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Possible graphics card problem?

Soldato
Joined
6 Mar 2007
Posts
9,811
Location
SW London
Whenever i play a game it works for around 5 or 10 minutes and then 1 of 3 things happens:

1.Game crashes saying 'the program has encountered a problem'
2.Computer Completely freezes, have to restart.
3.Computer just suddenly restarts itself

Now this has only started happening a few days ago, and i cant seem to find the problem. It only happens when playing games (not just 1, any game i try) so i i think it could be something to do with the graphics card.

I have a Sapphire X1950PRO 512MB (AGP)

Anybody got any ideas what the problem could be and how to fix please?
 
Just to test i just ran ATi Tool, and showed 3d view to put the card under some pressure, the temperature shot up straight away, it went upto 90, then after a couple of minutes, computer restarted itself again, so its almost certainly the graphics card.
 
It could be RAM. I say this because most games use it heavily and are swapping data in and out all the time.

Give memtest a try.
 
well with it being warmer this and you noticing 90c it has to be heat on the gfxin my opining does the cooler seem loose ? can you get more air into your case ?
 
thefishdude said:
well with it being warmer this and you noticing 90c it has to be heat on the gfxin my opining does the cooler seem loose ? can you get more air into your case ?
Well i cleaned the card as much as possible, it had lots of dust in the heatsink, it droped the max temp down by 10 just from that, but it still crashes after 5-10mins, so maybe its not the heat?
 
Sounds very much like a PSU problem, see if you can get someone to lend you another and see.

Ulfhedjinn said:
Could just be dust in the heatsink/fan, give it a good blow. :)

watch it mate family forum! :) :p
 
XeNoN89 said:
I have a cheapo 400watt PSU, was only £20. Could that be the problem?
I don't think that would cause overheating, just instability and crashing, unless the fan isn't getting enough power and is cutting out once the system is under too much load. Can you confirm for us if the fan ever stops spinning while you're using the PC or playing a game?

Just out of curiosity, how many 12V rails does your PSU have and how much amperage per rail?
 
Ulfhedjinn said:
I don't think that would cause overheating, just instability and crashing, unless the fan isn't getting enough power and is cutting out once the system is under too much load. Can you confirm for us if the fan ever stops spinning while you're using the PC or playing a game?

Just out of curiosity, how many 12V rails does your PSU have and how much amperage per rail?
Im not very good with power supplies...but i think i have found it on the companies website if that helps.

http://www.mercury-pc.com/product-detail.php?link=p-powersupply&subtitle=Power Supply&productid=640#
 
XeNoN89 said:
Im not very good with power supplies...but i think i have found it on the companies website if that helps.

http://www.mercury-pc.com/product-detail.php?link=p-powersupply&subtitle=Power Supply&productid=640#

It doesn't give the information needed and google isn't helping much either from a quick search. I also tried zooming up the picture of the PSU but the text is too blurry to read.

Could you please open your side panel and write down what you see for amps under 12v?. If you are unsure about what to copy then just copy all of it and post it.

It is a cheap PSU though. I know the q-tec PSU's are about the same price and they are a nightmare so it may be this but then again it might not.
 
J.D said:
It doesn't give the information needed and google isn't helping much either from a quick search. I also tried zooming up the picture of the PSU but the text is too blurry to read.

Could you please open your side panel and write down what you see for amps under 12v?. If you are unsure about what to copy then just copy all of it and post it.

It is a cheap PSU though. I know the q-tec PSU's are about the same price and they are a nightmare so it may be this but then again it might not.
Ok i didnt know what ment what on the PSU, so i just copied the whole thing down.


psu1mz5.jpg
 
Those amps are way to low, time for a new PSU me thinks. I suggest you use a 420 Watt PSU minimum, but better is always recommended especially if you keep SLI or Crossfire in mind as a future upgrade. When you buy a new PSU then look at the packaging or specs and check the 12 volts rail for the amperage, 20 AMPS should be fine for a single card.
 
Ulfhedjinn said:
Actually 14A+13A looks great for an X1950Pro, I've run an 8800GTS and X1900XT on less.

If those amps were on a tagan, enermax or any other quality PSU manufacturer id agree with you, but seeing as its a £20 cheap as chips job, i wouldnt trust it.
 
RavenUK said:
If those amps were on a tagan, enermax or any other quality PSU manufacturer id agree with you, but seeing as its a £20 cheap as chips job, i wouldnt trust it.

Have to agree, i wouldn't trust it at all, £20 is Q-Tec territory. :eek:
 
ANother thing i have just noticed while trying to play a game, my FPS is considerably worse then it used to be, would the power supply cause this or has it been a problem with the graphics card all along?
 
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