ati 9700 overheating

[jzati453]

Hi, i searched for this online first b4 posting,

My ATI radeon 9700 card overheats as soon as I start the computer on. I can see the result of vidcard overheating on the screen, with lines and blocks appearing.
I need to now how do I go on about fixing this, I know i need to get a cooling system like some type of thermal paste and probably a new heatsink.
I just need to know where to apply the thermal compound and what type of heatsink do I need to buy.

When i touched the card after starting the computer, the silver metal part on the back of card as well as the black metal(magnets?) on the back as well were both very hot.
I am having trouble understanding why those parts would get hot when the heatsink is on the front.
If anyone can just post a website address (besides google, i already tried that) where I can find the heatsink by putting in model of my radeon card that would be wonderful.
Thank you

 

[sojrner]

have you removed the heatsink before? What I mean is: is this the stock heatsink or an aftermarket one? Did you get this card new or has it been modified?

what are your system specs, and particularly the make/model of motherboard and make/model of the 9700?

There was a known issue back in the day for the 9x00 cards heating up when running in different AGP modes (2x/4x/8x) and there are a few motherboard settings that can relieve that issue. I saw it get really bad on an intel based mobo for the p4, but saw it happen on my nforce2 mobo also.

That could be the problem, but if the card has been modified or the heatsink messed w/ then it could be that it is not seated properly... if you got it used then it could have a volt-mod or some other hack applied to it and that could be killing the card.

Give all the details and we can (maybe) help.

 

[mito]

My 9800pro almost died because the stock fan wouldn't spin anymore...

I had to improvise a 80mm fan over it.

 

[smokedyou911]

weird.. my bro uses a 9500 unlocked to a 9700 on an intel mobo with a p4, never had any issues. Also, how much are you going to be spending on the new heatsink?

 

[desidude006]

just by a better card for agp

 

[smokedyou911]

If he needs a new psu its not worth it, and a geforece 7600 gs isnt a large upgrade from a 9700 the op could buy the new heatsink and then oc. How hot is the card getting? it will alwats be hot to the touch..

 

[randomizer]

The fan is spinning right? My 9800pro was factory OCed. Fine for two years, then BAM! artifacts showing up everywhere. Fan was still going, so I'm not sure what the problem was, but a zalman vf-700cu fixed it up real good. You really only need the vf-700alcu though.

 

[rickzor]

Common problem with aging ati 9x00 family cards, and most certainly it isnt reversible.
I found the 2 cases, a 9700 that had that problem and a new heatsink did the job, but only for 1 year and half, then more artifacts then previously spoted just pop up, and another ati9700 that no cooler would kill those artifacts.
That card of yours may just be a dying card.
My ati 9500 just died the same way, and no cooler fixed it.

 

[jzati453]

Hello again guys,
This is a stock heatsink ( came preinstalled on the card), It's not overclocked or anything
I didn't modify anything on it after receiving it and it was working fine until recently.
I have a MSI-6567 LRU2 motherboard(I dont like it, never buying msi again) it doesn't go higher than 4x AGP. the processor is 2.4ghz p4. 1 GB RAM, and powersupply is 420 watts.
if the card is dying, then I am better off buying a new computer since my motherboard's ethernet port got fried couple of days ago in a thunderstorm. I had taken out the ATI 9700 radeon card a month ago and am using my old geforce 2 mx card in its place since then.
I used alot of compressed air on the card so its very clean, but it was still having the problem.
Thx for all the quick responses by the way.

 

[sojrner]

Hello again guys,
This is a stock heatsink ( came preinstalled on the card), It's not overclocked or anything
I didn't modify anything on it after receiving it and it was working fine until recently.
I have a MSI-6567 LRU2 motherboard(I dont like it, never buying msi again) it doesn't go higher than 4x AGP. the processor is 2.4ghz p4. 1 GB RAM, and powersupply is 420 watts.
if the card is dying, then I am better off buying a new computer since my motherboard's ethernet port got fried couple of days ago in a thunderstorm. I had taken out the ATI 9700 radeon card a month ago and am using my old geforce 2 mx card in its place since then.
I used alot of compressed air on the card so its very clean, but it was still having the problem.
Thx for all the quick responses by the way.

Did you buy the card new and how long ago?

I have a 9700pro that has aftermarket fan on the chip and ramsinks on the memory... but I put them on shortly after I bought it. about 4 years ago... maybe longer. It has been running strong for all these years, but I know that the mobo is the biggest culprit if you fried the network on it... have the video card problems only shown up since that time? If so, then that should be the first thing to look at and a new mobo is the only thing that will fix it. Just because the network is the only thing inoperable does not mean it is the only thing that "fried". Heck, even the video card itself could have been toasted if it was lightening. Everything in the system is so sensitive to surges that it all could be toast, but that mobo is probably the whole problem.

I know that a friend of mine has a 9800pro (hercules w/ stock ram sinks) that was sitting on an abit ic7 mobo that was crapping out. You could not even touch the ramsinks after it would crash in a game b/c of the heat. The card was fine in another system and is still running on a new mobo he got. Personally, I think w/ the known problems of agp speeds and that gen of card that the mobo is the whole problem.

Try the card in another system/mobo if you can. I bet it works fine there.

 

[sojrner]

If he needs a new psu its not worth it, and a geforece 7600 gs isnt a large upgrade from a 9700 the op could buy the new heatsink and then oc. How hot is the card getting? it will alwats be hot to the touch..

...huh?

the 7600gs IS a good improvement. No, not a jump like a 7600gt or a 1950 would be but still a noticeable improvement. Check this out to see where the ranking is:
http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/08/06/the_best_gaming_video_cards_for_the_money/page7.html

But really, where did that come from? Did someone suggest that the OP get a 7600gs and I missed it or is it just you trying to make some other point I am missing?

Not mad, just wondering what you are getting at... Kinda makes no sense.

 

[jzati453]

dude, i took the card out after all the problems over a month ago.
The mobo's ethernet port got fried 3 days ago.
i have 2 fans at rear of case and 1 fan in the front. + a power supply.
It is the card, I got around 4 years ago as well .
I got a really old system, i'll try the card in that and post.

 

[smokedyou911]

A 7600gs isnt a huge dif from a 9700. we have both and it isnt even close to a 2x gain. The card could even not be overheating. If he was going to buy a new card for his system, a geforce 7600gs would be the best bet, it is around $100 abd his psu could run it, but it would be bottlenecked by the cpu most likely. He could take that $100 and put it into a new rig.