I feared this might happen to my 7800GS+

danceMB · 12 Jul 2006 at 01:10

The amount of problems I have been facing with this dont really seem to end.

With this being the 2nd card that I have had due to it being pixellated on the whole screen the 1st time, I was really hoping beyond hope that this card would work, but then I get problems all the way.

None of the 3dMark versions work at all, it just goes to a black screen and just stays there, 3 different driver versions dont work that I have tried.

Now comes what I would describe as "pixellation". It is not noticeable until you get images come up on the screen. On this OcUK forums page, when reading I get pixellation on the boxes, the images under the persons usernames etc.

Also one of the main reasons I bought this card was for NFS: MW. I opened this game up after sorting all other issues out with my PC, decided to change the image size from 640x480 to my native 1280x1024. When that happens I get pixellation all over the screen, the music skips over and over and the machine just freezes, requiring me to turn off the computer to get things working again.

I did initially send this card back to OcUK, but they said that after 3hrs of benchmarking, all appeared to be ok, but that was at least a month ago now, so maybe things have gotten worse all of a sudden or something? I do hope so, because I cant keep affording to get my card sent back to me

Sorry for the long thread, but I wanted to explain everything.

titaniumx3 · 12 Jul 2006 at 01:19

I've heard a couple of people complain about the Gainward GS cards and so I'm guessing its probably a faulty batch. In any case, are you sure its not your motherboard at fault or some issue with your PSU? Any other cards to test with?

I myself considered the Gainward 7800GS AGP, but ended up moving to PCI-E. If I were you I'd just refund the card because for the same price you can get a decent motherboard and say an X1800XT which would be more powerful (at stock).

danceMB · 12 Jul 2006 at 01:33

I did used to have a Gainward 6800GT @ Ultra speeds, and that ran perfectly on here, no pixellations anywhere, changed image settings no problem, CoolBits would auto-detect the maximum speed.

I sold it naturally to fund this card, and thought that everything would be fine which is clearly not the case.

It is getting a little worse now though, as for a split second I see pixellation in the start-up screens where it shows what HDD drives I have etc. Also, in these forums when I use my scroll wheel on my mouse I get all the bad pixellation.

I know it is therefore nothing to do with my Mobo or PSU. I have an ABIT IC-7 Max 3 with Tagan 480W. I would love to return it to OcUK, but what if they cannot find a fault with it again? Im at a loss

Id love to still have this GS+, just want a fully functional, working one :mad:

ACESHIGH · 12 Jul 2006 at 02:24

considering they use the 7900 cores its probably related to the same faults that are plaguing the all the other 7900 series cards.

Darkwave · 12 Jul 2006 at 02:41

The 7800GS+ is unfortunately probably the most susceptible card to the infamous 7900 failure rate as it's pushed more than most factory-overclocked 7900s IIRC and the problem mainly lies with those cards.

danceMB · 12 Jul 2006 at 08:37

I read somewhere that it might be something to do with the Voltage Regulators on these cards, as they are being pushed far too far and why some people get results from under clocking there cards as a temporary fix.

Also heard that some vendors are replacing out the voltage regulators and the newest cards made have new higher quality regulators which should fix all the artifacting & locking up problems a lot of people are facing.

What is the official word on this?

FrankJH · 12 Jul 2006 at 08:56

Úlfhednar said:
The 7800GS+ is unfortunately probably the most susceptible card to the infamous 7900 failure rate as it's pushed more than most factory-overclocked 7900s IIRC and the problem mainly lies with those cards.

surely a 7800GS is a gpu that failed to run at 7900 speeds - otherwise it would be called a 7900xx wouldnt it?

(I realise they are the same gpu's but with different speeds /pipelines)

Darren555 · 12 Jul 2006 at 09:23

FrankJH said:
surely a 7800GS is a gpu that failed to run at 7900 speeds - otherwise it would be called a 7900xx wouldnt it?

(I realise they are the same gpu's but with different speeds /pipelines)

No, it is because they are unofficial cards and so they keep the 7800GS name so not to upset their relationship with nVidia.

Darkwave · 12 Jul 2006 at 09:56

FrankJH said:
surely a 7800GS is a gpu that failed to run at 7900 speeds - otherwise it would be called a 7900xx wouldnt it?

(I realise they are the same gpu's but with different speeds /pipelines)

The 7800GS+ is a 7900GT for AGP, Gainward had the clever idea of simply changing the name as Nvidia did not want a 7900GT in AGP flavour at all, never mind a 512MB one. Because of this it will suffer the same problems as the standard 7900 series cards, and probably moreso as they have been pushed quite a little further.

danceMB · 12 Jul 2006 at 12:40

Thats what I would have suspected to have happened, with Gainward putting there bridge chip in to make it work for AGP, which is good for all people like me who cant afford to spend £500+ for a decent PCI-e system, reluctant to upgrade until next year when enough funds should be available for a high powered rig good enough for anything.

