WTF has happened to my computer?!?!?!?

dave2k2005 · 23 Apr 2006 at 13:16

Hey guys,
Last week I overclockerd my graphics card. Today When I was going through the screenshot thread on the pc games forum, my monitor froze. I couldnt do anything at all to it, then all of a sudden it came back again. But all the avatars and screenshots were like all artifacted. I coudlnt see the pictures at all. I will try to take a screenie later on. Then I but my clocks back to stock, and it worked

But I played CSS to see if that was the problem and it worked fine. But when i shut it down, the screen just went black and froze there.
My question is, whats wrong with m card, is it faulty?
thanks
Dave

Ender · 23 Apr 2006 at 13:19

when they freeze it tends to be to overheating, did you check the temp when you oc'd it?

dave2k2005 · 23 Apr 2006 at 13:21

Ya, about 50, right now idle at stock it around 49 C, so I dont think its overheating.

Ender · 23 Apr 2006 at 14:25

seems quite low, try installing latest drivers or checking for conflicting ones

dave2k2005 · 23 Apr 2006 at 14:49

Ender said:
seems quite low, try installing latest drivers or checking for conflicting ones

Well, i've got the latest Cats 6.4, but I don't uninstall the older Cats, could that be casuing the problem?

Monstermunch · 23 Apr 2006 at 14:58

This happened to me with my 9800 pro. When I got it I could run at 400/750 (378/676 stk), but it gradually degraded until I got artifacts at stock. So I thought I would take a look at it, I removed the HSF, cleaned it and re-seated it with AS5 not i'm getting 425/790!

Which leads me to believe that as std the HSF are not seated very well or using very good compound

dave2k2005 · 23 Apr 2006 at 15:08

Monstermunch said:
This happened to me with my 9800 pro. When I got it I could run at 400/750 (378/676 stk), but it gradually degraded until I got artifacts at stock. So I thought I would take a look at it, I removed the HSF, cleaned it and re-seated it with AS5 not i'm getting 425/790!

Which leads me to believe that as std the HSF are not seated very well or using very good compound

Do you think I could just RMA it to save me the hassle of gettiong a new HSF, or should I just buy some AS5 and remount the HSF?

wilders · 23 Apr 2006 at 15:23

i'd rma that bad boy.....

Monstermunch · 23 Apr 2006 at 15:24

dave2k2005 said:
Do you think I could just RMA it to save me the hassle of gettiong a new HSF, or should I just buy some AS5 and remount the HSF?

Try the driver route first to avoid unecessary hastle, but if you're okay with tinkering then I think in future i'll be cleaning off the existing and using AS5 as soon as I know the card works!

dave2k2005 · 23 Apr 2006 at 16:11

Monstermunch said:
Try the driver route first to avoid unecessary hastle, but if you're okay with tinkering then I think in future i'll be cleaning off the existing and using AS5 as soon as I know the card works!

Do ya think I should remount the fan, or just buy an entirely new one?

gr1mey · 23 Apr 2006 at 16:24

it is very common for the standard HSF on graphics cards to be mounted poorly, so it would be well worth your while trying to apply some AS5 and reseating it, getting a better contact - only if this helps you temps drop somewhat should you perhaps consider an aftermarket cooler, such as a Zalman or AC if you want to overlock further.

wilders · 23 Apr 2006 at 16:32

Not sure how a rma would go if you've removed the hsf? Not sure if they check it out or not??? Anyone know?

gr1mey · 23 Apr 2006 at 16:37

sounds more of a heat issue rather than a faulty card - if it was faulty you would not expect the thing to work at all.

try using driver cleaner to get rid of the drivers and reinstall the card at stock and monitor temps.

if all is ok I would then take a look to see what the contact is like for the HSF if it looks like a bad contact that is your culprit.

SiriusB · 23 Apr 2006 at 16:42

I strongly recommend sorting out the drivers. Installing over the top of previous drivers can cause all sorts of problems for some people and cards.

Go here for a very good guide to how best to install and finally tweak your catalyst drivers for maximum system and graphics performance

If after following the guide you still get problems, you know its the card and/or the HSF

SiriusB

Monstermunch · 23 Apr 2006 at 16:47

gr1mey said:
it is very common for the standard HSF on graphics cards to be mounted poorly, so it would be well worth your while trying to apply some AS5 and reseating it, getting a better contact - only if this helps you temps drop somewhat should you perhaps consider an aftermarket cooler, such as a Zalman or AC if you want to overlock further.

The Accelero2 if you can stand the noise!

gr1mey · 23 Apr 2006 at 17:07

what card is it?

dave2k2005 · 23 Apr 2006 at 17:14

Its an X800GTO, but I think it has gone now, but I may just buy some AS5 just to be on the safe side. The problem is tho, is there any local retailers in london like PCworld etc taht stock AS?
thanks
Dave

gr1mey · 23 Apr 2006 at 17:23

order from here now its on this week only offer and it will more than likely be with you tuesday.

edit: I have an opened but unused AC ATi Silencer that will fit the x800 for sale. email me if interested.

dave2k2005 · 23 Apr 2006 at 18:15

Mate, whats your email address, because it wont let me PM you!

gr1mey · 23 Apr 2006 at 18:31

same as my MSN Messenger handle, or you could just add me on MSN if you wanted