guywhoisweird

Problem: NVidia GeForce 5500OC (BFG Tech), consistently freezes during gameplay, occasionally freezes during idle, or running some Apps (not CPU intensive, it's crashed while running: iTunes, Trillian, Firefox, and when it boots and I leave the computer at start screen (the part after you log in, sorry can't describe very well) for about 15 min (I guess, I'm not there when it locks up, I turn it on and go do something else, when I come back it froze, this problem doesn't occur all the time)

System Specs:
AMD Sempron 2400+
Antec SL300, 300W, (+3.3: 20A, +5: 30A, +12: 19A, -5: .5A, -12: .5A, +5SB: 2A)
Seagate "Barracuda" 200GB Ultra ATA
Western Digital "Caviar" (I think that's the brand) 250GB ATA (not sure if it's Ultra, or if there's any difference between Ultra and regular)
1 CD-ROM/RW (52x32x52)
1 DVD+-R, +-RW, Double Layer
2 Fans (80mm), placed so that air goes in the front and out the back
1GB Memory
NVidia GeForce 5500OC (currently using ATI Radeon 9000), both cards AGP

The problem occurs with the ATI Radeon that I am currently using, and the GeForce 5500 that I used, then switched because the crashing was pissing me off. I guess you could say that this thread is about two graphics cards, but this since this is essentially a repost of my earlier problems, I figured that it would be best to keep the title with the original card.

A few months ago I posted here about a problem with my GeForce 5500 OC, made by BFG Tech. I've done a lot of stuff to try and fix the problem (ex. new card, reinstalling Windows), but each solution is temporary, the freezing returns a couple weeks (at max) later.

The main reason for this thread to get your input to see if the problem is one of these things, and what I can do about it:

1. Power Supply (300W Antec SL300, stock, came with case)
- Voltages:
+3.3: 20A, +5: 30A, +12: 19A, -5: .5A, -12: .5A, +5SB: 2A
Pro:
- Everest reads at 4.49V for 5V (Before you say Faulty PSU, read CON please)
Con:
- Digital Multimeter reads 5.06V for 5V, idle and when under stress, 12.38V for 12V idle, 12.34-36 while under stress

2. Overheat
Pro:
- House Fan appeared to solve the problem
- If I remember too, I feel the heatsink on the ATI. It feels real hot sometimes.
Con:
- Results inconclusive, freezing returned even with the fan running, even when system was shut off for a while (like when I went to sleep, then turned computer on in the morning)
- VC overheat inconclusive, why would it still freeze with the house fan (which keeps that heatsink cool, like it would be if you left the computer off for at least 6 hours)

3. Motherboard
Pro:
- If PSU gives normal voltages, how come mobo reports it as being way below normal?
- Could VC not be communicating with mobo?
Con:
- I can't think of any, but I would like to think of this as my last possible option, because of the price of a new mobo/chip.

4. Software
Pro:
- Considering that PSU doesn't appear to be faulty on the rails, at least from the non-mobo side, and that overheat is inconclusive, the software could be the problem
Con:
- It freezes on every single 3D game that I play, is it really that huge of a problem, that every game is incompatible with XP? Also, it freezes with the ATI, and with the NVidia, I know that the two VCs that I use are old, but I figure that they should at least be able to support low-end graphics for those games.

Here are some of the temporary solutions that I thought would work, but then didn't.
- Different case, RAIDMAX Cobra... with the eyes, 430W PSU, but less amps on 12V rail (Older Case)
- Switched Graphics Cards - 5500 to ATI Radeon 9000 (this solution worked for 2 weeks, then I upgraded the Catalyst drivers to 5.6... it hasn't worked the same since, it's still better than the GeForce was, but the freezes are still there)
- House Fan
- Reinstalled Windows (Clean Install)
- Reinstalling 5.5 Catalyst (which now doesn't work for some reason), now I have to use Windows Update to install the drivers...

Here are some of the games that I have installed, and that have locked up (same image shown on screen, nothing responds, only way to get out is to hit the reset button on my case)
- Battlefield 1942
- MVP Baseball 2005
- GTA: SA, VC, III
- Star Trek: Dominion Wars
- Rainbow Six III: Raven Shield

These are the ones that I can think of off the top of my head.

