8800 Unstable At Stock Speeds

[Claig]

Hi

I've been lurking for a while now, and I would be grateful if someone can help me out here. A couple of months ago I bought an EVGA 8800GTX Superclocked (at £10 more than a regular GTX, I thought 'Why not?'). It ran fine for a while, but started to randomly bluescreen with an nv4_disp.dll error (happened within 30 seconds of RTHDRIBL).
I tried underclocking the card from the factory speed (621/1000) to 621/900 using Rivatuner. The card now runs fine with no noticeable decrease in framerate. I contacted the vendor (ebuyer.com) and they said they would do a refund since my card has a 10 year warranty and has apparently been replaced by the KO ACS3.

The question is, would it be worth getting a refund now and buying a new one, or living with it until a better card comes out? Whilst he G92/whatever AMD releases will be more powerful, do you think its worth the risk of dealing with crappy drivers?

Any input appreciated,

C

 

[randomizer]

Thats why you never buy factory OC cards.

nv4_disp.dll is an Nvidia driver file. That makes it seem like a driver issue. But since underclocking fixes the problem, it must be unstable due to the OC

 

[Heyyou27]

That's too bad; my eVga 8800GTX runs stable at 633MHz/2050MHz and it's the regular version.

 

[lostandwandering]

Is the card still under warranty? If it is, send it back. It's their fault it's not working in the first place. Tell them to either replace it or refund your money and go purchase another brand.

 

[DeCaff2006]

(happened within 30 seconds of RTHDRIBL).

RTHDRIBL?

 

[randomizer]

(happened within 30 seconds of RTHDRIBL).

RTHDRIBL?
http://www.daionet.gr.jp/~masa/rthdribl/

 

[Claig]

Thanks guys. Here are my specs:

Asus P5B Deluxe
X-Fi ExtremeMusic
2GB Geil PC6400 CL4
EVGA 8800gtx Superclocked
E4300 @ 2.88ghz (320x9)

Plus a generic DVD burner and a WD hdd (both SATA). All powered by a Corsair HX520 (looks nice, but very loud).

Slightly off topic, are there likely to be any significantly faster cards out by September/October?

 

[Farhang]

I would replace it with a new KO ACS3 version if i were you as soon as possible! :twisted:

Slightly off topic, are there likely to be any significantly faster cards out by September/October?

Maybe, Maybe not but since a 8800GTX can run any game at high-resolution with high AA/AF with some serious FPS, so what's the point?
Since you have an awesome CPU, a 8800GTX can really rock anything that you throw at it.
I read somewhere that 8800series graphic cards can easily get additional +50~75MHz on core & +50~100MHz on memory clocks with stock cooler. So if you get the regular version, you won't find any problem OCing it to 625/1000MHz. :twisted:
I always said that "There is no point in buying a factory OC'ed graphic card unless it comes with a better cooling system!"

 

[Claig]

I game at 1920x1200, so it does struggle on some games (Oblivion with the texture mods, R6 vegas, NWN2).

"There is no point in buying a factory OC'ed graphic card unless it comes with a better cooling system!"

Do you think I should just get a regular ACS3? Same clocks, better cooler.

Nice avatar btw. 'Piece of Mind' right?

 

[John_C]

In my mind, it wouldn't be worth returning. You likely can't see the difference between the speeds you are talking about in anything except benchmarks. Look at the temp levels in your case if you have additional problems. Other than that, enjoy what you've got and wait for the next cards at the end of this year or early next year.

 

[Farhang]

Well, for playing those games at 1920x1200 you need more than just a single ultra-high-end card i believe! :?
Yeah, the regular ACS3 would be the best choice!
Woohoo! my avatar rocks! Piece of Mind!

 

[elpresidente2075]

lol, 10 year warranty? Wait until the new stuff comes out, see if/how much better it is, then return what you've got and get a refund. Then just buy one of the new ones!

Kinda cheats the system, but the system is meant to be cheated if they won't just send a replacement.

 

[Claig]

The only reason they'll do a refund is because the card has been discontinued.

I can live with it for a few months so I might just play the system. Ironically I can get the core to 658 without crashes, but I don't see a performance increase. Anyone know when the 8900/2950s are due?

 

[bolt14]

I believe the NVIDIA 8900's (G90/G92) will be out by christmas but I dont know about the AMD/ATI HD2950.

 

[fate0n3]

IMO I would def. go ahead and get a refund while they are giving you the chance to and buy the other card for now. If you don't and then a few weeks/months later you start to have problems again and they don't offer you the refund you will be stuck with a messed up card and now be forced to purchase a new one or try to do warranty repair on it (which can take awhile for some company's) This is just IMO. But I wouldn't keep a messed up card that I spent that much money and not send it back to get a new one. If the card was bought as an OCed version I would expect for it be one if that makes sense not underclock it the stock clock speeds.

 

[Claig]

It appears my sense of humour is somewhat at odds with yours, and for that I apologise. But seriously though, guilty by association? That's pretty harsh.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Well if you posted the above in another thread, then you are guilty, and not by association, but of giving the Fuktards who didn't know how to do it a method to cheat the system and increase the barriers once it becomes commonplace to the mouth-breathers who'd screw things for everyone else.

Good return policies are meant to make it easier for people instead of the 9 levels of DELL to return something. If people don't know how to cheat the system, then they likely don't know how to avoid leaking the methods so that everyone gets screwed in return.

You are now one of those people who screw things up for everyone, whether they cheat the system or have genuine claims, by posting this in a public forum. :roll:

So it's not guilt by association, it's guilt for your actions, while not criminal, are just plain st00pid.