Video card issue

[Gourry25]

Hi, New to the forum. I did a search for cideo card forums and this came up so I hjope i can get my answers here. I hvae an Sappire ATI Radeon Atlantis 9800 pro( with 128 ram) and i have the new drivers instaled, and etc. well last week i revmoed my brothers Steam account with its games(half life 2 and etc) and then started my own steam account. After i did that i noticed what ATI is calling a bursting effect in games only. Now I tried re-seating the card, tried un-installing the drivers and fresh instlaling them, done all mal-ware scans and still have this issue(look at screenshots below). look in order too.

http://img154.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ss00017fv7.jpg
http://img123.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ss00018bj0.jpg
http://img159.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ss00019wy6.jpg

see those silver sparkling stuff as well as the transparency. those are what i'm dealing with. Now if my card is failing wouldn't it affect what i view online or even in non-games like watching a movie? and if not what are some other signs? Or does anyone have any clue what this issue may be? Also If my card is failing can someone suggest a better card that costs a reasonable ammount since money is tight?(this card was bought june 05)


Thank you in advance

 

[Sharkfood]

Definately artifacts that can be caused by overheating. Does it do this immediately or only after playing for a while?

I'd inspect the card fan to ensure it's spinning full speed, as well as get a can of compressed air and ensure the heatsink isn't packed up with dust and debris.

If all else fails, it's possible you fried some vram on the card from higher temps.

If you do consider upgrading, I'd highly recommend the Sapphire X800GTO as it's 256mb, comes in AGP (be careful not to get the PCI-E version!) and can be had on NewEgg from $125 to $139 (depending on specials/sales, etc.). I've also gotten lucky and gotten full 16-pipe versions from Sapphire where GTO's are only supposed to have 12 (your 9800 is only 8-pipes to give you some measure of comparison).

 

[Gourry25]

ok question then

So its not driver related or program related? cause it started right after I un-installed Half-life 2 with my brothers Steam account and then installed my own with Counter-strike for my cousin to play. It happends right away. Now as far as cleaning the car and stuff. I tried can of air and even used dry q-tips when the card was cool. is there a safe way to check under wher the fan is without destraying the black spikes? Also depending when i can get a new card would this issue if its the card overheating stop me from playing games altogether at soem point o waht. I am asking because my cousin is still here for another weke and will be playing alot.

Also besisdes that card you mentioned are tehre any other recommendations that are ATI cards?

Gourry

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Have u overclocked the card at all? If so, consider lowering the clock speeds. Otherwise the X1600PRO is a good ATi card and has SM3.0 which the X800GTO doesn't.
Sapphire Radeon X1600PRO 512MB GDDR2 AGP 4x/8x
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102680
Sapphire Radeon X800GTO 256MB GDDR3 AGP 4x/8x
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102002
The X1600PRO has a faster core clock but slower memory than the X800GTO. But it has a larger amount of memory which will be useful for games like Oblivion that have very large textures. They are about the same price so u have to decide between them.

 

[Gourry25]

I hvae no idea if i over-clocked it or not, I know certain things about a pc but not sure how to check if i have done over-clocking or not.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

If u don't know about it, u probably haven't done it. Then I guess it's time for a new video card.

 

[Gourry25]

ok need some more info

Ok I need a little more info about a few things and i'm providing info to help.

first off my older brother still thinks its not a hardware issue but a software issue. But I really need to know what you all think. I have un-installed the drivers and fresh installed them, i've done all mal-ware scans, nothing was found, I don't know if i over-clocked my pc or not, I have not tried un-installing steam to see if that fixes issues yet. My dad wanted me to find out if there is a way to test the vram somehoe, but I have no idea if tehre is a way.

now as far as the new video card goes I need some more info as far as the correct card for me and i'm including my motherboard specs to help ok?

here they are: http://www.soyousa.com/products/proddesc.php?t=d&id=189

this is what i have and need to know the right type of video card to get(if indeed my video card is fried in someway that can't be fixed) I'm looking to spend at most $120 if possible for a better card.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Try reverting to an older version of the Catalyst drivers, such as 6.2 or so and see if the problem exists.

