Weird graphic problem

no_more_spikes · 01-03-2008, 01:12 PM

I had the same trouble in the past with my ATI Radeon 9600 PRO - some years after I bought it, when I was playing any sort of game the graphics went wild. By replacing the graphic board the problem went away.
Well, now, it popped up again; the same problem and symptoms all around.
Sometimes it goes away on its own, or by re-inserting the graphic board on the AGP slot, still, it's bothersome - there must be another solution...
Attached are some pictures of the problem while playing Portal and dxdiag's D3D test;

**emosun** · 01-04-2008, 04:00 AM

what card is in the machine now? agp pci-e? what wattage is your psu? Have you updated to the latest drivers for the card?

no_more_spikes · 01-04-2008, 08:47 AM

A ATI Radeon 9600PRO; AGP.
It is a 420 W PSU.
Yes, both in the past and now I use the latest drivers (though I used older ones to verify if the new ones were causing the problem).

**emosun** · 01-04-2008, 05:44 PM

post your voltages and temps, if you need a program to view then try speedfan in my sig

no_more_spikes · 01-04-2008, 08:57 PM

Here they are; please tell me if you need any more details.

dai · 01-04-2008, 09:27 PM

your 12 line is down see what this gives you
http://www.softpedia.com/progDownloa...oad-29890.html

**emosun** · 01-04-2008, 09:28 PM

What games are you trying to play? the card may simply not be powerful enough

no_more_spikes · 01-05-2008, 10:33 AM

I don't know which, or really what, the 12 line is, still, I attached a print of the program you recommended running.
As for the game - this time I was trying to play Portal.
However, the first time this happened I was trying to play a very old game, MDK 2.
The problem works like: I play a game, it gives me those weird graphics, I quit, the desktop gets some little weird glitches (like the mouse pointer has dots instead of pure white), then I play another game and the problem carries on or appears after some time forcing me turn off the games and wait. After a while though it seems like it never happened. I've checked the temperatures during the problem and they are similar to the normal ones. I can't tell for the voltages though.

dai · 01-05-2008, 10:39 AM

check you have no dust build up on the card and the cpu h/sink
see if you can borrow a quality 500w to try in it
the ram may be going on the card can you try it in another computer to see if it is the same
the 12v line is down in that reading as well 11.73v
it power your cpu and video

**emosun** · 01-05-2008, 02:37 PM

Thats what I was thinking too, that the card could be going. I've actually seen this problem before, it happens alot when people try to play newer games on there fx5500's. There cards are powerful enough but are either missing some newer technoledgies or are starting to wear out.

no_more_spikes · 01-07-2008, 12:00 PM

I cleaned the dust and tried using the graphic board on another pc (with a 550W PSU), the problem didn't occur playing the same games, however, it doesn't happen all the time so I don't think it proves a lot.
The wearing out seems plausible as the older graphic board was used for a long time before giving the problem, as for the new one - the technology theory fits.
That said - is there a possibility that this occurs due to the low voltage on the +12V line?

**emosun** · 01-07-2008, 12:11 PM

The problems that occur when the 12v line is low are usually pretty random. Some times peoples pc's will freeze solid, bsod, shut off randomly, or cause tiny little errors that you wouldn't notice till your psu finally died. I won't garentee that a psu upgrade will fix it because of the age of the card, but it might fix it. But if you were going to upgrade your psu you might as well throw a new video card in too. Sometimes peoples machines just need overhauls.

I also hadn't considerd it may be your cpu, A laggy or slowing or hot cpu would explain random 3d elements not being renderd correctly. But thats a stretch.

no_more_spikes · 01-07-2008, 05:59 PM

I see. The problem seems to be random though and I wasn't planning to keep this PC much longer; this just gave me the boost I needed to buy a new one.
Thank you "emosun" and "dai" for your help, I appreciate it ;^^

01-04-2008, 04:00 AM	#2 (permalink)
emosun Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: usa Posts: 7,109 OS: xp pro sp2 My System	Re: Weird graphic problem what card is in the machine now? agp pci-e? what wattage is your psu? Have you updated to the latest drivers for the card? __________________ Gpu Benchmarks Cpu-Z Power supply information and selection Gpu-Z Video card quick list

