Old 9800xt user now having a big problem

hooligan04 · 12-12-2007, 06:32 PM

I've had my 9800xt for about 3 years now. I've always been able to play things fine up until about 3 or 4 months ago. I wish I had paid better attention to what started the problem but I unfortunately did not.

It seems to me that the card is overheating. Now I've looked all over the web before posting here and when it comes to this topic I usually find this same problem with NEW users of this card. Everyone tells them to get more fans, adjust airflow and things of that nature. While that could be my problem I will assume its not as my pc has run fine for years and its stayed virtually the same.

When I fire up the catalyst controller it tells me my card is always over 100 c even when just idling. Now the rest of my pc seems to run pretty cool, around 30 c or so. Its just my vid card and just recently. I've opened it up and played with the fans and touched the card while in there and the big copper piece on the top of it is HOT. It also seems that the fan is running slowly but I never watched it before so I have nothing to gauge it on.

My main problem seems to be the small grainy artifacts while playing games which I read could be a video RAM issue. After a bit of playing any game(even crappy old ones that one wouldn't think are harnessing the full power of my card) it will not only get the artifacts but eventually lock up my system.

Maybe my card is just getting old. Maybe I in fact do need more fans or a heatsink. Maybe it is somehow getting too much power. I just don't know. I'm willing to give whatever specs are needed to help solve this, I would give them now but I just don't know what to look for. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

**koala** · 12-12-2007, 10:44 PM

Hi, welcome to TSF

If you've had the card for 3 years, the fan is probably on its last legs. You can replace it with a 3rd party one for about $10-20.

Artifacts usually mean a problem with video RAM, often caused by overheating or weak PSU. As the rest of your system temperatures are ok, it could be caused by weak output on the +12V line.

What are the PSU voltages like? Run SpeedFan at startup with no programs running and copy down all the temperatures and voltages. Leave it running and start a 3D game. While playing for a few minutes, alt-tab back to the desktop and note the temps/volts. Post back with both sets of figures and your PSU details (make/model, total watts, amps for +12V) so we can see how your computer copes under stress compared with at rest.

hooligan04 · 12-13-2007, 10:46 AM

OK, I ran the program and actually did 3 sets of readings. I'll list all 3 numbers in each category below to save space. The first are the readings after first turning on my pc. Second ones are after I let it idle for about 12 minutes. Finally I launched "World in Conflict" and played for probably less than five minutes. There were a couple of artifacts on the screen by the time I alt-tabbed out.

Temp1-25,25,25 Vcore1-1.54,1.52,1.54
Temp2-26,30,39 Vcore2-2.54,2.56,2.56
Temp3-36,38,44 +3.3-3.34,3.34,3.36
Temp-1,1,1 +5-3.39,2.8,3.84
HD0-26,29,32 +12-12.22,12.22,12.22
HD1-1,27,29 -12--1.5,-3.97,-7.26
Core-34,37,44 -5--2.2,-2.74,-2.59
+5-3.63,1.83,2.53
Vbat-4.08,4.08,4.08

I also checked the temp from my catalyst control panel at all three times and they were- 67,99,111. I believe my PSU is a Enermax EG651P-VE 522w, although it also says "Peak 650w". The amps for +12 are supposed to be 36a if I'm reading it right. Hope this helps and thanks so far.

**koala** · 12-13-2007, 11:27 AM

Try playing a game again, this time with a desktop fan blowing into the case directly at the graphics card. The rest of your temps are ok, but the rise from 67-99C at idle after just a few minutes is cause for concern. The +5V reading is outside the accepted +/-5% range, but that shouldn't cause the GPU temperature to rise so much.

If the desktop fan doesn't reduce the idle temperature, and you still get artifacts when gaming, then a new fan probably won't be enough to save the card. If you'd dealt with it earlier you might have been able to save it.

From my own experience with an overheating 9800Pro, which I also left too long before looking at, once artifacts start appearing and the temperature can't be kept under control, then it's time for a new card.

hooligan04 · 12-13-2007, 01:12 PM

While I don't have a desk fan, I do have a medium sized room fan. I opened the side of my case and set the fan to medium and went at some Medieval 2. I figured a big battle would test it. While idleing the card now sits around 78/79, which is way better. Not great, but better. I played for a bit, had a little slow down and maybe saw an artifact or 2, hard to say with as much crap that goes on in that game though. right after the battle I checked the temp and it was at 88. Once again, not great but better. I guess I'll do this til I get a new GPU.

Thanks for all the help. Any idea what would be the absolute best card I could get for an AGP8x slot is. After checking around I believe it to be the gforce 7600 gt w/512 but another opinion would be nice.

**koala** · 12-13-2007, 01:25 PM

The ATI Radeon X1950XT AGP is better than the 7600GT. Check out this comparison chart. http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards....=435&card2=503

They also have some good reviews of the top AGP cards. Click the Superlatives and Review Finder tabs at the top.

