9800 possible bad card?

[vetrose]

I bought a 9800 pro 128 meg card for my pc about a month ago. Card works fine when web browsing watching videos etc. When playing a game like everquest or battle field vietnam after about an hour or so sometimes less it freezes and the computer resets itself. Thought was maybe a overheating issue on the card but it still does this even with a 9 inch box fan blowing directly on the card. I can leave the pc on for days at a tme without a problem only happens when playing graphic heavy games. Anyone have any ideas does it sound like the card is bad. Computer has an msi mother board 1g pc 3200 3g pentium 4. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

 

[Black_Cat]

It could be your CPU overheating. Try using <A HREF="http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_download.asp?fid=7309&fileidx=1" target="_new">Motherboard Monitor</A> and see what temps your cpu is running at.

You've tried and failed. The lesson here is, never try again. -- Homer Simpson.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Two items, what PSU do you have?

More info about mobo would be good too. Could be alot of things, even poor memory management by the mobo. Also make sure your drivers for your card, and mobo are current, and your Mobo BIOS is current.

Here's something that causes problems for some and not for others.

Do you have fastwrites enabled?

Try disabling fastwrites for the time being and see if that does the trick.


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK

 

[HUGEkebab]

it sounds more like a psu problem than a cpu problem. the radeon puts a big strain on the psu, and the random restart/freeze thing would be consistent with the psu struggling to put enough power out. what spec psu do you have and more importantly what make. by the way, i would stop starting your system up until you try someone elses psu and see if this solves the problem. if you do buy another psu get a high quality branded one like an enermax, and get a 450. its essential that its branded and not a generic because generics are generally awful. my housemates 9800pro blew his "high quality" psu after a week.

 

[HUGEkebab]

in fact, as this started after you installed the gfx card I'm almost certain this is a power issue, but obviously try to eliminate other possible problems first. to be hinest its always an investment getting a good psu.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Well considering that it take about an hour to 'sometimes' lock-up it could be alot of things, that's why more info would help decide.

Sounds more like Fastwrites to me, but like I pointed out, PSU could very well be a cause.


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK

 

[vetrose]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the input so far. I have a diabolic case with the psu that comes with it. It is a case edge 350w supply. I have no problem upgrading the psu if you guys think thats it. Please give some suggestions on a good one if you can and what kind of power I prob need.

 

[andyb]

Fortron psu are very good, also known as 'sparkle' they are underated so if you get a 400 watt fortron (sparkle) it would be good for 450 watts. They are a bit more expensive, but atleast you definatly know it isnt a power issue then.

My system:
AMD 2800xp+
1gig ram
ABIT NF7 rev. 2.0 NF2 mobo
WD 120gig 8mb cache
Hercules 9800pro
Coolmaster praetorian case
400 watt FSP sparkle PSU

 

[Kronos]

Had very similar issues with my 9800PRO. I could surf the net all day with no problems, but if I ran a 3d game I would get freezeups and reboots at random times. I formatted my harddrive, reinstalled previous software and everything seemed fine...til`...I discovered I hadn`t upgraded my audio drivers (AC97) with the latest drivers from the RealTek website. Big mistake. After doing so, all the video problems returned in spades! Found out the hard way that hardware drivers can conflict in XP without any warnings in Device Manager. I rolled back my audio drivers to the latest MOTHERBOARD TYPE, presto, no more problems! Goodluck!

PS. Oh yeah, my Motherboard is a MSI also

I want to die like my Grandfather...in my sleep...not screaming in terror like his passengers.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Kronos on 04/04/04 08:09 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[hippo]

I'm more towards PSU. When I first install my AIW 9800pro I forgot to turn off fastwrite on my mobo and it showed many screw ups and missing textures when I run 3dmark03. after I turn it off it's all fine.

a 3XX watt PSU isn't really enough especially if it's non brand name. I have to spend a extra $70 for a Antec 430 true power to make the whole system stable.

but Grape is right, I'll try all software & bios stuff before buying new hardware (even though a quality PSU is a good investment).