMD drivers w/MS hotfix)
2 gigs of Corsair TwinX3500LL Pro @ 437Mhz 2-3-2-6-1T
2- BFG Tech 7900 GT OC 256mg in SLI (nvidia driver 91.31)
Western Digital RAPTOR 74.3 gig 10-K rpm HDD for XP & Apps
Maxtor SATA II 250 G HDD for gaming, movies, MP3's
Maxtor SATA II 250 G HDD for document backup (unplugged)
Sony CD rom 52X
Plextor 708-A DVD/CD rom
Logitech Z-5500 digital 5.1 THX Surround 500watts