wonky 9800 pro - Fury-Tech Forums

Yayhon · #1 (**permalink**) 12-13-2003, 08:22 PM

okay I'm pretty sure my radeon 9800pro 256 card has shit the bed. I'm getting some serious distortion, it looks like vertical bars of red static, and it keeps getting worse. I've tried reinstalling the drivers and even upgrading to the latest version, and the problem persists. Is there any stupid thing I can try before sending this back?

**Tekime** · #2 (**permalink**) 12-13-2003, 09:12 PM

That sucks

Is it a consistent problem, like if you reboot will it be there the entire time, or does it appear at some point during boot, or not until you've used it a while?

Check the fan on your video card too and make sure it's working.

PS. Moved this over to video forum.

**Technophile** · #3 (**permalink**) 12-13-2003, 09:51 PM

That fucking blows!! I'd shut it off for a while and let it cool for a few hours, reseat it, then boot it up again and make sure the fan is spinning. See if the problem occurs immediately, at a certain point during boot, or after using it for a while. :huh: Damn, shit that costs that much should last longer. I miss the days when computers would run for 10 years without breaking. There's a very small chance that the card just isn't seated properly, or it could be that your fan crapped out and the card is overheating, or it could just be fucked.

**Tekime** · #4 (**permalink**) 12-13-2003, 11:34 PM

Yeah, sounds like a possible heat problem... it could also be a problem with the monitor though. Could be a faulty connection anywhere from the monitor to the video card really -- bad pin, short in the cable, flaky tube in the CRT, etc.

When it happens will make a big difference in diagnosing it, so I won't scare you too much with theories 'till I understand the problem a bit better.

I'm praying for you though, you must be pretty annoyed.

PS. The Catalyst 3.8 drivers from ATI were the source of some pretty bad problems apparently. If you're running the 3.8's, update directly from ATI! The new version fixes the problem IIRC. If you already ran them, it might explain the red static. :huh:

Yayhon · #5 (**permalink**) 12-14-2003, 12:59 AM

It started when I was playing hordes of the underdark, so I thought it might be just that game. Sometimes it would go away if I saves and reloaded, and sometimes I would have to shut down and restart. I don't know what version the drivers were before, but I updated to the 3.9 and I've reinstalled them a bunch of times. It doesnt generally happen until after I've been playing a game. But the last time I rebooted and it was right there on startup, then when I booted again I got a checksum error or something, and now it wont boot at all. The thing thats really pissing me off is I can't even figure out how to open the damn case. theres a little handle thats supposed to open it but It doesnt seem to do anything. I'm so pissed, I'm not in any state to try calling tech support yet.

**Technophile** · #6 (**permalink**) 12-14-2003, 12:02 PM

Ouch. Not booting is not good. Do you remember anything more about the error message you got on boot? At what point did that show up?

-Mantra- · #7 (**permalink**) 12-14-2003, 12:06 PM

hrm.. checksum error..

have you changed any memory timings or anything in your bios lately? it might not be a bad idea to set your bios to defaults if you are doing any overclocking or custom settings too..

Yayhon · #8 (**permalink**) 12-14-2003, 04:06 PM

Well I called tech support, and actually got a guy who was competent and knew what he was talking about. He got it to boot correctly, then updated the bios. Then the video problem was still there, so I called again and got the same guy, I re-seated the video card and still had problems so theyre sending me a new card. Hopefully that will fix everything.
So frustrating, the games I bought this for havent even come out yet.

**Tekime** · #9 (**permalink**) 12-14-2003, 05:03 PM

Well, you can be thankful you got somebody with a clue; and even the most expensive shit is prone to problems. Hopefully the problem is only with the video card, and you can put this crap behind you in a week or so.

Yayhon · #10 (**permalink**) 12-14-2003, 08:29 PM

Yeah, now I'm gonna be nervous to play anything on it at all. I'll have to turn the thermostat way down and wear my jacket to play NwN. You'd think ten fans would be enough. Is there any way I can get hooked up with a nitrogen cooling system?

Of course this happens though, I buy an expensive machine, put it on a UPS backup, and obsess about dust particles touching it and it fucks up. My old computer I run with the case open, surf sketchy porn sites every day, I keep a family of gerbils in it complete with sawdust and a activity wheel, and I have a daily ritual of pouring a full 16oz PBR into the PSU to appease the hardware demons, and it runs without a hitch. Go figure.