Here is what I was running when my computer locked up when not running games:
1. iTunes, Firefox, Trillian
2. Firefox
3. Nothing, just logged on and it froze a few minutes later
4. Internet Explorer
5. Firefox, Trillian

Here are the solutions that I am thinking about:
- New PSU (Is this one good? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16817103440), It's Enermax EG465P, 460W 33A on the +12V rail.
- New mobo/CPU (going for the Athlon 64, at least 3000+)
- Newer video card, unsure of which brand (this is probably the last thing I would do, because the worse graphics aren't that much of a problem, I use PCs to play games that can be modded, for ex, MVP Baseball.)

Currently, I am preparing to ship back the 5500 back to BFG. When I get it back from them, I hope that it will help me figure out if the problem is the VC, or if I can rule out the VC from this list.

Thank you in advance. I hope I didn't forget anything, if there's something you need to help me diagnose, please ask. This problem has been bugging me since last November.

Times locked up during the creation of this post:
1

guywhoisweird

I can't edit my original post, so I can't add the info of what happened when I put the card in another computer.

When I put the 5500 into another computer, I thought it was the video card that was the problem, but then I put back the original card that was in there (MX440), and the problems were the same. When I started a game, it showed a black screen, and then locked up. Sometimes I would see the game start, but then it wasn't even close to being correct. In MVP, there were no shapes, just a myriad of colors. I couldn't see anything, I could barely make out the bat and the pitches that I could throw. In GTA, I got to the loading screen, but then I only saw every single letter of the alphabet, special characters, etc. This may sound odd, but that's what happened, each time I moved my mouse, I saw a mini-version of that. I couldn't figure out where the "yes" button was to quit the game (I pressed Quit Game on the main menu, but I couldn't find yes).

I guess it could be the computer itself, because it's a completely different chipset.

On that note, my computer has an ECS-KT-600A. and has XP Pro SP2
Sorry, I forgot to add that. Also, all drivers are up to date. It runs a VIA chipset, so I upgraded the Hyperion drivers. Currently, I have an ATI, and I am running Catalyst 5.6 (I hope, it gives me some error... display adapter I think... when I try to install it via the ATI installer. I have to install it via Windows Update and the "Add Hardware" wizard.) I have a Dell 15in. (17?) flat panel, model 1701FP.
I tried the NVidia with 71.89, 56.72 and various beta drivers. Each one did not solve my problem..

Anyways, the computer that I put the card in is running 2 Pentium IIIs, 933Mhz, I'm not sure about the chipset, but I can tell you that has an Aureal Montego sound card, 3 HDs, 2 CD-RWs, 3 120mm fans, 1GB Memory, a 431W PSU, I'll have to get back to you on the voltages, but I can tell you for a fact that they are better than the ones on my Antec SL300 that I listed earlier. The computer is a "server", per say, upgraded to WinXP from Windows 2000 Server. It has a Dell 17 in. CRT.

On both computers, I have done two things, both to no avail:
- Using dxdiag to decrease sound accelration to basic, and then when that didn't work, to No Accelration
- Decreasing Hardware Accelration to the 3rd one from the right, 4th from the left. It is "Disable all cursor and advanced drawing accelrations. Use this setting to correct drawing problems". The enable write combining option is unchecked.

I found this out after repeated crashes when trying to play MVP on the "server" computer. Windows said that it had recovered from a serious error, and it directed me to Windows help, which said that the problem was caused by the NVidia card, and that the solutions were:
- upgrade to new driver (which I couldn't, since I was running 77.72)
- the workaround: Decrease hardware accelration.
I didn't get that particular message with the MX440, nor have I gotten it with the ATI, or with the 5500 running on my computer.

UncleMacro

Given the nature of your problems it doesn't seem like it's clearly related to the video card but there are still standard things you can try. You could take a look at this list and see if there are any things there that you haven't already tried.

guywhoisweird

Well, 20 days later, the problem has been solved. I got a new PSU (Ultra 500W, it's the modular one), and I'm using that with the ATI 9000. No crashes, the system is actually stable.

I want to thank everyone who helped me when I originally had the problem, UncleMacro in particular. Thanks to whoever told me it might have been faulty PSU... you were right!

UncleMacro

Glad to hear you finally got it working. Power supply problems are a real pill to trace down.