Dead GPU?

[d00m]

Was playing an old(ish) game on steam last night when the screen went a bit crazy followed immediately by a BSOD. On boot up I have a number of red vertical lines on the BIOS screen followed by dots then another BSOD.

I'm assuming my GPU has died - I've checked all connections and am able to boot up in safe mode. I've uninstalled the graphics driver but afer reinstalling the same game causes the same issue.

Its an old card (HD4850) so doesn't owe me anything but I need a cheapish replacement. Any recommendations? this is the spec of my machine:

Case - Antec 300
Mobo - Asus P5Q Pro
Graphics Card - HIS ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB
Memory - GSkill 4Gb DDR2 PC2-8500C5 (2x2Gb)
CPU - Core2 Duo E8400 @3.00GHz
Cooler - Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro
PSU - Corsair TX 750W
HDD - Samsung Spinpoint F1 500Gb

I know its old but it seems to run everything I throw at it without issue (until now that is)

 

[Will Gill]

definitely sounds like a GPU, artifacts and lines are pretty classic signs

good news is getting another 4850 wont be a very expensive process

 

[d00m]

Artifacts - that was the word I was looking for . If I wanted to get a new(er) card where would be a good starting point? Would prefer to buy a new card but I haven't built a machine since this one so haven't really been keeping in touch. The cheaper the better really but I'm open to suggestions.

 

[Doomedspeed]

Sounds a lot like a dead GPU.

As for a newer card, you're limited by your CPU..

Maybe a 6850 would be the top end of what you could get..

Or a GTX 460..

Both abundant secondhand.

 

[d00m]

So I could run a more powerful card but would probably find my GPU to be a bottleneck?

Which of the currently available cards would be the best to go for? Something like this maybe:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-184-MS

I'm just after something I can buy and plug in to replace the dead one - I'm only running a 22" monitor so not particularly high resolution.

 

[d00m]

or is this overkill?

 

[humbug]

So I could run a more powerful card but would probably find my GPU to be a bottleneck?

Which of the currently available cards would be the best to go for? Something like this maybe:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-184-MS

I'm just after something I can buy and plug in to replace the dead one - I'm only running a 22" monitor so not particularly high resolution.

or is this overkill?

I would say thats a perfect GPU that, powerful enough and cheap for what your getting.

 

[d00m]

Thanks for that Humbug. Always a little wary of buying secondhand so this sounds like the ideal solution.

 

[SeraphX]

An e8400 would bottleneck quite considerably tbh, Get something more along the lines of your 4850 / 5770 / 5850 territory.

 

[d00m]

Stupid question seraphx but would this give me any issues if I'm still playing the same games at the same res as I have been with my 4850 or would I only suffer if I tried upping the ante?

 

[SeraphX]

You'll get issues if you can't overclock the cpu enough, It's such an old system I wouldn't even know where to begin, Basically your Cpu will sit at 99/100% usage and your card will struggle around 40-50% usage, where it should be the other way around in games

Personally, I would save some money up and update to something a little more modern, Even an i5 750 Socket 1156 system would be quite a difference maker

 

[humbug]

You'll get issues if you can't overclock the cpu enough, It's such an old system I wouldn't even know where to begin, Basically your Cpu will sit at 99/100% usage and your card will struggle around 40-50% usage, where it should be the other way around in games

Personally, I would save some money up and update to something a little more modern, Even an i5 750 Socket 1156 system would be quite a difference maker

Its not going to be that bad is it?

 

[d00m]

OK, thanks for the advice. Unfortunately I do need to get something as a stopgap as the GPU does appear to be dead. Will just have to keep an eye out on the second hand market and hope for the best.