01-04-2008, 08:47 AM	#3 (permalink)
no_more_spikes Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Portugal Posts: 6 OS: Windows XP SP2 [Pro]	Re: Weird graphic problem A ATI Radeon 9600PRO; AGP. It is a 420 W PSU. Yes, both in the past and now I use the latest drivers (though I used older ones to verify if the new ones were causing the problem). __________________ Pentium 4 3.0 GHz; 1 GB Ram; Asus P4P800-E Deluxe; broken computer all around, yey ^^

01-04-2008, 05:44 PM	#4 (permalink)
emosun Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: usa Posts: 7,109 OS: xp pro sp2 My System	Re: Weird graphic problem post your voltages and temps, if you need a program to view then try speedfan in my sig __________________ Gpu Benchmarks Cpu-Z Power supply information and selection Gpu-Z Video card quick list

01-04-2008, 09:27 PM	#6 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,797 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Weird graphic problem your 12 line is down see what this gives you http://www.softpedia.com/progDownloa...oad-29890.html __________________

01-04-2008, 09:28 PM	#7 (permalink)
emosun Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: usa Posts: 7,109 OS: xp pro sp2 My System	Re: Weird graphic problem What games are you trying to play? the card may simply not be powerful enough __________________ Gpu Benchmarks Cpu-Z Power supply information and selection Gpu-Z Video card quick list

01-05-2008, 10:39 AM	#9 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,797 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Weird graphic problem check you have no dust build up on the card and the cpu h/sink see if you can borrow a quality 500w to try in it the ram may be going on the card can you try it in another computer to see if it is the same the 12v line is down in that reading as well 11.73v it power your cpu and video __________________

01-05-2008, 02:37 PM	#10 (permalink)
emosun Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: usa Posts: 7,109 OS: xp pro sp2 My System	Re: Weird graphic problem Thats what I was thinking too, that the card could be going. I've actually seen this problem before, it happens alot when people try to play newer games on there fx5500's. There cards are powerful enough but are either missing some newer technoledgies or are starting to wear out. __________________ Gpu Benchmarks Cpu-Z Power supply information and selection Gpu-Z Video card quick list

01-07-2008, 12:00 PM	#11 (permalink)
no_more_spikes Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Portugal Posts: 6 OS: Windows XP SP2 [Pro]	Re: Weird graphic problem I cleaned the dust and tried using the graphic board on another pc (with a 550W PSU), the problem didn't occur playing the same games, however, it doesn't happen all the time so I don't think it proves a lot. The wearing out seems plausible as the older graphic board was used for a long time before giving the problem, as for the new one - the technology theory fits. That said - is there a possibility that this occurs due to the low voltage on the +12V line? __________________ Pentium 4 3.0 GHz; 1 GB Ram; Asus P4P800-E Deluxe; broken computer all around, yey ^^

01-07-2008, 12:11 PM	#12 (permalink)
emosun Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: usa Posts: 7,109 OS: xp pro sp2 My System	Re: Weird graphic problem The problems that occur when the 12v line is low are usually pretty random. Some times peoples pc's will freeze solid, bsod, shut off randomly, or cause tiny little errors that you wouldn't notice till your psu finally died. I won't garentee that a psu upgrade will fix it because of the age of the card, but it might fix it. But if you were going to upgrade your psu you might as well throw a new video card in too. Sometimes peoples machines just need overhauls. I also hadn't considerd it may be your cpu, A laggy or slowing or hot cpu would explain random 3d elements not being renderd correctly. But thats a stretch. __________________ Gpu Benchmarks Cpu-Z Power supply information and selection Gpu-Z Video card quick list Last edited by emosun; 01-07-2008 at 12:12 PM.

01-07-2008, 05:59 PM	#13 (permalink)
no_more_spikes Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Portugal Posts: 6 OS: Windows XP SP2 [Pro]	Re: Weird graphic problem I see. The problem seems to be random though and I wasn't planning to keep this PC much longer; this just gave me the boost I needed to buy a new one. Thank you "emosun" and "dai" for your help, I appreciate it ;^^ __________________ Pentium 4 3.0 GHz; 1 GB Ram; Asus P4P800-E Deluxe; broken computer all around, yey ^^