Radeon 9800 graphics problem

geraldhyder · 10-19-2006, 05:01 PM

My 13-year old son has had increasing problems with the graphics on his games to the extent that they are unplayable. This started a month or so ago for no obvious reason. It starts with small flashes on the screen after the game has been playing for a minute or two. This develops into a line of dots beneath the cursor, then to increasing pixilation all over the screen. Sometimes complete blocks of activity disintegrate into their component colours.

I’ve tried the advice from the games manufactures helpline – reinstalled the drivers, reinstalled the games. I’ve run the DX Diagnostic Tool – interestingly it loads about 80% and then says that there ‘may have been a problem accessing DirectShow the last time this programme was used.’ It allows me to override the warning – none of the DirectX files show as corrupted.

The processor is an Athlon 64 3200+ with 512mb of memory (which I am about to double). The graphics card is a Radeon Pro 9800. The computer was well able to run these games a month or so ago, why not now?? I’m hoping it’s not a DirectX problem as that seems to entail a complete reinstall. Any ideas??

bat21 · 10-19-2006, 07:42 PM

When I had that issue on my old 9700 Pro It had memory that went bad. Same exacty issues you're describing - I RMA'ed the card back to ATI and they replaced it and it was great for 2 years after that with never another issue. I would first try reseating the GPU fan on the GPU with some artic silver if you feel comforatable doing that as the GPU fan may be getting loose and or the GPU does not have good contact with the fan (also make sure the GPU fan is actually spinning and you can check temperatures with ATI tool). Also a bad or marginal power supply ca cause very similar issues with graphical corruptions. The best way to check that out is to install that card in another machine with an AGP slot of you have one and test the same game out (if you can possibly do that) - or try another power supply. There's a big difference between quality power and marginal or unstable power which can cause issues down the line. A good quality Fortron 350W unit is much better than ...say an Aspire 400W unit as you will normally have much more stable +12V rails and more stable amperage.

If you don't still have your card in warranty - you may be out of luck after you have done the above testing and nothing works, but if you need another card I have a perfectly 9700 Pro in a box doing nothing (it's the one i'm referring to above and I would sell it to you for a very good price). I know this forum doesn't have a for sale section, and there may be rules against selling but you can PM me and we can do it on another forum as i have heatware and references. That is if you're interested, as i'm going to sell that one and an X800XL AGP soon anyway as i will be moving all of my systems to PCIe.

Alternatively you can get an X1600 Pro AGP, or 7300-7600GS AGP online at a good etailer that would be comparable to your 9800 Pro, with all of the aforementioned having SM 3.0 support. But I hope you can either get an RMA or you can actually work out the issue if it's power or the GPU HSF/contact related and you don't have to worry about getting another card.

geraldhyder · 10-21-2006, 05:10 AM

Thanks for all your advice - I've checked the fan (working properly) and the graphics board (very dusty, carefully cleaned)...but despite all this the graphics are still problematic. I also ran the computer with the side panel off, which I guess would have allowed the card not to heat up if that was the issue....

Have decided to bite the bullet and get a new card - it has had fairly solid use for two years. Thanks for your offer nevertheless.

Have ordered an ATI Radeon 9600XT 256mb which will hopefully last a few more years until the computer needs replacement.

Thanks anyway....

jflan · 10-21-2006, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geraldhyder

My 13-year old son has had increasing problems with the graphics on his games to the extent that they are unplayable. This started a month or so ago for no obvious reason. It starts with small flashes on the screen after the game has been playing for a minute or two. This develops into a line of dots beneath the cursor, then to increasing pixilation all over the screen. Sometimes complete blocks of activity disintegrate into their component colours.

I’ve tried the advice from the games manufactures helpline – reinstalled the drivers, reinstalled the games. I’ve run the DX Diagnostic Tool – interestingly it loads about 80% and then says that there ‘may have been a problem accessing DirectShow the last time this programme was used.’ It allows me to override the warning – none of the DirectX files show as corrupted.

The processor is an Athlon 64 3200+ with 512mb of memory (which I am about to double). The graphics card is a Radeon Pro 9800. The computer was well able to run these games a month or so ago, why not now?? I’m hoping it’s not a DirectX problem as that seems to entail a complete reinstall. Any ideas??

Had a similar problem with a 6600GT.
EVGA diagnosed it as defective memory.
It was under waranty and they replaced the card.

ebackhus · 10-21-2006, 11:46 AM

I've seen what you described on a 9800SE with a mod applied to open the back 4 pipelines. In certian types of rendering I'd get off colored blocks and dots. Taking the mod off would, obviously, return it to normal. Bad memory sectors can also cause this type of error. The 9600's are good cards, but would be a 50% step down from a 9800 Pro.