 

[Gourry25]

It is my card going on me i think so based on my motherboard specs what would i need to avoid in card specs on newegg.com? I need to know asap since i am not sure how long this card i have will last. reason i think its my card the bursting effect has gotten much worse and i am noticing it a little on windows media player when i viewed an anime subbed episode i have put on a data dvd.

 

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[Gourry25]

soo anyone?

Soooo can someone please give me legititmate info please hehe. I relaly need to know what to do and what card type i;m looking for as in ram typr card slot type and etc. all soo i can buy a card that will work with my motheboard

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Check out these from NVIDIA and ATI respectively.
NVIDIA
LeadTek WinFast 6600GT 128MB(don't be fooled by the memory size this card can handle almost all the games out there on full detail)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814122206
However if u can pay slightly more, u will get a superior product.
XFX Geforce 6800 256MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150157


ATI[\b]
Sapphire Radeon X1600PRO 256MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102666
This card is better than the X800GTO since it has a faster core clock, 12 pipelines and Shader Model 3.0. Plus it's cheaper too.

I would highly recommend either GeForce(depending on how much cash u have to spend) but if u wanna stick to ATI, the X1600PRO is the way to go.

 

[wolfram]

ATI
Sapphire Radeon X1600PRO 256MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102666
This card is better than the X800GTO since it has a faster core clock, 12 pipelines and Shader Model 3.0. Plus it's cheaper too.

But the X1600 PRO has a 128 bit memory interface, and slightly slower RAM speed. And the X800GTO has 256 bit memory interface, and 980 MHZ RAM.
SM3.0 is something that is almost useless right now, but maybe that will change in the future.

Also, the X1600 PRO has that damn "frezzing" problem when you start a 3D app. Especially those AGP ones from Sapphire.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

But u can't beat the extra 4 pipelines the X1600PRO provides. Unless u get an X800GTO with an R480 chip(cross ur fingers!) or u get an X800GTO2.

 

[wolfram]

I'm not very sure about the pipelines stuff, but both have 12 pipelines (I know some are shader processors or something like that). Also, the 256 bit RAM helps a lot with textures and things like that.

Also, that annoying frezzing issue the X1600PRO is something really bad.

Here is an interesting benchmark:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/241/5

The X800GTO proves to be slightly faster than the X1600PRO (look at the non overclocked X800GTO)

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

That's why I recommended the 6800. It's got SM3.0 plus all the features of the X800GTO and equally fast RAM. And using RivaTuner u can unlock the 4 locked pipelines in it making for 12 pipelines.

 

[wolfram]

Whatever card he gets, it should be a very good one

 

[Gourry25]

Last bit of info needed please

ok I'm almost ready to choose my new card, but need to sk a few new questions . first off you all looked at my mortherboard specs i hope so what cards your suggested will work right lol?

second, does it matter icf there are 4, 8 or 12 pipeline, if i don't over-clock or overclock?

third, as far as the card and pc temp I would love to get a good card that might be able to handle a warm to hot room dpedning on the time of the year, with a dusty apartment and abviously neeed it to have good air flow and strong fan and fan blades.

fourth, I'd like to stick with and Ati card if i can, their tech help has really been awesome to me and i used to have an Nvidia but the fan ended up breaking on me after about 2 years cause the fans bearing slowly died and the fan would get stuck a lot and ended up frying the card:/

finally Overclocking, i have no idea if itys a good thing or bad thing, and let alone how to overclock and if my current card is overclocked, and i'd love to know how to check and so on, so please if you can help me out do so?

So if you can help me on those 4 questions as well as help me find a good card for around $125 or less that will play games like Fear, painkiller, Planetside, Half-life 2, delta Force Extreme as well as rpg;'s like oblivion with no real major issues, please let me know, I'd love a card with 256 ram and a good fast fan lol.

thanks in advance as well as for all the help you've givin me so far, i just want to make sure the new card will work properly with my pc.

 

[wolfram]

ok I'm almost ready to choose my new card, but need to sk a few new questions . first off you all looked at my mortherboard specs i hope so what cards your suggested will work right lol?

