GEForce FX5500 gets twitchy, possible overheat?

William Jack · 01-11-2006, 08:08 AM

Hiya all. My first time here.

So I have an HP [waits for laughter] desktop which came with the NVidia GEForce FX5500 graphics card. Apart from the standard issue aches and pains that come with owning an HP, it ran, for the most part, fine, until recently.

In the past month or so I've developed a new problem.

Now, when I try to play a game (Civilization IV or DAoC most notably) it will be fine for perhaps 10 minutes or so, but then the screen will start to flash to completely white, then turn black, and then restore the original image. All in about the spanse of 3 seconds and repeating every 30 seconds or so.

It makes playing MMOs impossible.

Moreover, it seems that if I ignore it (rather than shutting the PC down for a few), it gets worse. I also notice if I ignore it for more than a couple minutes, I'll also see a couple criss-crossing green lines on the screen when it turns white for a second.

I take this to be a sign the graphics card is overheating.

Someone tried to tell me how to read the temp off the card, but apparently this model does not have a sensor and the fan built onto it just runs 100% of the time.

I popped the side off the case and confirmed that the fan on the card is running. The fan on the case is running. And the fan on the power source is running. There isn't excessive dust. And nothing is blocking any vents.

I can't think why it would be overheating now when it wasn't a month ago.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Can I just take a turkey-thermometer and hold it up to it to get the temp reading?

If it is overheating, what can I do to fix that? There are no more spots for fans, and I don't trust my skills at punching a hole in the side to add a new one.

Anyone?

ZDarryl · 01-11-2006, 10:20 AM

First off, the turkey thermometer won't work, because you need to read the temp of the GPU which is under the heatsink.

When you open the case, does it feel really warm inside? Have you touched the back side of the video card while it is running to see if it is really hot?

A quick solution is to leave the side of the case off and have a desk fan blow into the case. If the problem goes away, it was an overheating issue you can add fans or use higher speed/higher flow fans to fix it.

How old is your system?

William Jack · 01-12-2006, 10:02 AM

The case didn't seem warm, but the back of the card certainly did. I'll try a desk fan and see if it makes a diff.

Any clue why it would go from working just fine to overheating when everything seems to be the same as it used to be?

ebackhus · 01-12-2006, 10:38 AM

The FX cards were horribly problematic from cooling to performance. If you plan to continue using this card I'd recommend a good aftermarket cooling solution.

William Jack · 01-12-2006, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebackhus

The FX cards were horribly problematic from cooling to performance. If you plan to continue using this card I'd recommend a good aftermarket cooling solution.

I've never really done any modding (other than a change of a hard drive etc).

With no additional spaces for fans, can you tell me how I guage whether or not to replace the existing fan with a diesel powered one or something? How do I know if my fan stinks?

And I haven't heard particularly good things about the slot fans.

Any suggestions?

ebackhus · 01-12-2006, 12:18 PM

The cooling on my video card is going out so I installed a slot cooler. Not a problem since! Aftermarket coolers are generally equal or superior to the stock cooling systems

William Jack · 01-12-2006, 01:41 PM

Cool.

Well, I'm gonna try the desk fan and see if it helps. If it does, then I know. And I'll buy a slot fan.

Wish me luck.

And thanks for the help.

ZDarryl · 01-12-2006, 05:53 PM

This is a "slot" fan that I have used. 3D Edge Fan $20 and can be configured many different ways!
It straddles a PCI slot and is screwed to one of the PCI expansion slots on the back of the case.

