Maybe a gfx card problem?

Reefsmoka

Reefsmoka

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My friend is having serious gfx card problems i think, i'd go down and try to help him, but my ankle is still in a plaster and it would take me all day to get down there ;).

So heres his problem:

His old motherboard (a Chaintech Zenith) died on him, so he bought a new one, an Asus A7V880. It was going good for a while, and then it just started crashing quite often, especially when he was gaming. So he thought it was his gfx card overheating (9800pro with VGA silencer fitted) so he re-applied some new artic silver 5 thermal paste and made sure it was nice and tight, But that made no difference. But he had the card running perfect on the Zenith for about a year, so i dont think its that.

He used to get this error message alot, so he disabled the device and that errors gone. And he also gets another error message saying something like "your graphics device isnt responding so software was eneabled, please restart". So he thought maybe a power problem and changed some "S3" seeting in the Asus bios, it stopped most of the crashing, but his computer still restarts randomly with that gfx card message, but on a couple of occasions its let him carry on even though that message come on. So he's put his AGP setting on 4x in the bios and it hasnt crashed yet. But surely hes losing the benefits of AGP 8x with his 9800pro?!?

Does anyone know of a fix?
 
???

CAUSE

This problem may occur if you are using a Creative Labs SoundBlaster 16 Joystick with a game port and the Ctljystk.sys version 5.1.2501.0 joystick driver that is included with Microsoft Windows XP is being used by the device. Back to the top

http://WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, remove the Creative Labs SoundBlaster joystick from Device Manager and use another game controller (such as a USB game controller) in Windows XP. You may also be able to temporarily work around this problem by reinstalling the Creative SoundBlaster Live Value device driver in Safe Mode. To do this, follow these steps: 1.Start your computer, and then press and hold down F8 until the Windows Advanced Options menu appears.2.Use the UP ARROW and the DOWN ARROW keys to select Safe Mode, and then press ENTER.3.From the Please select the operation system to start prompt, select the installation that you want. To do this, use the UP ARROW and the DOWN ARROW keys, and then press ENTER.4.Log on as Administrator or by using an account that has administrative rights.5.Click Yes in the "Windows is running in safe mode" window.6.Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.7.In the System Properties dialog box, click the Hardware tab, and then click Device Manager.8.In Device Manager, expand the Sound, video and game controllers node.9.Right-click the Creative SoundBlaster Live (Value) device, and then click Uninstall.10.On the Device Manager toolbar, click Action, and then click Scan for hardware changes to reinstall the device with an uncorrupted driver.11.Restart your computer in Normal mode.
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I already said he disabeled it and he stopped getting the error messages for that problem >..>.
 
So he's put his AGP setting on 4x in the bios and it hasnt crashed yet. But surely hes losing the benefits of AGP 8x with his 9800pro?!?
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Nope! ... probably improved it.

AGP 4x and 8x are not the speed of the bus but the bandwidth of the bus, and most modern programs do not require the full 8x bandwidth or even the 4x bandwidth. So when a graphic program, whether it be a game or a benchmark, does not reach over the 4x bandwidth, the FPS or the score provides little or no change between 4x vs. 8x. In some cases it might even provide better performance under AGP 4x.

AGP 4X has a maximum bandwidth of 1066 MB/s while 8X has a maximum bandwidth of 2133 MB/s. However, with a 9800 Pro you have 21760 MB/s of bandwidth on the card itself, as well as 128 MB of RAM. Games always run best when the majority of textures are all stored in video RAM, as even the fastest external interface is relatively slow. Some motherboards - particularly with VIA or SiS chipsets - have problems running AGP 8X, so dropping down to 4X can improve stability at the cost of *maybe* 2 or 3% performance.

;)
 
Really? what if i never had a problem with 8X? could i still set it at 4X and get a performance increase or is it best to keep it as is?
 
Alf said:
Really? what if i never had a problem with 8X? could i still set it at 4X and get a performance increase or is it best to keep it as is?
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If you don't have a problem ... what is there you want to 'fix'?

Alf, I really find it amusing when people quote 'their benchmarks' ... my 1.1cc Mini will beat your BMW 3.5cc anyday, as long as we go down my roads.

Manufacturers have been playing "the numbers game" for years ... Intel started it. ;)

Without looking it up, which is faster ... a 4/100 or a 2/100

... I save you the bother. A 4/100 is 4x25MHz, a 2/100 is 2x50MHz ... the 2/100 is the faster, but all people could see was the 4. ;)


And my PC travels at 65,000mph ... standing still. :D
 
muckshifter said:
And my PC travels at 65,000mph ... standing still. :D
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:D indeed:D

but still... it wouldnt really benifit me would it?
 
Reefsmoka said:
Also his +12 rail is at 13 sometimes, is this dangerously high?
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Personally I would say yes, you will not achive a perfect monitor/sensor for a PC cheaply. With that in mind plus or minus 10% off the norm would be acceptable as 13v equates to that. The 12V rail(s) have to operate in between 11.40V to 12.60V, the 5V rail between 4.75V and 5.25V and the 3.3V between 3.14V and 3.47V. It’s actually preferable to get too much rather than too little power, but it’s not good if a PSU delivers higher voltages than those stated in the ATX specifications. However, AMPS are more impotant. If you have less than 18amp for the 3v/12v rails consider a new PSU.

The latest Intel Pentium 4 processors can draw as much as 120W at full load. This only tends to be in short bursts, since unless you’re doing something very CPU intensive you never load your processor at 100 per cent. Of course if you’re a gamer and have a GeForce 6800 Ultra, you probably know that nVidia originally recommended that you use a 480W PSU. This is overkill, but the recommendation is based on the estimated needs for the rest of the system. The remaining parts in a PC draw fairly modest amounts of power, with hard drives tending to be the next most power hungry.


You'll notice we have had a lot of post about PSUs here recently, the majority of us here really do recommend you invest in a decent one ... mine cost me £45, it weighs a ton, and I'm still using the last one that set me back £65 3years ago.

One PSU manufacturer that is achieving a lot of following is Tagan ;)
 
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