Your mobo has a 4X AGP slot. The cards we suggested are backwards compatible with 4X AGP. That should work fine.

second, does it matter icf there are 4, 8 or 12 pipeline, if i don't over-clock or overclock?

The more pipelines a card has, the faster it will be. A 12 pipeline card is highly recommended these days. Anything below it, its a little old.

third, as far as the card and pc temp I would love to get a good card that might be able to handle a warm to hot room dpedning on the time of the year, with a dusty apartment and abviously neeed it to have good air flow and strong fan and fan blades.

If the stock cooler isn't enough, you can always change it later. In thw meantime, make sure you have good airflow in your case.

fourth, I'd like to stick with and Ati card if i can, their tech help has really been awesome to me and i used to have an Nvidia but the fan ended up breaking on me after about 2 years cause the fans bearing slowly died and the fan would get stuck a lot and ended up frying the card:/

That can happen with ANY card from ATI or Nvidia. I personally prefer ATI (I've been using them since I was 12).

finally Overclocking, i have no idea if itys a good thing or bad thing, and let alone how to overclock and if my current card is overclocked, and i'd love to know how to check and so on, so please if you can help me out do so?

Overclocking is very easy. There are several programs to do it easily. Just remember that it voids manufacturer's warranty. I wouldn't recommend to overclock a graphics card.

So if you can help me on those 4 questions as well as help me find a good card for around $125 or less that will play games like Fear, painkiller, Planetside, Half-life 2, delta Force Extreme as well as rpg;'s like oblivion with no real major issues, please let me know, I'd love a card with 256 ram and a good fast fan lol.

To achieve that, make sure your system will not be a major bottleneck for the card. You need to have enough RAM (512Mb is the minimum these days), and a fast CPU.

Hope this helps you!

 

[Gourry25]

Your mobo has a 4X AGP slot. The cards we suggested are backwards compatible with 4X AGP. That should work fine.



The more pipelines a card has, the faster it will be. A 12 pipeline card is highly recommended these days. Anything below it, its a little old.



If the stock cooler isn't enough, you can always change it later. In thw meantime, make sure you have good airflow in your case.



That can happen with ANY card from ATI or Nvidia. I personally prefer ATI (I've been using them since I was 12).



Overclocking is very easy. There are several programs to do it easily. Just remember that it voids manufacturer's warranty. I wouldn't recommend to overclock a graphics card.

So if you can help me on those 4 questions as well as help me find a good card for around $125 or less that will play games like Fear, painkiller, Planetside, Half-life 2, delta Force Extreme as well as rpg;'s like oblivion with no real major issues, please let me know, I'd love a card with 256 ram and a good fast fan lol.

To achieve that, make sure your system will not be a major bottleneck for the card. You need to have enough RAM (512Mb is the minimum these days), and a fast CPU.

Hope this helps you!

yeah that does help me out knowing that my mobo has 512 ram unless you mena the video card ram, also now that we got those out fo the way, for the price range i set can you reccomned the best card for me ?

 

[wolfram]

Here are some good cards:

X800GTO

6600GT

Unfortunately, there are better and cheaper cards in the PCI-E format.
Anyway, these are good cards.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

The X800GTO is the best choice in that case but regarding the price, it is still more expensive than its NVIDIA counterpart, the 6800(at least at TigerDirect it is) and around 10-20 dollars over ur budget. Add shipping and it becomes a high amount. Which brings us to the next choice in ATI, the X1600PRO.

However, if u want to, u can get a Geforce 6800XT for exactly $120. U will go a bit over ur budget with the shipping costs but will have a card almost equal to the performance of the X800GTO.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2265955&CatId=0

 

[Gourry25]

Ok I looked over the X800GTo and the revies got my a litlte worried, a few of the revies that were 5 out of 5 said cons were the card got very hot. that is not what i like to hear. so can you like relive me ehre lol?

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Yeah. wolfram had that problem recently I believe and he had to buy a new cooler. Ask him which one he got coz I don't know the exact name of the cooler.

 

[Gourry25]

I hope he see's this post again lol