Radeon 9800 - 256-bit GPU, 8 pixel pipelines, 256-bit VRAM access
Radeon 9600 - 256-bit GPU, 4 pixel pipelines, 128-bit VRAM access

bat21 · 10-21-2006, 03:33 PM

That's why I was offering the 9700 Pro because it's only a very small step down from the 9800 Pro but it's still well ahead of the 9600XT. But as long as the OP doesn't go above 1024x768 or 1152x864 it won't matter that much. Good luck with your Son's new card Geraldhyder and enjoy it.

10-19-2006, 05:01 PM	#1 (permalink)
geraldhyder Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 2 OS: Win XP	Radeon 9800 graphics problem My 13-year old son has had increasing problems with the graphics on his games to the extent that they are unplayable. This started a month or so ago for no obvious reason. It starts with small flashes on the screen after the game has been playing for a minute or two. This develops into a line of dots beneath the cursor, then to increasing pixilation all over the screen. Sometimes complete blocks of activity disintegrate into their component colours. I’ve tried the advice from the games manufactures helpline – reinstalled the drivers, reinstalled the games. I’ve run the DX Diagnostic Tool – interestingly it loads about 80% and then says that there ‘may have been a problem accessing DirectShow the last time this programme was used.’ It allows me to override the warning – none of the DirectX files show as corrupted. The processor is an Athlon 64 3200+ with 512mb of memory (which I am about to double). The graphics card is a Radeon Pro 9800. The computer was well able to run these games a month or so ago, why not now?? I’m hoping it’s not a DirectX problem as that seems to entail a complete reinstall. Any ideas??

10-19-2006, 07:42 PM	#2 (permalink)
bat21 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 90 OS: XP Professional	When I had that issue on my old 9700 Pro It had memory that went bad. Same exacty issues you're describing - I RMA'ed the card back to ATI and they replaced it and it was great for 2 years after that with never another issue. I would first try reseating the GPU fan on the GPU with some artic silver if you feel comforatable doing that as the GPU fan may be getting loose and or the GPU does not have good contact with the fan (also make sure the GPU fan is actually spinning and you can check temperatures with ATI tool). Also a bad or marginal power supply ca cause very similar issues with graphical corruptions. The best way to check that out is to install that card in another machine with an AGP slot of you have one and test the same game out (if you can possibly do that) - or try another power supply. There's a big difference between quality power and marginal or unstable power which can cause issues down the line. A good quality Fortron 350W unit is much better than ...say an Aspire 400W unit as you will normally have much more stable +12V rails and more stable amperage. If you don't still have your card in warranty - you may be out of luck after you have done the above testing and nothing works, but if you need another card I have a perfectly 9700 Pro in a box doing nothing (it's the one i'm referring to above and I would sell it to you for a very good price). I know this forum doesn't have a for sale section, and there may be rules against selling but you can PM me and we can do it on another forum as i have heatware and references. That is if you're interested, as i'm going to sell that one and an X800XL AGP soon anyway as i will be moving all of my systems to PCIe. Alternatively you can get an X1600 Pro AGP, or 7300-7600GS AGP online at a good etailer that would be comparable to your 9800 Pro, with all of the aforementioned having SM 3.0 support. But I hope you can either get an RMA or you can actually work out the issue if it's power or the GPU HSF/contact related and you don't have to worry about getting another card. Last edited by bat21; 10-19-2006 at 07:45 PM.

10-21-2006, 11:46 AM	#5 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,335 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	I've seen what you described on a 9800SE with a mod applied to open the back 4 pipelines. In certian types of rendering I'd get off colored blocks and dots. Taking the mod off would, obviously, return it to normal. Bad memory sectors can also cause this type of error. The 9600's are good cards, but would be a 50% step down from a 9800 Pro. Radeon 9800 - 256-bit GPU, 8 pixel pipelines, 256-bit VRAM access Radeon 9600 - 256-bit GPU, 4 pixel pipelines, 128-bit VRAM access __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

10-21-2006, 05:10 AM	#3 (permalink)
geraldhyder Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 2 OS: Win XP	Thanks for all your advice - I've checked the fan (working properly) and the graphics board (very dusty, carefully cleaned)...but despite all this the graphics are still problematic. I also ran the computer with the side panel off, which I guess would have allowed the card not to heat up if that was the issue.... Have decided to bite the bullet and get a new card - it has had fairly solid use for two years. Thanks for your offer nevertheless. Have ordered an ATI Radeon 9600XT 256mb which will hopefully last a few more years until the computer needs replacement. Thanks anyway....

10-21-2006, 03:33 PM	#6 (permalink)
bat21 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 90 OS: XP Professional	That's why I was offering the 9700 Pro because it's only a very small step down from the 9800 Pro but it's still well ahead of the 9600XT. But as long as the OP doesn't go above 1024x768 or 1152x864 it won't matter that much. Good luck with your Son's new card Geraldhyder and enjoy it.