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Graphics Artifacts with 8800 Ultra

northun_munky

northun_munky

northun_munky

Associate
Joined
1 Mar 2008
Posts
955
Location
Near Longleat, Raaaar!!
Hi,

I bought an ultra from a chap off a auction site and its throwing up some artifacts when I'm playing games. It started in Fallout 3 but you can see it best in Crysis Warhead. I've taken some screenshots:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26638256@N03/3199007329/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26638256@N03/3199860438/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26638256@N03/3199864812/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26638256@N03/3199868996/

From reading other posts on the forum I reckon in might be the ram on the blink but to be sure I've updated the drivers to 181.2 and it's still happening. The temps don't go above 89c when playing so I don't reckon its temp related.

If it is a ram issue would underclocking it make any difference?

The rest of my specs in case it makes a difference:

q6600 @ 3.2 & Tuniq tower
Ocz Reaper ocz2rpx1002g ram
IP-35 pro
Oryxx Titan 800w PSU

Cheers
 
Was it sold as faulty/untested? Did you pay full whack for it? Has it been like this since new?

How long have you had it?

Looks like it has developed a fault, i'd get in touch with the seller again if possible.
 
I only bought it in november and the guy wasn't selling it as faulty or untested. I paid a ton for it. As it was a while ago I don't think theres much I can do about it. Gutted...
 
What brand is it? There's a chance it might still have a warranty, and if the seller is a nice guy he might be able to warranty it for you/provide a proof of purchase.
 
When it first started doing it I tool the cooler off and blew the dust away using an air duster (of which there was a **** load...), reapplied TIM to the GPU and left the pads on the RAM as I'd heard the gap was too big to use TIM. Made no difference other than lowering the core temp from about 93c to 89-90c under load.

I did wonder about heat as one of the 1st things I noticed about the card (other than the length!) was how much hot air it vented and had planned to get an arctic cooling accelero cooler for it. I don't fancy shelling out for one if it has problems...
 
From what I know, the thermal pads are supposed to be one use only, your problem could lie with some overheating memory then? I've used them more than once before, but that was after a thorough clean with isopropyl alcohol and re-applying them. That was only on a slow card that didn't need the pads much really anyway.

Grab some new pads for a couple of quid if you like and reseat the thing again carefully. Failing that, you could try an aftermarket cooler + ramsinks, but that's just extra money.
 
Use riva tuner and set the fans at 60%, if its overclocked, or manafacturer overclocked these cards produce a lot of heat. When i got my 1gb 8800gt i had to set the fans to 60% and a little above.

Also id advise not buying off auction sites unless its from a proper shop that offers returns, i made that mistake buying a abit ip35 motherboard off ebay for £50 quid and didnt work, seller wouldnt let me return it
 
toon_mad said:
Also id advise not buying off auction sites unless its from a proper shop that offers returns, i made that mistake buying a abit ip35 motherboard off ebay for £50 quid and didnt work, seller wouldnt let me return it
Click to expand...

I think I've learnt my lesson on this. I've been lucky in the past with what I've bought but i'm gutted about the ultra as its a damn good card other than the issue i'm having.
 
toon_mad said:
Use riva tuner and set the fans at 60%, if its overclocked, or manafacturer overclocked these cards produce a lot of heat. When i got my 1gb 8800gt i had to set the fans to 60% and a little above.

Also id advise not buying off auction sites unless its from a proper shop that offers returns, i made that mistake buying a abit ip35 motherboard off ebay for £50 quid and didnt work, seller wouldnt let me return it
Click to expand...

I've bought a few cards off fleabay and they were spot on, I'd advise to buy new stuff in the main tho.
 
i doubt its the pads on the ram being nakered! seriously ive pulled apart four 8800GTX's and two ultras and have re-used the pads over the ram again and again without problem, have even run the cards without the pads over the ram with the stock cooler despite the huge gap before i went to watercooling and not affected the cards either

My 2 current ultras are artifacting badly in crysis, there under water so defo not a heat issue
 
at the moment my only graphic intensive game that really strains this card is crysis warhead, in race driver grid then no, though they artifact when running furmark too,

so im guessing when i finally get fall out 3 and COD5 then artifacts here too
 
ConTRo13R said:
at the moment my only graphic intensive game that really strains this card is crysis warhead, in race driver grid then no, though they artifact when running furmark too,

so im guessing when i finally get fall out 3 and COD5 then artifacts here too
Click to expand...

Might be worth RMAimg them, although I wonder what you would get back?
 
Happy said:
Might be worth RMAimg them, although I wonder what you would get back?
Click to expand...

have had an rma set up for them since December, its just i need to get back to uni to send them off! id be pleased if i got 260's back though it would be forking out for more water blocks! as i have the ultras under water!
 
Well Ultras were a top end card...maybe get a GTX280 back especially if people with 8800GTXs got back GTX260s, were they one of the overclocked pre-watercooled ones?
 
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