Is my 3D card broken?

buchtis · 8 Jan 2010 at 21:38

Hi,

Having trouble with my BFG 285 OC.

I keep getting artifcts after about 30 minutes or so of play and my computer crashes.

I've got a 750 watt PSU and i'm running x64 bit XP Pro. I have no idea as to why this is happening, i've re-installed the drivers about 3 times so far and re-sat the card in the case. The temperatures seem about right too, 40-50c when idling and around 70-85 under load.

Processes running in the background:

MSI Afterburner:

Would anyone be able to diagnose the problem?

Thanks in advance.

mathwat · 8 Jan 2010 at 21:41

is it overclocked? or standard clocks?

mathwat

buchtis · 8 Jan 2010 at 21:42

I've not touched any setting at all or overclocked it. Downloaded it just to see the card temps and that's about it.

SMB30 · 8 Jan 2010 at 21:45

Have you tried different drivers?

buchtis · 8 Jan 2010 at 21:47

No i've download the newest ones off the N-Vidia website. I though the newest ones are the best?

SMB30 · 8 Jan 2010 at 21:49

Might be worth trying some earlier drivers to see if you get the same problem.

buchtis · 8 Jan 2010 at 21:50

Yeah i've just had a look on N-Vidia's website and it doesn't show me any old ones. Is there a website I can download the earlier releases from?

mathwat · 8 Jan 2010 at 21:51

could be faulty card? how long have u had the card? was everything ok before this card?

ps if you only just got the card might be psu/or faulty card.

mathwat

SMB30 · 8 Jan 2010 at 21:53

Look under "download drivers" and then "beta and archived drivers" on the top menu.

Other than that its an "OC" edition card so its pre-overclocked if I understand it correctly.

Could be its too hot from the OC perhaps.

buchtis · 8 Jan 2010 at 21:54

Yeah everything was fine. I had a 9800 GTX which I got from an RMA, I rang BFG to complain about the service I recived as it took them about 2 months to send me a replacement card so the guy apologised and sent me a BFG 285 OC. The card was brand new to my knowledge, I had a thorough look and it seemed like it just came out of the factory i.e no fingerprints and markings what so ever.

mathwat · 8 Jan 2010 at 21:56

SMB30 said:
Look under "download drivers" and then "beta and archived drivers" on the top menu.

Other than that its an "OC" edition card so its pre-overclocked if I understand it correctly.

Could be its too hot from the OC perhaps.

But his temps look fine to me..

mathwat

mathwat · 8 Jan 2010 at 21:57

buchtis said:
Yeah everything was fine. I had a 9800 GTX which I got from an RMA, I rang BFG to complain about the service I recived as it took them about 2 months to send me a replacement card so the guy apologised and sent me a BFG 285 OC. The card was brand new to my knowledge, I had a thorough look and it seemed like it just came out of the factory i.e no fingerprints and markings what so ever.

could be either faulty card or your psu make of psu?

ps doesn't matter if it brand new could still be something wrong with it.

mathwat

buchtis · 8 Jan 2010 at 21:58

mathwat said:
But his temps look fine to me..

mathwat

I'm on vent with mates and one of them just downloaded the MSI Afterburner and he says he's got a slider on the 'core voltage' and he's just asked me why haven't I. What's that about? Sorry i've not got a clue when it come to overclocking etc..

buchtis · 8 Jan 2010 at 21:59

mathwat said:
could be either faulty card or your psu make of psu?

ps doesn't matter if it brand new could still be something wrong with it.

mathwat

PSU is something called 'ColourIS' or SI or something like that. Say's 750W on the side then 12V.

mathwat · 8 Jan 2010 at 22:06

buchtis said:
PSU is something called 'ColourIS' or SI or something like that. Say's 750W on the side then 12V.

You should get a decent psu i've a bequit 750watt ok it's a fair bit of money, but if you overclock like me or if you don't it pays to have a stable psu.

mathwat

mathwat · 8 Jan 2010 at 22:09

buchtis said:
I'm on vent with mates and one of them just downloaded the MSI Afterburner and he says he's got a slider on the 'core voltage' and he's just asked me why haven't I. What's that about? Sorry i've not got a clue when it come to overclocking etc..

If the cooler can handle the extra heat at full load it should be ok, but i would either get a after market cooler or watercool before touching the voltage. Because it's not just the gpu it's the memory aswell that will give off extra heat.

mathwat

Auraomega · 8 Jan 2010 at 22:13

I second this, get a decent brand of PSU it may solve your issues.

This would be my suggestion if you don't want to spend tuns. 700w is more than enough for what you have too (might even get away with dropping to 600w which is cheaper).

mathwat · 8 Jan 2010 at 22:18

Auraomega said:
I second this, get a decent brand of PSU it may solve your issues.

This would be my suggestion if you don't want to spend tuns. 700w is more than enough for what you have too (might even get away with dropping to 600w which is cheaper).

+1

plus it depends on what else he's running no sig

p.s i've had cheap psu in the past but they where for server pc's no overclocking or power hungry gpu's.

mathwat

buchtis · 8 Jan 2010 at 22:24

Thanks for the help lads.

My PC is this:

Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
Processor: Intel(R) Core 2 Quad Processor (4 CPUs), ~3.0GHz
Memory: 6144MB RAM
Hard Drive: 660 GB Total
Video Card: NVIDIA BFG GTX 285 OC²
Monitor: Dell E207WFP
Sound Card: Realtek HD Audio
Speakers/Headphones: Trust
Keyboard: Microsoft Comfort Curve
Mouse: USB Root Hub
Mouse Surface: Custom Made Mouse Mat
Operating System: Windows XP Professional x64 Edition (5.2, Build 3790) Service Pack 2 (3790.srv03_sp2_rtm.070216-1710)
Motherboard: GigaByte
Computer Case:

I've just downloaded some old drivers (last months) for this card. I'll try CS:S and COD 4, if it still keeps crashing then will I have to invest in a new PSU? I'm on the bread line at the moment so the £77 quid one is way out of my price range.

mathwat · 8 Jan 2010 at 22:30

buchtis said:
Thanks for the help lads.

My PC is this:

Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
Processor: Intel(R) Core 2 Quad Processor (4 CPUs), ~3.0GHz
Memory: 6144MB RAM
Hard Drive: 660 GB Total
Video Card: NVIDIA BFG GTX 285 OC²
Monitor: Dell E207WFP
Sound Card: Realtek HD Audio
Speakers/Headphones: Trust
Keyboard: Microsoft Comfort Curve
Mouse: USB Root Hub
Mouse Surface: Custom Made Mouse Mat
Operating System: Windows XP Professional x64 Edition (5.2, Build 3790) Service Pack 2 (3790.srv03_sp2_rtm.070216-1710)
Motherboard: GigaByte
Computer Case:

I've just downloaded some old drivers (last months) for this card. I'll try CS:S and COD 4, if it still keeps crashing then will I have to invest in a new PSU? I'm on the bread line at the moment so the £77 quid one is way out of my price range.

I think it's the psu i'm affraid mate..with the quad, A 600 or 650 watt should do u.. just search for best brand/psu you can find..for your budget but i think £77 is ok for the psu.

p.s it's not about how many watt's there are it's the qaulity of them that count's thats where you pay extra for.. i.e a 750 watt cheap one = 600 or 550 good brand one. Is the quad at stock volts? i noticed overclocked to 3.0ghz

mathwat