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  • New 9800 pro not working help plz

    I just ordered a MSI 9800 pro and now it is locking up my computer.

    At first i though my PSU was to blame as it is only 300 watts but in running some tests to figure out if that was it I don't think it is.

    I took out some pci cards and disconected the floppy drive. Which seemed to increase the lenght of time before it crashed (which i now think may have been due to air flow).

    But then I ran 3dmark01 and found that it crashs on the nature test. I tested this by running nature in a loop and it would crash after one go around (right at the begining of the second run).

    It crashes by freezing up for a second (if in a game with sound the sound goes into a loop) then the monitor loses the signal, then it goes to a gray screen if in a game or goes to artifacts in 3dmark (after it crashs to the desktop)

    I am switching from a nvidia ti 4400 so I am not familar with how ati cards act when they over heat.

    So my questions is what could be the possible problems or is there something i did wrong.
    Last edited by Theberkin8or; 07-08-2004, 07:55 PM.

  • #2
    Its quite possible you don't have enough power. Low Power can make alot of weird things happen.

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    • #3
      any test you suggest I perform to find out if this is the problem? I don't want to spend 50 or so bucks and find out I was wrong.

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      • #4
        unfortally I don't have any computer aside from this pos dell my parents have (doesn't even have a apg slot)

        could the fact that i have 4x apg not 8x change anything?

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        • #5
          I would likely say that the PSU is the prob or you didn't remove all traces of the old nVIDIA drivers, also running that card at 4x AGP will not effect it but if you have fast writes enabled then disable them to see if that helps.

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          • #6
            If you're running WinXP and removed the old card from the Control Panel, you probably are not having problems with the different drivers. Considering you began removing items and it extended the time before crash, I'll go along with the others and say this is likely causing your problems. The ATi high-end boards with the supplemental power Molex are some of the most power hungry boards made. 300 watts simply isn;t enough anymore when talking about an enthusiast rig. I generally recommend at least a 400 watt unit and then make sure you get one from a reputable company. 450 watts is even better if you can afford it.

            As for testing, find a buddy with a more powerful PSU and install it in your system. This requires no mods to any configuration files and gives you immediate results. If the system runs well, you've got the problem identified. If this doesn't fix your crashing problem, let us know a bit more information about the crashes and we'll go from there.
            Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill
            My Toys

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            • #7
              from my tests it seems that heat is a factor, I say this because running a room fan next to the open case bought me so extra time as well.

              Is is possible that this was just taking some stress off the PSU by:
              1. removing heat from psu to make it work better (it was very hot in my room when i started)?
              2. removed stress from the PSU becuase fans didn't have to run as hard?
              3. something else?


              unfortunaly I am home for the summer and all my friends with decent systems are there

              any ideas for a decent psu around 50 dollars?

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              • #8
                1- Unlikely. Your FDD drive and most PCI peripherals (except PCI video) don't generally create a lot of heat.

                2- The fan speeds won't change when you remove something unless you maybe have a thermal controlled rheostat in place.

                3- Possible but unlikely.

                As for finding a PSU, try www.newegg.com if you're in the States as they have good prices and won't rape you on shipping costs.
                Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill
                My Toys

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                • #9
                  yeah i like newegg was looking at this:

                  http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...153-006&depa=0

                  do you think it would do the trick for me?

                  but the real question (i guess) is what do you make of heat seeming to affect how long before it crashes?

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    $45 for a Thermaltake 420 including shipping? Not bad.

                    First off, heat could cause some problems, but since you have not given us any temperatures reported by the mainboard sensors, I can't say for sure one way or another. At any rate, the power supply needs to be replaced regardless of heat issues so it won't be money wasted by getting a new unit in place. If heat becomes an issue later we can address that at a very minimal cost (but maybe a little effort with a drill or Dremel).
                    Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill
                    My Toys

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      I went ahead and ordered the PSU.

                      Yeah I hadn't even thought about getting data on the heat from my mobo. I used to have asus probe but it was lost when my c drive "crashed" on me. Can you download that from some where? Or are there any other programs that will get that info for me? sorry for the n00b questions but I haven't fooled with this stuff for about a year and a half (when i was ocing this computer for the first time).

                      btw thx a lot for all the help, will update this once i get my psu installed.

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                      • #12
                        You used to OC that computer? Maybe you damaged some component when you oc'd it (risk you take) and now you are seeing the aftermath when you use this new card. Perhaps your motherboard's AGP flopped out on ya (happens sometimes, not common though).

                        But yes, a PSU is a good thing to upgrade, especially from a 300Watt to a 450Watt.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          I stay away from Asus Probe since it was well known as being about the worst utiltiy available in terms of accuracy. I have heard that later versions got better, but I became jaded and just stay away from it. You can download Motherboard Monitor (MBM) for free from almost any geek utility site and it does a decent job as long as your mainboard has temperature probes built in. Most do and have done so for many years now so odds are good it will work for you.


                          And yes, keep us posted on the progress. Hopefully it takes care of your problems but if not we'll be here.
                          Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill
                          My Toys

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: New 9800 pro not working help plz

                            well the PSU didn't fix my crashing.

                            so i went ahead and underclocked the card to try and see if heat was the issue. And underclocking appears to help (obviously I don't want a card underclocked all the time though).

                            So i guess my question is: What is the next step?

                            I was thinking i might try taking off the heatsink to see if it is on correctly (though I would need to purchase some thermal paste, is artic silver still the best?). But if i do that and it doesn't fix it then I think i just voided my warrenty. Right? How about if i just take it off and put it back on would that void?

                            The other option seems to be to send it back to the company which would take a long time and would probably cost more (shipping).

                            It seems to me that a card should run fine at its defualt clock speeds in a decently cooled case (which it doesn't) so something obviously not right with the card. Right? what do you guys suggest?

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                            • #15
                              Re: New 9800 pro not working help plz

                              well i took off the heatsink and I think i may have found the problem.
                              http://photos.imageevent.com/theberk...puheatsink.jpg

                              http://photos.imageevent.com/theberk...ize/onegpu.jpg

                              as you can see on corner of the chip and heat sink has very little thermal compound.

                              Do you think this is the problem?

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