Attn: Video Card know-it-alls --> HELP :(

ElCid · Nov 19, 2005, 12:03 AM

Man I hope you can help me with this.

In the last 2 days my Ati Radeon 9800 Pro started acting up. Of all games to be playing when this started happening, it was neverwinter nights. First lines appeared, then a few tiles began to go duochrome, then polygons were all over the screen centered on my character. Loading up WoW and AoE3 resulted in an initial successful load followed by a near complete dump to polygon anarchy.

None of these games crashed nor did my OS. Windows, Firefox, and pretty much anything non-3d works fine without any indication of there being a graphical card problem.

Simply for the sake of diagnosis, I loaded the Omega drivers for my vc. The benchmark screenshot below shows what the corruption looks like. It makes it through the first pass without any corruption most of the time, but the rest are always like the screenshot:

The benchmark also produces output data, both in jpg and txt form. I have included a jpg and 2 back to back txt files:

**
ATI Tray Tools Benchmark results.
Benchmark finished at 18 Nov 2005 13:38
Device Radeon 9800 [4E48]
GPU : 378.00
MEM : 337.50
Final Score = 1685.63
__________________________________________________ ________
Benchmark details:
Rendering Pass - Rendered Frames

2 - 1344
3 - 1111
4 - 908
5 - 825
6 - 723
7 - 625
8 - 589
9 - 359
**

**
ATI Tray Tools Benchmark results.
Benchmark finished at 18 Nov 2005 13:39
Device Radeon 9800 [4E48]
GPU : 378.00
MEM : 337.50
Final Score = 1485.00
__________________________________________________ ________
Benchmark details:
Rendering Pass - Rendered Frames

2 - 1293
3 - 1086
4 - 784
5 - 702
6 - 626
7 - 530
8 - 508
9 - 310
**

GPU seems to idle at about 48C-49C and has never gone over 55C since I have started monitoring, testing, and benchmarking it. Sorry if Im a noob about this but - is that right for a Radeon 9800? is it too hot?

Case design/airflow are essentially non-issues here, they are doing an exceptional job.

As a novice I've formulated a few solutions any of which may or may not work:

1. The GPU needs more/better thermal paste.
2. The heat sink has become slightly loose and must be reseated firmly on the GPU.
3. The GPU needs a bigger/better heat sink/fan.
4. The GPU is simply dying and nothing can be done. The whole card must be replaced.

Is it likely to be any of these? Should I even try them? I'm willing to get a new card but of course would prefer to avoid it if possible.

Please help my save my VC if it can be done. Thanks in advance.

**EDIT: Some additional observations...

One of the other utilities logs lows and highs for various VC components/functions and graphs them. Fan Duty Cycle typically idles around 89.x, but during the benchmark it spiked and a recorded 7600.x -- is this correct?

In addition to that, during the same benchmark the GPU temp had a few dropouts and was clocked @ 0.75C, which is obviously not true.

Are these indicatory of anything?
**

**EDIT: VC cooling

Take a look at this cooler --> http://www.coolerguys.com/840556035381.html

Is this is fact a cooling issue, would this be a good solution?
**

soloz2 · Nov 19, 2005, 05:24 AM

when you installed the omega drivers did you use driver cleaner? It kinda sounds like a card issue, but it coudl be corrupted drivers.

ElCid · Nov 19, 2005, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soloz2

when you installed the omega drivers did you use driver cleaner? It kinda sounds like a card issue, but it coudl be corrupted drivers.

Yes, this was done the same day as the original post. The drivers appear to be functioning correctly (for what its worth). Yesterday i updated the ATI catalyst to no avail. Immediately following that the ATI drivers were removed per the ATI catalyst remover, then the omega drivers were installed.

I have the card underclocked to max now which slightly reduces the speed and level of corruption in 3d rendering. However, this doesn't help windows at all as windows runs just fine.

Do video cards have portions that control 3D only? If that is the case, in my situation, getting better cooling for it wouldnt be the solution, huh? It would just end up needing to get replaced with a new VC?

Your feedback is appreciated, thanks.

Tipstaff · Nov 19, 2005, 09:35 AM

Sorry to say this, but if your card is still under warranty, use it. This type of corruption usually happens in a coulple situations: one of the RAMDACs has gone bad, or the video memory has has. I had this same issue with my X800XTPE not too long back, and the ATI tech and I narrowed it down to one of the above causes.

In any case I would give ATI a call as soon as possible.

ElCid · Nov 20, 2005, 04:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tipstaff

Sorry to say this, but if your card is still under warranty, use it. This type of corruption usually happens in a coulple situations: one of the RAMDACs has gone bad, or the video memory has has. I had this same issue with my X800XTPE not too long back, and the ATI tech and I narrowed it down to one of the above causes.

In any case I would give ATI a call as soon as possible.

Thanks for the reply (I love the Cheshire Cat from Alice

).

The card is barely out of warranty. What I am going to do is just buy a new card. I was looking at this one:

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814130220

This will hopefully be the VC that is buried with the machine and after I get it installed I can begin planning my next box.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'll check this post for the next few days to see if any new info pops up.

