Diogo Ribeiro Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 Let's imagine the system. The motherboard is an ASUS A7V8X. It's got 768 RAM into it. On the BIOS, the AGP Aperture Size is set to 256 MB, and the AGP Speed is set to 8x. The internal clock speed, while able to be overclocked up to 1.8 Ghz and 2.2 Ghz, is currently set to its default speed - ~1.3. Ghz. The graphics card is an ATi Radeon Power Color X800 Pro. Currently Catalyst version installed is 6.3; display driver is 6.4. The monitor is a Sony SDM S93 19'' (TFT). All is plugged in correctly, everything works; cables, fans, everything. No overclocking is being done. Graphical options are all set to maximum performance instead of maximum quality. All DirectX diagnostics report no problems whatsoever. The motherboard's BIOS version is not updated however, because the update provides no noticeable benefits to performance and locks certain options in the BIOS, such as placing AGP Aperture Size set to 32 MB and not letting me toggle it. But it's not enough. While playing there is a common problem; eventually the screen goes black and the monitor reports an 'Out of Range' message, or something else suggesting the PC is not turned on - but it is. While in this state, the game is still being executed in the background, and it is only a few seconds later that the sound stutters suggesting it locked, and only a push of the Reset button will 'fix' it. Lowering AGP Aperture Size or Speed in the BIOS does nothing to solve this; at best, it grants an extra minute or two of playtime before the same happens. Initially I thought it could be a problem with the computer's fans, but they are all working, even during this problem. The CPU isn't heating up otherwise it would shut itself down; and when I restart it the temperature shown in the BIOS is within standard range. Any ideas on what's happening? Is there anything that might be conflicting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metadigital Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 Maybe a driver issue? Catalyst 6.2 is out. I prefer Omega for my Mobility Radeon, as he has added the standard functionality of a desktop GPU that is normally not included, as well as a frame rate per second readout, and the ability to add an overclocking application. Check it out. PS Nice monitor! OBSCVRVM PER OBSCVRIVS ET IGNOTVM PER IGNOTIVS OPVS ARTIFICEM PROBAT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionavar Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 Couple of things to look into: RAM seated properly? GPU seated properly? Heat issues? Everything clean? Voltage - perhaps up it a touch? I would suspect voltage or heat. Assumption: You are running clean w/o a bunch of stuff running in the background? Questions: New rig? Old? New problem? Repeatable? OS? OS follow-up: If MS - any conflicts in Device Manager? Boot into safe mode to check as well. Try playing with sound card disabled - does the problem persist? BIOS: Always worth updating in my experience, fwiiw. The universe is change; your life is what our thoughts make it - Marcus Aurelius (161) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nartwak Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 What's your screen refresh rate Role-Player? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diogo Ribeiro Posted March 19, 2006 Author Share Posted March 19, 2006 Oy, where to begin? @metadigital: Maybe a driver issue? Catalyst 6.2 is out. I prefer Omega for my Mobility Radeon, as he has added the standard functionality of a desktop GPU that is normally not included, as well as a frame rate per second readout, and the ability to add an overclocking application. Check it out. Are the 6.2 drivers the most recent? My ATi Control Center reports I'm using the 0.63 Catalyst :ph34r: I'll try the Omega drivers though, see if something changes for the better. At least it can't get worse, right? PS Nice monitor! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks @Fionavar: Couple of things to look into: RAM seated properly? GPU seated properly? Heat issues? Everything clean? Voltage - perhaps up it a touch? I would suspect voltage or heat. All those are fine, I've double checked them to see how things are and they're all well placed. It rarely seem to heat up; common temperatures for the motherboard are between 29 and 32 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diogo Ribeiro Posted March 19, 2006 Author Share Posted March 19, 2006 Also, I checked my memory frequency as well and it's set to Auto too. Available values are 200, 266, 333 or 400 Mhz, the later not being applicable to my rig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diogo Ribeiro Posted March 19, 2006 Author Share Posted March 19, 2006 Additional info which I don't understand: VCore Voltage - 1.72V +3.3V - 3.20 +5 - 4.80 +12 - 12.90 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanschu Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 According to that link, you should be able to get 75 Hz refresh rate. Have you tried different resolutions (which admittedly doesn't work quite as well on a TFT monitor). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadowstrider Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 This is a 3d acceleration issue, uninstall the video adapter from device manager, then turn your PC off and remove the video card. Check for any damage, especially damage to the fan. To me, it sounds like your video card is overheating. If there is no damage to the card, reinstall the card and update to the latest drivers. Then contact ati, but not over the phone. Request one of their live chats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diogo Ribeiro Posted March 20, 2006 Author Share Posted March 20, 2006 This is a 3d acceleration issue, uninstall the video adapter from device manager, then turn your PC off and remove the video card. Check for any damage, especially damage to the fan. To me, it sounds like your video card is overheating. If there is no damage to the card, reinstall the card and update to the latest drivers. Then contact ati, but not over the phone. Request one of their live chats. