ATI x1650Pro AGP X8 512

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Lvimpala70

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I went with the review that this site had on the nvidia 7600 and the ati x1650 pro with 512mg. ATI got the good review and I went with it. The card is amazing as far as refresh rates and graphics. But stability is another issue. Some times I can play heavy graphic games for hours and it will lock up, and sometimes within minutes. I go to my game video options and let it auto calculate or go look at the card to see what it can do and if i try the game it is real unstable. I used to have a nvidia 5500 215meg card and it was very stable and overclocked! Just looking to see what drivers, control software I can use. I just don't want to have to use a $170 card that is no better than the one I had before.
 
The instabilities you are describing 99% of the time are caused by either heat or insufficient power.

Beefier 3d cards require:
a) better case cooling else the extra heat generated either overheat the card or surrounding case ambient temps go up too high to remain stable
*and*
b) Sufficient, clean and correct AMPERAGE + WATTAGE power feed. Many generic power supplies are overrated in both wattage and provide poor amperage. i.e. peak wattage is nowhere near what they can actually sustain and/or they have poor amperage on the 12V rail.

A beefy 3d card like the X1650 Pro, I'd say should have at least 95-100W all to itself (so for most systems, you're looking at 350-400W for the entire system) as well as a PSU that is capable of delivering a solid 18-22A minimum on the 12v rail.

Also, if you have a VIA or ULI chipset motherboard, these have a huge host of problems with stability, temperature and stability. A new 3d card will suddenly tax your northbridge, which VIA/ULI northbridge chipsets are notorious for being unstable at higher temperatures. They are also fairly non-standard in their AGP support if this is an AGP based system. Many users have to disable Fast Writes or reduce the AGP to 4x to improve stability. Luckily, neither setting has any real impact in 3d/gaming as those features don't apply.
 
Power!

I never thought of that, I think I only have 350 watts, and that may be wrong, it may be a 300Watt. Makes sence with me adding more fans at the same time! I have a bigger cpu cooler, 2 case fans, 2 hard drives, 2 dvd roms, and my fans light up, I should have known better!
 
????

Lvimpala70 said:
I never thought of that, I think I only have 350 watts, and that may be wrong, it may be a 300Watt. Makes sence with me adding more fans at the same time! I have a bigger cpu cooler, 2 case fans, 2 hard drives, 2 dvd roms, and my fans light up, I should have known better!

On that thought, wouldn't I have issies with voltage drop causeing my fans to lose RPM and heat issues? I have none of that?
 
Lvimpala70 said:
On that thought, wouldn't I have issies with voltage drop causeing my fans to lose RPM and heat issues? I have none of that?
not necesarily.I've seen many systems have problems with being underpowered, without haveing anywere near enough voltage drop to affect the fans. (Most systems won't stsrt if the voltage on the 12v rail (which the fansuse)drops below 10.5 or 11V depending on motherboard and most fans will run at full or close to full speed at those voltages. Look for a 350w+ PSU with atleast 26A on the 12v rail for modern video cards. The recomended brands are Antec,FSP,Enermax,Pc Power & Cooling, Seasonic.

Here are some recomendations:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104954
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817371005 (this Antec is one of their new EirthWatts series OEMed by Seasonic)
Don't let the low wattage fool you It has plenty of amps to do the job and is slightly underated (it produces a little more than it is rated at)
 
Less Overclock

I had my athlon 3200 overclocked to about a 3500. when I went did not clock my processor very high, I can now take the video settings all the way up on my games. I hit around 50 to 70 fps on Far Cry. Do you think with me not clocking so high I am getting my voltage back for my power supply, or do you think it is just compatibility issues?
 
Personally I wouldn't even attempt to over clock with an underpowered PSU.
The PSU is the most commonly overlooked component when upgrading.
I recommend that you get a 450 watt or more PSU in there before your old one decides that it has had enough and dies possibly taking the motherboard with it.
 
What you need to do is multiply that by 1.2 which equals 412.8 and that should be the minimum spec PSU that you should be looking to get.
As I said before, a good quality 450 watt or more should do the job perfectly well.
 
500w

I may go witha 500 Watt, I use my computers for quite some time, well the case and my case is 8 years old. I like the size of it, more air circulation, and my hyper 48 fit like a glove. You never know in a couple years how much power just a processer will need!
 
A 500 watt PSU is a very good idea, if I were you I would avoid gaming until you have that new PSU in your PC. This will avoid the risk of your current PSU blowing and possibly doing damage to your motherboard.
I have seen first-hand many times what a blown PSU can do so please heed this warning, all I'm trying to do is save you a lot of hassle.
 
Monitoring

I have duel monitors so I have my mother board monitoring software up at all times while I play and voltage is real stable right now without overclocking. I am building ahouse right now anyway so I don't have the time to play a hole lot
 
Only 300 Watts!!

I checked my power supply and it is only 300 Watts!!! I just ordered a Diablo 450 Watt supply. Should be good to ga after I install it. I just should have known better
 
The PSU is the most commonly overlooked component when upgrading, this is not the first time we have seen this problem here on TechSpot and I can absolutely guarantee you it won't be the last either.
 
Thanks! Again!

I have to say cudos to you guys though! I would have never went that route. I have everything running stock right now and the card and computer just impresses me! Comeing from the Doom and Wolfenstien days of shooter games, I am just impressed. I have NFS most wanted and I like it just about as much as the other need for speed games, they are ok but I just lose interest with them. But the graphics are great! Reflections of the building in the window of the car! Just to cool. And Far Cry with the tropical areas and water is just cool. But Doom 3 is still my favorite. I don't know how many hours I have played doom 2. That is always my favorite.
 
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