9800 game freezes: temperature related?

[Gerald Moore]

I've got a 9800NP flashed with a pro bios. In NR2003, the game video
freezes and a few moments later, the system locks up. At stock 9800p
speeds, the freeze happens after a few minutes of running in 3d. I
turned the clocks back down to np speeds with powerstrip, and the game
ran for a good 10 or 15 minutes before eventually locking. I haven't
had time since to try to reproduce this behavior.

I am working along the path for now that heat buildup is the culprit.
After exiting the game, the hw monitor reports that the CPU and system
temps are within a normal range, so I am wondering if the GPU or
memory on the 9800 is getting too hot.

I have some extra probes that I could use to measure temps. My
hypothesis is that temperature will rise continuously until it reaches
the critical point at which the game will lock. If I then reduce
clock speeds, tempertatures will rise at a slower rate, but will still
eventually reach the critical point and the game will lock.

If temperatures remain constant prior to the game locking, or if the
game locks at varying temperatures... I think this would rule out
temperature as an issue.

What is a "normal" operating temp for the GPU and/or memory?

I dont get any corruption, etc. before it freezes. It looks
outstanding, then it just locks up.

Your feedback welcomed,

Gerald

 

[Ed White]

I've got a 9800NP flashed with a pro bios. In NR2003, the game video
freezes and a few moments later, the system locks up. At stock 9800p
speeds, the freeze happens after a few minutes of running in 3d. I
turned the clocks back down to np speeds with powerstrip, and the game
ran for a good 10 or 15 minutes before eventually locking. I haven't
had time since to try to reproduce this behavior.

I am working along the path for now that heat buildup is the culprit.
After exiting the game, the hw monitor reports that the CPU and system
temps are within a normal range, so I am wondering if the GPU or
memory on the 9800 is getting too hot.

I have some extra probes that I could use to measure temps. My
hypothesis is that temperature will rise continuously until it reaches
the critical point at which the game will lock. If I then reduce
clock speeds, tempertatures will rise at a slower rate, but will still
eventually reach the critical point and the game will lock.

If temperatures remain constant prior to the game locking, or if the
game locks at varying temperatures... I think this would rule out
temperature as an issue.

What is a "normal" operating temp for the GPU and/or memory?

I dont get any corruption, etc. before it freezes. It looks
outstanding, then it just locks up.

Your feedback welcomed,

Gerald

Gerald, as a simple preliminary test, just try removing the side cover off
your computer case and allow a regular house fan to blow in......this should
relieve any heat build up and give you an idea of what needs to be done. If
it cures the lockup, you need greater cooling, if not, then you're back to
the tortuous troubleshooting path. Taking the cover off is free, and fast.
Ed

 

[Gerald Moore]

Gerald, as a simple preliminary test, just try removing the side cover off
your computer case and allow a regular house fan to blow in......this should
relieve any heat build up and give you an idea of what needs to be done. If
it cures the lockup, you need greater cooling, if not, then you're back to
the tortuous troubleshooting path. Taking the cover off is free, and fast.

Thanks for the reply, Ed. This of course crossed my mind. But my PC
is in a ventilated enclosure inside a crawlspace (my solution for a
silent and less visible home theater PC). Moving it from there into a
place where I could follow your suggestion is actually more of a PITA
than simply placing some probes on/near the ATI card.

What I don't know is what the expected temps SHOULD be for the GPU
and/or memory. If I still get failures at "normal" temps then heat
probably isn't the direct cause, even if it fails at the same point
every time.

Gerald

 

[Gerald Moore]

Some others had suggested disabling fast writes and 8x AGP to help
stability. I did this but, alas, froze within 30 seconds of starting
a game. No way it could get hot in that amount of time.

I flashed back to my orig. bios and have not locked since. I've only
had a chance to play for 20 minutes or so, but I am guessing my card
just didn't like the Pro bios, for whatever reason, even at np clock
speeds.

 

[Gerald Moore]

Some others had suggested disabling fast writes and 8x AGP to help
stability. I did this but, alas, froze within 30 seconds of starting
a game. No way it could get hot in that amount of time.

I flashed back to my orig. bios and have not locked since. I've only
had a chance to play for 20 minutes or so, but I am guessing my card
just didn't like the Pro bios, for whatever reason, even at np clock
speeds.

I played for about an hour last night with no problems, except for one
crash to desktop, about 2 minutes in. It has never done *that*
before. I restarted the game and it played nice after that. Hope the
CTD was a fluke.