Nov 19, 2005, 12:03 AM	#1
ElCid DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 3 Rep Power: 0	Attn: Video Card know-it-alls --> HELP :( Man I hope you can help me with this. In the last 2 days my Ati Radeon 9800 Pro started acting up. Of all games to be playing when this started happening, it was neverwinter nights. First lines appeared, then a few tiles began to go duochrome, then polygons were all over the screen centered on my character. Loading up WoW and AoE3 resulted in an initial successful load followed by a near complete dump to polygon anarchy. None of these games crashed nor did my OS. Windows, Firefox, and pretty much anything non-3d works fine without any indication of there being a graphical card problem. Simply for the sake of diagnosis, I loaded the Omega drivers for my vc. The benchmark screenshot below shows what the corruption looks like. It makes it through the first pass without any corruption most of the time, but the rest are always like the screenshot: The benchmark also produces output data, both in jpg and txt form. I have included a jpg and 2 back to back txt files: ATI Tray Tools Benchmark results. Benchmark finished at 18 Nov 2005 13:38 Device Radeon 9800 [4E48] GPU : 378.00 MEM : 337.50 Final Score = 1685.63 __________________________________________________ ________ Benchmark details: Rendering Pass - Rendered Frames 2 - 1344 3 - 1111 4 - 908 5 - 825 6 - 723 7 - 625 8 - 589 9 - 359 ATI Tray Tools Benchmark results. Benchmark finished at 18 Nov 2005 13:39 Device Radeon 9800 [4E48] GPU : 378.00 MEM : 337.50 Final Score = 1485.00 __________________________________________________ ________ Benchmark details: Rendering Pass - Rendered Frames 2 - 1293 3 - 1086 4 - 784 5 - 702 6 - 626 7 - 530 8 - 508 9 - 310 GPU seems to idle at about 48C-49C and has never gone over 55C since I have started monitoring, testing, and benchmarking it. Sorry if Im a noob about this but - is that right for a Radeon 9800? is it too hot? Case design/airflow are essentially non-issues here, they are doing an exceptional job. As a novice I've formulated a few solutions any of which may or may not work: 1. The GPU needs more/better thermal paste. 2. The heat sink has become slightly loose and must be reseated firmly on the GPU. 3. The GPU needs a bigger/better heat sink/fan. 4. The GPU is simply dying and nothing can be done. The whole card must be replaced. Is it likely to be any of these? Should I even try them? I'm willing to get a new card but of course would prefer to avoid it if possible. Please help my save my VC if it can be done. Thanks in advance. EDIT: Some additional observations... One of the other utilities logs lows and highs for various VC components/functions and graphs them. Fan Duty Cycle typically idles around 89.x, but during the benchmark it spiked and a recorded 7600.x -- is this correct? In addition to that, during the same benchmark the GPU temp had a few dropouts and was clocked @ 0.75C, which is obviously not true. Are these indicatory of anything? EDIT: VC cooling Take a look at this cooler --> http://www.coolerguys.com/840556035381.html Is this is fact a cooling issue, would this be a good solution? Last edited by ElCid; Nov 19, 2005 at 01:28 AM.

Nov 19, 2005, 05:24 AM	#2
soloz2 DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 362 Rep Power: 0	when you installed the omega drivers did you use driver cleaner? It kinda sounds like a card issue, but it coudl be corrupted drivers. __________________ [COLOR=gray][COLOR=red]CPU:[/COLOR] AMD Opteron 165 CCBBE @ 2.8Ghz [/COLOR] [COLOR=gray][COLOR=red]Motherboard:[/COLOR] DFI nF4 SLI-DR Expert [COLOR=red]Memory:[/COLOR] 2gb G.Skill F1-4000USU2-2 [COLOR=red]Video:[/COLOR] Asus 7900GT TOP @ 700/1700 [COLOR=red]Sound:[/COLOR] Modded X-Fi Elite Pro [COLOR=red]HD:[/COLOR] 2x Seagate 250Gb RAID 0, 1 Seagate 320Gb [COLOR=red]Optical Drives:[/COLOR] Sony DVD-Rom, Plextor 16x DVD DL RW [COLOR=red]Case:[/COLOR] CM Stacker [COLOR=red]PSU:[/COLOR] PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610 [COLOR=red]Cooling:[/COLOR] Custom Water [COLOR=yellow][COLOR=red]Keyboard/Mouse:[/COLOR] [/COLOR]Saitec Eclipse & Logitech MX518 with a Razer ExactMat mouse pad [COLOR=red]Sound:[/COLOR] Modded X-fi > Soloz Audio Silver IC > Maxed PIMETA > Beyer DT 770 Pro/80 cans [COLOR=red]HTPC:[/COLOR] [/COLOR][COLOR=gray]AMD 3800X2[/COLOR][COLOR=gray], Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe, G.Skill 2GB DDR400, MSI 6600GT, Haupauge PVR150, SB [/COLOR][COLOR=gray]Audigy 2ZS[/COLOR][COLOR=gray], Samsung 16x DVD DL RW, Sunbeam Nuuo PSU, Antec P180 case, AC Freezer64 Pro, Viewsonic N2750w LCD HDTV Heatware eBay [/COLOR]

Nov 19, 2005, 09:35 AM	#4
Tipstaff HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Real capital of Canada: Torauna Posts: 6,773 Rep Power: 190 System Specs	Sorry to say this, but if your card is still under warranty, use it. This type of corruption usually happens in a coulple situations: one of the RAMDACs has gone bad, or the video memory has has. I had this same issue with my X800XTPE not too long back, and the ATI tech and I narrowed it down to one of the above causes. In any case I would give ATI a call as soon as possible. __________________ Portal: The Flash Version _________________________________ Brain: So, you sacked the cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker? Mr. Sackett: The second cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker I've sacked since the sixth sitting sheet slitter got sick.