Geforce 9800GT problem

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quantafac

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I have been having a lot of trouble with my new card from XFX it is the Geforce 9800GT 512Mb. The problem is that whenever I start a 3D application mainly games my computer will randomly reboot. I have been able to play anywhere from 5sec to 2 or 3 hours. So far I have tried 3 different drivers, the one on the disc it came with, the latest on NVIDIA's site, and the one from XFX's site. I have already submitted a ticket to XFX with no reply. I have also tried several different games, UT3, WOW, Red Alert 3, and a few others all of them reboot eventually. I have opened my case up to allow more air flow and it has made no difference. I have also upped the fan speed on the card using NVIDIA's tools. Nothing is overclocked.

Here is my system
Pentium 4 3.0Ghz
2Gb DDR 3200 RAM
2 Hard Disk
1 DVD Burner
Windows XP sp3
XFX Geforce 9800GT XXX 512Mb
Asus P5GD1
PSU 550W

I appreciate any help you can give.
 
Go to Start > Control Panel > System > Advanced > Settings under Startup and Recovery > Uncheck Automatically Restart under System Failure. Rather than automatically restarting your computer, it will display the BSOD to you. This will help you figure out exactly why the crash is occurring. While it's usually video issues, it's not always.

If it is video issues, then you could try progressing back to older drivers until you find one that doesn't crash. I have to do this myself frequently after having updated to the newest drivers for my card.
 
I tried that and it still rebooted on me without a warning of any kind. It doesnt even come up with a send error report after it has finished rebooting. :(
 
Do you have an application that can track the heat of the cores on your GPU and CPU? Even though you do not have anything overclocked, a poor or broken thermal seal, ill working cooling, etc. can be just as likely to cause an overheat. If it's not throwing an error, that would be the first place I'd look.

Oh, and try to look in Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Event Viewer > Application to see if any errors or warnings are showing there.
 
This is the only warning that showed up in event viewer in the last several hours

Windows saved user NA\Steve registry while an application or service was still using the registry during log off. The memory used by the user's registry has not been freed. The registry will be unloaded when it is no longer in use.

This is often caused by services running as a user account, try configuring the services to run in either the LocalService or NetworkService account.

do you have any recommendations for tracking the temp??
 
OK , I have taken the heat sink off my video card and processor both look good, I added a small amount of thermal paste to the video card just in case.

After I did that I tried to start up a game it lasted about 15 sec and reboot, I touched the heat sink of the video card to check it and it felt cold. I don't think it is over heating.

I also took the drivers back to the ones included with the card, still no change.
I appreciate the suggestions so far its great to get such quick responses.
Are there any other Ideas?
 
OK , I have taken the heat sink off my video card and processor both look good, I added a small amount of thermal paste to the video card just in case.

After I did that I tried to start up a game it lasted about 15 sec and reboot, I touched the heat sink of the video card to check it and it felt cold. I don't think it is over heating.

I also took the drivers back to the ones included with the card, still no change.
I appreciate the suggestions so far its great to get such quick responses.
Are there any other Ideas?

How old is your PSU? How frequently is your computer on?
 
It is about 4 or 5 years old. Comp is usually on daily usually for about 2-5 hrs. it has been on for over 24hrs several times but not very often.

Also, the problem seems to have gotten worse than ever today.
I used to be able to play for about 2 or 3 hrs without a problem, now a game can barely get going before the computer restarts.
 
It is about 4 or 5 years old. Comp is usually on daily usually for about 2-5 hrs. it has been on for over 24hrs several times but not very often.

It IS possible because of the age of the capacitors your system is being strangled of power.

I'm sorry, and I hope you don't take offense, but do you know how to properly apply thermal paste?

Let's back up and think again... Was anything at all ever changed before this issue started? Wa the case moved at all? Hardware changes? De-dusting? Anything?
 
Your PSU is dying and will go out very soon. Replace ASAP with a decent unit. I recommend anything from the Earthwatts or Corsair CX\VX series.
 
Your PSU is dying and will go out very soon. Replace ASAP with a decent unit. I recommend anything from the Earthwatts or Corsair CX\VX series.

To be honest, I would agree with this statement no matter if this is your issue or not. The last thing you want is the PSU going out. I've seen it fry every component in a system (once it fried even the keyboard and mouse!)
 
I thought it might be the power supply but have been unable to get enough cash together to get a new one that is of any decent quality.
As far as the thermal paste I have always been taught to put a small bead in the center of the processor. then replace the heat sink and allow it to spread the thermal paste across the CPU/GPU, No offense taken.
 
I looking at getting one for around $100, but I need to wait awhile before I can get it. I was looking at getting another 550w or a 600w, in case I ever want to move to an SLI setup.
 
Nah, the Corsair's build quality and reliability is far better. They have almost the same amount of power on the +12V rail FYI (only 12W more on the OCZ PSU, not enough to warrant a recommendation), which is what really matters since the graphics cards pull power from that rail.
 
Thanks for all the help and quick responses I will update again if I find anything else that fixes the problem or after I update my PSU.
 
Sorry to bother again, I would really like a modular power supply and I found one that is Ultra brand and I didnt know if you would recommend them, they seem to have good amps on the rails and according to the reviews they have good customer service.

here is the link, and I found another Corsair too if you could look at it.

Ultra
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2974472&csid=_21
Corsair
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...-details.asp?EdpNo=3438607&csid=ITD&body=MAIN
 
The Corsair is fantastic, the Ultra I do not recommend because of the shoddy build quality. If you want a modular supply, I recommend this one.
 
I know you are getting advice on PSUs now, and I'm not going to get involved in that at this point. But I wanted to point out that your statement
OK , I have taken the heat sink off my video card and processor both look good, I added a small amount of thermal paste to the video card just in case.

After I did that I tried to start up a game it lasted about 15 sec and reboot, I touched the heat sink of the video card to check it and it felt cold. I don't think it is over heating.
That doesn't necessarly mean the card isn't overheating. If you don't have a good contact between the GPU and the heatsink then of course the heatsink won't heat up, but the GPU could be extremely hot.

If you are sure you put it back together properly and there is good contact then you are probably right. But to just assume its not overheating because after you replaced the heatsink the heatsink isn't hot doesn't mean much unless you are certain there is good contact.
 
thanks for the advice, I'm sure it is on properly. what I didn't state earlier is that it was already rebooting in about 10-15 sec, and there was no change when I had tried to add thermal paste to help cool it.
 
Got the new power supply I decided on the Corsair 620W and so far everthing looks good, I had a game sitting idle for over an hour and played for about an hour as well, no resets or crashes. I will try to update later on for a status update.
 
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