ATI HD-4870 solution

Wrong! I was wrong about the solution. Thought I was doing something good. Symptoms happened again this afternoon. Wiggled card up and down in the back. Working for now. Thought for sure it was seated. Time will tell. You humble dummy.

Forgive me for not mentioning that the symtom also occured on a cold start. < 15 hours with no power to machine> In other words; there is no heat issue. It is a false symptom. After my last post I realized that when I reinstalled the card, it was a bit of a stretch to put hold down screw into chasis. Thusly rasing the power end of the card up just enough to break contact(s) with the slot.

Well it dumped on me again. I RMAed the card. I had requested an EXCHANGE. Within a short time of reciept of the card they issued a REFUND! That speaks volumes. I can immagine a tech opening the box; verifing it is what it's supposed to be and just pitching it into a huge bin marked 'ATI REJECTS'. AH, I digress. That was last night. So this morning a waddled down to my local Micro Center and bought a EVGA GeForce GTX275 895mb GDDR3. Haven't gamed with it yet; but I'm fairly sure it will meet my needs. That's the FINAL SOLUTION.

Just the luck of the draw. I got a bad card. As you reflected; many have great performance and zero problems with the 4870. This is my sixth build and it is the first time I had any problems with an ATI card. No big deal.
Even though I have a hp mobo and processor; I really didn't build it for gaming. I built it for taking me into the future. If I want to game hardcore, I'll make a change. I am really happy that you are satisfied with your 4870. Addressing the "my cards' better than your card" comment..........I don't care.