Here is a Review

01-11-2006, 08:08 AM	#1 (permalink)
William Jack Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 4 OS: XP	GEForce FX5500 gets twitchy, possible overheat? Hiya all. My first time here. So I have an HP [waits for laughter] desktop which came with the NVidia GEForce FX5500 graphics card. Apart from the standard issue aches and pains that come with owning an HP, it ran, for the most part, fine, until recently. In the past month or so I've developed a new problem. Now, when I try to play a game (Civilization IV or DAoC most notably) it will be fine for perhaps 10 minutes or so, but then the screen will start to flash to completely white, then turn black, and then restore the original image. All in about the spanse of 3 seconds and repeating every 30 seconds or so. It makes playing MMOs impossible. Moreover, it seems that if I ignore it (rather than shutting the PC down for a few), it gets worse. I also notice if I ignore it for more than a couple minutes, I'll also see a couple criss-crossing green lines on the screen when it turns white for a second. I take this to be a sign the graphics card is overheating. Someone tried to tell me how to read the temp off the card, but apparently this model does not have a sensor and the fan built onto it just runs 100% of the time. I popped the side off the case and confirmed that the fan on the card is running. The fan on the case is running. And the fan on the power source is running. There isn't excessive dust. And nothing is blocking any vents. I can't think why it would be overheating now when it wasn't a month ago. Anyone have any suggestions? Can I just take a turkey-thermometer and hold it up to it to get the temp reading? If it is overheating, what can I do to fix that? There are no more spots for fans, and I don't trust my skills at punching a hole in the side to add a new one. Anyone? Last edited by William Jack; 01-11-2006 at 08:09 AM.

01-11-2006, 10:20 AM	#2 (permalink)
ZDarryl Registered User Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Southern California Posts: 256 OS: XP Pro SP2 My System	First off, the turkey thermometer won't work, because you need to read the temp of the GPU which is under the heatsink. When you open the case, does it feel really warm inside? Have you touched the back side of the video card while it is running to see if it is really hot? A quick solution is to leave the side of the case off and have a desk fan blow into the case. If the problem goes away, it was an overheating issue you can add fans or use higher speed/higher flow fans to fix it. How old is your system? __________________ 35W Mobile XP2400+(IQYHA Stepping) @ 210x11.5=2415 @ 1.8V w/ Thermalright SP-97 Heatsink \| ABIT NF7-S Rev 2 \| 1GB Dual Channel GeIL Ultra PC4000 @ 2-4-4-7 \| AIW X800XT \| Audigy 2 ZS \| 160GB SATA, 200GB IDE, 250GB USB \| 5 LED Case Fans \| Enermax 470W PSU Spywareblaster \| ScreenShot Program 5655 3DMark05 \| 10784 3DMark03 \| 20978 3DMark01 \|

01-12-2006, 10:38 AM	#4 (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	The FX cards were horribly problematic from cooling to performance. If you plan to continue using this card I'd recommend a good aftermarket cooling solution. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

01-12-2006, 12:18 PM	#6 (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	The cooling on my video card is going out so I installed a slot cooler. Not a problem since! Aftermarket coolers are generally equal or superior to the stock cooling systems __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

01-12-2006, 05:53 PM	#8 (permalink)
ZDarryl Registered User Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Southern California Posts: 256 OS: XP Pro SP2 My System	This is a "slot" fan that I have used. 3D Edge Fan $20 and can be configured many different ways! It straddles a PCI slot and is screwed to one of the PCI expansion slots on the back of the case. Here is a Review __________________ 35W Mobile XP2400+(IQYHA Stepping) @ 210x11.5=2415 @ 1.8V w/ Thermalright SP-97 Heatsink \| ABIT NF7-S Rev 2 \| 1GB Dual Channel GeIL Ultra PC4000 @ 2-4-4-7 \| AIW X800XT \| Audigy 2 ZS \| 160GB SATA, 200GB IDE, 250GB USB \| 5 LED Case Fans \| Enermax 470W PSU Spywareblaster \| ScreenShot Program 5655 3DMark05 \| 10784 3DMark03 \| 20978 3DMark01 \| Last edited by ZDarryl; 01-12-2006 at 05:59 PM.

01-12-2006, 10:02 AM	#3 (permalink)
William Jack Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 4 OS: XP	The case didn't seem warm, but the back of the card certainly did. I'll try a desk fan and see if it makes a diff. Any clue why it would go from working just fine to overheating when everything seems to be the same as it used to be?

01-12-2006, 01:41 PM	#7 (permalink)
William Jack Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 4 OS: XP	Cool. Well, I'm gonna try the desk fan and see if it helps. If it does, then I know. And I'll buy a slot fan. Wish me luck. And thanks for the help.