12-12-2007, 06:32 PM	#1 (permalink)
hooligan04 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 3 OS: xp2	Old 9800xt user now having a big problem I've had my 9800xt for about 3 years now. I've always been able to play things fine up until about 3 or 4 months ago. I wish I had paid better attention to what started the problem but I unfortunately did not. It seems to me that the card is overheating. Now I've looked all over the web before posting here and when it comes to this topic I usually find this same problem with NEW users of this card. Everyone tells them to get more fans, adjust airflow and things of that nature. While that could be my problem I will assume its not as my pc has run fine for years and its stayed virtually the same. When I fire up the catalyst controller it tells me my card is always over 100 c even when just idling. Now the rest of my pc seems to run pretty cool, around 30 c or so. Its just my vid card and just recently. I've opened it up and played with the fans and touched the card while in there and the big copper piece on the top of it is HOT. It also seems that the fan is running slowly but I never watched it before so I have nothing to gauge it on. My main problem seems to be the small grainy artifacts while playing games which I read could be a video RAM issue. After a bit of playing any game(even crappy old ones that one wouldn't think are harnessing the full power of my card) it will not only get the artifacts but eventually lock up my system. Maybe my card is just getting old. Maybe I in fact do need more fans or a heatsink. Maybe it is somehow getting too much power. I just don't know. I'm willing to give whatever specs are needed to help solve this, I would give them now but I just don't know what to look for. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

12-12-2007, 10:44 PM	#2 (permalink)
koala Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UK Posts: 12,457 OS: XP/7/Ubuntu My System	Re: Old 9800xt user now having a big problem Hi, welcome to TSF If you've had the card for 3 years, the fan is probably on its last legs. You can replace it with a 3rd party one for about $10-20. Artifacts usually mean a problem with video RAM, often caused by overheating or weak PSU. As the rest of your system temperatures are ok, it could be caused by weak output on the +12V line. What are the PSU voltages like? Run SpeedFan at startup with no programs running and copy down all the temperatures and voltages. Leave it running and start a 3D game. While playing for a few minutes, alt-tab back to the desktop and note the temps/volts. Post back with both sets of figures and your PSU details (make/model, total watts, amps for +12V) so we can see how your computer copes under stress compared with at rest. __________________ New members: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. TSF Folding@Home Team 85015 - details here

12-13-2007, 10:46 AM	#3 (permalink)
hooligan04 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 3 OS: xp2	Re: Old 9800xt user now having a big problem OK, I ran the program and actually did 3 sets of readings. I'll list all 3 numbers in each category below to save space. The first are the readings after first turning on my pc. Second ones are after I let it idle for about 12 minutes. Finally I launched "World in Conflict" and played for probably less than five minutes. There were a couple of artifacts on the screen by the time I alt-tabbed out. Temp1-25,25,25 Vcore1-1.54,1.52,1.54 Temp2-26,30,39 Vcore2-2.54,2.56,2.56 Temp3-36,38,44 +3.3-3.34,3.34,3.36 Temp-1,1,1 +5-3.39,2.8,3.84 HD0-26,29,32 +12-12.22,12.22,12.22 HD1-1,27,29 -12--1.5,-3.97,-7.26 Core-34,37,44 -5--2.2,-2.74,-2.59 +5-3.63,1.83,2.53 Vbat-4.08,4.08,4.08 I also checked the temp from my catalyst control panel at all three times and they were- 67,99,111. I believe my PSU is a Enermax EG651P-VE 522w, although it also says "Peak 650w". The amps for +12 are supposed to be 36a if I'm reading it right. Hope this helps and thanks so far.

12-13-2007, 11:27 AM	#4 (permalink)
koala Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UK Posts: 12,457 OS: XP/7/Ubuntu My System	Re: Old 9800xt user now having a big problem Try playing a game again, this time with a desktop fan blowing into the case directly at the graphics card. The rest of your temps are ok, but the rise from 67-99C at idle after just a few minutes is cause for concern. The +5V reading is outside the accepted +/-5% range, but that shouldn't cause the GPU temperature to rise so much. If the desktop fan doesn't reduce the idle temperature, and you still get artifacts when gaming, then a new fan probably won't be enough to save the card. If you'd dealt with it earlier you might have been able to save it. From my own experience with an overheating 9800Pro, which I also left too long before looking at, once artifacts start appearing and the temperature can't be kept under control, then it's time for a new card. __________________ New members: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. TSF Folding@Home Team 85015 - details here Last edited by koala; 12-13-2007 at 11:32 AM. Reason: typo

12-13-2007, 01:12 PM	#5 (permalink)
hooligan04 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 3 OS: xp2	Re: Old 9800xt user now having a big problem While I don't have a desk fan, I do have a medium sized room fan. I opened the side of my case and set the fan to medium and went at some Medieval 2. I figured a big battle would test it. While idleing the card now sits around 78/79, which is way better. Not great, but better. I played for a bit, had a little slow down and maybe saw an artifact or 2, hard to say with as much crap that goes on in that game though. right after the battle I checked the temp and it was at 88. Once again, not great but better. I guess I'll do this til I get a new GPU. Thanks for all the help. Any idea what would be the absolute best card I could get for an AGP8x slot is. After checking around I believe it to be the gforce 7600 gt w/512 but another opinion would be nice.

12-13-2007, 01:25 PM	#6 (permalink)
koala Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UK Posts: 12,457 OS: XP/7/Ubuntu My System	Re: Old 9800xt user now having a big problem The ATI Radeon X1950XT AGP is better than the 7600GT. Check out this comparison chart. http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards....=435&card2=503 They also have some good reviews of the top AGP cards. Click the Superlatives and Review Finder tabs at the top. __________________ New members: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. TSF Folding@Home Team 85015 - details here Last edited by koala; 12-13-2007 at 01:35 PM.