Anyway, enough babbling on. I need to know what to do with this card of mine. Is it worth me returning it to OcUK for more testing, and hoping if they agree with what I see they send me a fully working one, or am I hoping too much?

Darkwave · 12 Jul 2006 at 13:44

danceMB said:
Thats what I would have suspected to have happened, with Gainward putting there bridge chip in to make it work for AGP, which is good for all people like me who cant afford to spend £500+ for a decent PCI-e system, reluctant to upgrade until next year when enough funds should be available for a high powered rig good enough for anything.

Anyway, enough babbling on. I need to know what to do with this card of mine. Is it worth me returning it to OcUK for more testing, and hoping if they agree with what I see they send me a fully working one, or am I hoping too much?

Hmm? My X1800XT and nForce4 motherboard (socket 754 to boot) was only about £230 in total. :confused:

But back to your point, I would say RMA the card back to OcUK and see what happens. As you said, if they send back a working one then you're jolly, if not then you get a refund and can see above about going for a PCI-E system.

FrankJH · 12 Jul 2006 at 14:00

Úlfhednar said:
The 7800GS+ is a 7900GT for AGP, Gainward had the clever idea of simply changing the name as Nvidia did not want a 7900GT in AGP flavour at all, never mind a 512MB one. Because of this it will suffer the same problems as the standard 7900 series cards, and probably moreso as they have been pushed quite a little further.

according to OCUK's site the core also runs 100mhz slower than on Gainward's 7900GT card..........so unless OCUK are wrong or typo'd (which occasionally happens but unlikely in this case) I was actually correct

Darkwave · 12 Jul 2006 at 14:04

FrankJH said:
according to OCUK's site the core also runs 100mhz slower than on Gainward's 7900GT card..........so unless OCUK are wrong or typo'd (which occasionally happens but unlikely in this case) I was actually correct

According to Gainward's press sheets on their site the clocks are the same as the 7900GT. The extra stress comes from the bridge chip. The 7800GS+, to put it in the most simple terms, really is a 512MB 7900GT for AGP through and through, and will suffer the same problems as the PCI-E versions of the family.

danceMB · 12 Jul 2006 at 14:44

For me to get a PCI-e, everything would need to go. Id need new mobo, CPU, graphics & probably memory as well, and after all the problems I had getting my current rig working, im not about to go through all that upheval until next year when I can afford what I need to run everything at the speeds I have become accustomed to.

What chance do I have of finding a working card? Have OcUK now received stock of new 7800GS+ cards that have been modified to work correctly?

Darkwave · 12 Jul 2006 at 14:59

danceMB said:
What chance do I have of finding a working card? Have OcUK now received stock of new 7800GS+ cards that have been modified to work correctly?

It's luck of the draw. I would just RMA yours and see if they send back a working one.

danceMB · 13 Jul 2006 at 01:21

Im just hoping that is the case when I send this one back. I know that will mean my current rig is out of action (as I dont have a "stand-by" card) but I cant see any other way around it unfortunatly. With all the pixellation issues and lock-ups etc im getting more concerned that this is a borked card that is getting worse as I get along.

I just wish that OcUK could see the problems I am facing with it and hopefully test a replacement card as correctly working, or would that be expecting too much? It would save time with the yo-yo RMA'ing

Darkwave · 13 Jul 2006 at 01:39

You could always do what I arranged with this dodgy widescreen LCD today. They agreed to refund my money on the spot, and let me order a new one, and I don't have to post this dodgy one until the new one arrives tomorrow or Friday.

FrankJH · 13 Jul 2006 at 07:20

Úlfhednar said:
According to Gainward's press sheets on their site the clocks are the same as the 7900GT. The extra stress comes from the bridge chip. The 7800GS+, to put it in the most simple terms, really is a 512MB 7900GT for AGP through and through, and will suffer the same problems as the PCI-E versions of the family.

Some of Gainward's site is now down, so I dont know whats going on - however the pdf's clearly state GPU is "7800GS" (which admittedly means nothing) but I cant see anywhere where it says it "looses 100mhz due to AGP bridge"

Either way its a fault card and or batch (of GPU's)

danceMB · 13 Jul 2006 at 07:45

Trouble is that this AGP was a "one time production run" meaning that they wont be continually making new ones like other suppliers. Will that mean most of the 1500 units made have issues and high level of RMA?

I would count myself lucky if I had a fully functional one, I just hope that OcUK will see my one is faulty and send me a fully working one without issues or problems so that it works without pixellation or lock-ups and freezes. Im just blessed that I bought it from here, as I doubt other e-tailers would be as resonable to do there own testing, and fast

Darkwave · 13 Jul 2006 at 09:30

FrankJH said:
Some of Gainward's site is now down, so I dont know whats going on - however the pdf's clearly state GPU is "7800GS" (which admittedly means nothing) but I cant see anywhere where it says it "looses 100mhz due to AGP bridge"

Either way its a fault card and or batch (of GPU's)

Hehe, it doesn't lose 100Mhz it's 450Mhz and it's fine.

It uses the same core as the 7900s though, so will suffer the same problems.