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> There is no apparent damage to the card that I can see. Though there was an ungodly amount of dirt on the inside of the PC, which I promptly cleaned up. Your plan was going well until the "reinstall the card and update to the latest drivers" part, however; after uninstalling the video adapter and restaring the computer I can't access Windows. I mean I can, only the lack of drivers don't allow me to see anything. I like the strategy, though, it's like curing a headache with a severed arm; eventually the arm wound will hurt more than the head and therefore minimize it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metadigital Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Can't you start in Safe mode? OBSCVRVM PER OBSCVRIVS ET IGNOTVM PER IGNOTIVS OPVS ARTIFICEM PROBAT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judge Hades Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Could be a problem withthe monitor itself. Have you plugged it in to a different system. I had a Proview monitor that would go into sleep mode for no reason. I had to get it replaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StillLife Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Your plan was going well until the "reinstall the card and update to the latest drivers" part, however; after uninstalling the video adapter and restaring the computer I can't access Windows. I mean I can, only the lack of drivers don't allow me to see anything. I like the strategy, though, it's like curing a headache with a severed arm; eventually the arm wound will hurt more than the head and therefore minimize it <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Ouch, what OS are you running? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lare Kikkeli Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 savvy, i love that word. carry on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angshuman Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 I'd suspect the video card first, followed closely by the motherboard. I doubt it's a software/configuration/driver issue. Which means isolation is the first step. Can you get hold of a temporary video card for testing purposes? The closer it is to your existing card, the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadowstrider Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 There is no apparent damage to the card that I can see. Though there was an ungodly amount of dirt on the inside of the PC, which I promptly cleaned up. Your plan was going well until the "reinstall the card and update to the latest drivers" part, however; after uninstalling the video adapter and restaring the computer I can't access Windows. I mean I can, only the lack of drivers don't allow me to see anything. I like the strategy, though, it's like curing a headache with a severed arm; eventually the arm wound will hurt more than the head and therefore minimize it <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Uh... your computer should still work without the proper video drivers, which leads me to believe your motherboard is fried. You shouldn't need video drivers to get into windows. The BIOS/Mobo/Video adapter should have sufficient compatability to display things in 640x480 with 8-bit color quality. Angshuman is correct, you need to narrow down the potential problems, can you get ahold of any ati video cards? The closer to your own the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanschu Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 It could also be the video card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadowstrider Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Most definitely could be the video card, and now that I think about it a bit more, I think it is as well. It is entirely possible you had some sort of power surge or something and both are done. I hope that is not the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanschu Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Video card is my bet too. I can't imagine that refresh rates would be going haywire as a result of a motherboard failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metadigital Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Has anyone thought about the video card in all this? I think that is a candidate! OBSCVRVM PER OBSCVRIVS ET IGNOTVM PER IGNOTIVS OPVS ARTIFICEM PROBAT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadowstrider Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Has anyone thought about the video card in all this? I think that is a candidate! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It hadn't occured to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabrielle Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Video card? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diogo Ribeiro Posted March 21, 2006 Author Share Posted March 21, 2006 What's a video card? Something wicked happened; it isn't the first time it does although I wasn't expecting one to happen at this point. Still, it's common to get one of these every single year without exception. The computer was still functioning, at least the welcoming jingle of XP Home was heard when I turned the PC on and it reached the desktop. Problem is, nothing could actually be seen as the entire screen was black. After some quick testing with whatever I could test it with, I found out the only way to fix it was to format the main drive and reinstall XP. Did it, so it's all back online; fortunately I had made copies of some of the more important stuff last week. Problem is I can't get a hold of any other videocard at the moment. The arcane Voodoo PCI cards were no longer working at all, and the only other PC in the house other than mine used onboard graphics. I can't actually make decent testing because not only does the other PC also is plugged into another monitor of the same brand and model as mine, I seem to be lacking a cable that allows me to plug directly between any of the monitors and my mobo. If I had one, I could have also used that yesterday to try and solve the problem, possibly without formatting. I checked for problems and I didn't find any sign of damage on either the motherboard or the graphics card. I also doublechecked every fan, and they're working. Only thing left to check out is the power supply but I'm not entirely sure of what tests I could run with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadowstrider Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 If I were you, I would contact ATi and tell them the card is malfunctioning. Send it in to them, worst case scenario, they return it to you and call you a dirty communist liar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanschu Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 (edited) I remember I returned an ATI card, and they sent me a note with the card saying that they didn't find any problems with the card, but replaced it just in case. I have always loved their RMA policy, though they no longer have the deposit option Edited March 21, 2006 by alanschu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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