Red rain on screen

[Timothy]

When playing games such as swg and COD4 at any given time the screen will freeze and show red rain across the whole screen. The computer will still work for a few secs but then will crash to blue screen.
Is this the end of my 8800GT. Have upgraded to the latest nvidia drivers.

if this is the end of my 8800GT which one of these two card would be better the 260 or the 4890 been reading the different opions and at the end i still dont know what card to buy lol. Just need a answer to which card is better for gaming and will last me like my 8800gt
Thanks Guys

spec
quard core2.6
4gig ram
Abit ip-35 pro
22" veiwsonic

 

[Ben M]

how hot does the card get under load? i.e. is it overheating?

the 4890 is on a par with the GTX 275... did you mean 4870? as that performs almost identically to the 260GTX.

 

[geekyEd]

yup as Ben has said heat can cause this.

 

[D D Danneh]

You might wanna try RMAing the card. You might not get anything out of it, but if you do, you can always sell it, or carry on with it. As for 260/275 against 4870/4890, Ben summed that up. Prices are also pretty much on par too, so it's just company preference ATI or nvidia.

 

[Timothy]

Since Christmas have been using Riva tuner and with the fan running at 80% i get it down to 65c.
so which out of the 4890 and 275 would be a good upgrade like my 8800gt for gaming.

 

[D D Danneh]

so which out of the 4890 and 275 would be a good upgrade like my 8800gt for gaming.

Either. About equal performance, about equal price. Since your mobo can't support crossfire or SLI (well, it can, but with one card at *4 speed instead of *16), it's entirely personal preference.

 

[arc@css]

You could try reinstalling the last driver when all was ok but I'm afraid it does sound like it could be the end. I assume Nvidia drivers must allow you to turn up the fan so I'd make sure that it runs a little cooler.

 

[AgedIdiot]

Your 8800gt does not sound too healthy, but before you replace:-

1)Your sure it's the gpu?
2) can you test it another computer to be sure?

Assuming it is borked then if i read your sig. correctly your playing @ 1680x1050 in which event both the 275 and the 4890 would be overkill. A new 250 or a 4850 should be sufficient - saving £100

Obviously if your viewsonic 22" is one of the 'new' 1920 models; or if you intend to ugrade montor spec. - then a little more power would be appropriate.

IMO something like the cheapest 260 series or 4870 would give you a nice boost and save £50+ as compared to the new models. ( I do like the look of the xfx 4870 on special.)

 

[LoadsaMoney]

Id get the cheaper 260-216, on par with the dearer 4870 1gb, and only about a couple or so frames slower than the 275-4890, but they cost about £50-£60 more so are not worth it.

 

[Timothy]

Viewsonic VX2260wm 22" Widescreen True HD LCD Monitor - Glossy Black
res 1920 x 1080
Would like to get some good gaming with this monitor.
will try another card in my pc, im sure i can get my hands on one somewhere
thanks for the advice guys

 

[Quixote]

I've got the same monitor, my 4850 does nicely, though not all my games are highly graphically demanding (some are though).
In terms of number of pixels, they are almost exactly between 1680*1050 and 1920*1200.
I would lean to whichever is cheapest out of 1gb 4870 or 216core 260

 

[uv]

In terms of number of pixels, they are almost exactly between 1680*1050 and 1920*1200.

1680*1050 = 1764000
1920*1200 = 2304000

1920 has 30% more pixels than 1680. At 1920, the 4850 would suffice, but I'd imagine it'll definately start to struggle with newer games. I'd recommend a 4970/260-216