Problem in games

calnen

calnen

calnen

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I'm having a problem - I assume its a graphics issue - in some games. Basically, in C&C Generals after about 10-15 mins of play, first the gameplay will start to stutter (this may or may not be related), then after a little while longer most of the screen will go black and pixellated, with the 'main screen' part of the game almost all black but the toolbars not affected. Sometimes moving around the map some parts look normal and others are all black, its weird.
I also had a go at Civ4 today and something similar happened, after a while of play the screen went almost 'static' (like a tv) but in lines, and then it reset. The 'your system has suffered a serious error' screen said it was a problem with my graphics driver, so I've upgraded to the latest forceware but the problem's still there.

I should note that I'm using a new graphics card I got a few days ago. I last played these games over a year ago and dont remember anything like this, but I could have just forgotten. (There must be a reason I uninstaled generals, lol.)

My system:
Athlon 64 (Winchester) 3000, running at stock
1GB Geil Dual-Channel Ram
Asus A8V motherboard
Leadtek 6800GT. (Agp)

Any ideas? I really hope you're not going to say the card's faulty..

(NB/ I originally posted this in the graphics forum but didnt get any replies, hence why its here..)
 
Try to emulate the game under 98 perameters.

Go to the shortcut, right click, properties, compatibility and htere will be an option to run it under 98
 
I can't see what point there is in trying to run it in Windows 98 compatiability as it's a 2003 game and designed to work with XP.

As it seems to have started with the new gfx card then we should assume it has something to do with that.

Have you tried reseating the card?
Have you connected any additional power molex plugs to the card?
What is the make and rating of your power supply?
What temps are you getting in your pc and especially the gfx card?
What settings are you trying to run C+C generals on and at what resolution?

If you let us know as much as you can maybe we will be able to help better.
 
I take it from you sig that you don't attach much importance to your PSU? PSU and ram are the most critical parts of any system & it sounds like your new graphics card is proving too much for your psu.
 
Hmm, okay.
Right, first off system and graphics temps seem to be fine. I have Asustool running and some Leadtek software that came with the card, and they all seem to be alright. The gfx core doesnt go above 55, my cpu runs at 38 and my motherboard at 28. (slightly more in games, but not hot by any means.)

The PSU idea might be it.. I have an Antec 350W psu that came with my old case. (I forget the model.. truepower or something.) You're right that I just assumed it would be enough for the new card, is there any way I can find out?

Oh, according to Asustool my 12V rail is reading 11.369, but I think it was lower than 12 with my last card too and that worked fine - I figured it was something wrong with the reading.

For reference, I'm running generals at full everything, 1280x1024. Its fine at first and looks brilliant, but this problem kicks in after a while.

Just FYI also, I've run 3dmark03 through twice back-to-back and didnt see any problems there, my score was about right. (11000ish)

Any thoughts?



EDIT - Have looked up my old case, apparently the PSU is a "TruePower 380Watt ATX12V power supply"
 
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It could be a PSU problem as 350w is'nt a great deal of power for PC's these days, although it is an Antec which usually are quite good.

Have you tried turning down the detail a couple of notches to see if that made a difference?

What have you upgraded from as anything before the 6800 series would have been ok with a 350w psu. The 6800 series upped the requirements a bit more. Does the 6800GT you have need an extra molex connecting to it? Did you buy it new or used?

Just checked and Nvidia recommends a psu of 350W or higher for a 6800GT so yours may be just a bit too stretched to power your whole pc.
 
I had a 9800pro. Yes, the 6800 has a molex lead but the 9800 did too..

I'll try turning things down a notch and see if it makes any difference. TBH I'd be a bit dissappointed if it couldnt manage full though.

One other idea, do you think it could be my ram? (No reason why particularly, I'm just wondering.)
 
Your PSU provides 24A on the +12v line which is possibly borderline for an average system these days (with a power hungry gfx card anyway).

To try to find out if the PSU isn't powerful enough you can maximise it's potential by using one of the power cables from the PSU exclusively for the graphics card (single molex in use by graphics card with others on same line unused) and the other cables for everything else and it shouldn't matter how many other devices are on the same cable seeing as they won't be drawing as much power.

If you can unplug anything else that uses the +12v line it'd probably help the test too such as extra HDDs, CD/DVD drives etc.
 
Also possibly if you underclock the graphics card core and memory speeds a fair bit it'll also reduce power consumption so might be another means of testing.

Is it an unlocked 6800 or some such rather than a full 6800GT? I remember when unlocking pipes on an old ATI 9800SE AIW it would cause the problems you're experiencing in C&C Generals.
 
Okay, I think you've solved it :)
The graphics card molex also had a couple of other things plugged into the same branch of cables (if that makes sense) - a fan and a cd drive. I've plugged the fan into a different cable bunch and removed the cd drive entirely, and it seems to work :) The overall voltages dont seem to have changed, but I just played through a skirmish match with no problems so I think its all good.
Thanks a lot for the help, I'm off to do a bit more of a thorough test ;)
 
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