screwed up 9600xt

[Mark Klebanoff]

I have an abit 9600XT VIO. the fan was a bit noisy, but the card was
otherwise fine. The noise was annoying so I ordered a replacement fan
from ABIT. I installed the fan and it worked fine but after I put the
card back in my computer, I noted that on bootup, the messages
displayed by the BIOS now look funny. The letterss have some odd
lines in them, and the graphics just look a bit weird.

On boot up, the initial splash screens of the OS'es on my computer
(W98 and OS/2 with the scitech snap video driver) give somewhat
distorted, but still readable graphics, but once the OS drivers
themselves take over the video, everything at least seems to be OK,
although after I close some programs, on occasion a vertical line will
be left where the program window was- but I can get rid of it by
refreshing the screen.

I bought a replacement card that does not have these problems, so I'm
confident that the rest of the hardware and software is ok.

I wonder if I knocked something loose in the video card when I had it
out to change the fan. Does this problem point to anything in
particular? Is the card salvageable or should I throw it out?
--

 

[farmuse]

I have an abit 9600XT VIO. the fan was a bit noisy, but the card was
otherwise fine. The noise was annoying so I ordered a replacement fan
from ABIT. I installed the fan and it worked fine but after I put the
card back in my computer, I noted that on bootup, the messages
displayed by the BIOS now look funny. The letterss have some odd
lines in them, and the graphics just look a bit weird.

On boot up, the initial splash screens of the OS'es on my computer
(W98 and OS/2 with the scitech snap video driver) give somewhat
distorted, but still readable graphics, but once the OS drivers
themselves take over the video, everything at least seems to be OK,
although after I close some programs, on occasion a vertical line will
be left where the program window was- but I can get rid of it by
refreshing the screen.

I bought a replacement card that does not have these problems, so I'm
confident that the rest of the hardware and software is ok.

I wonder if I knocked something loose in the video card when I had it
out to change the fan. Does this problem point to anything in
particular? Is the card salvageable or should I throw it out?

could be static damage, also make sure the heatsink is totally flush
with the GPU and not touching any other components

 

[Mark Klebanoff]

could be static damage, also make sure the heatsink is totally flush
with the GPU and not touching any other components

You're probably right about the static. I confirmed that the heatsink
is totally flush, and just to be sure it wasn't touching anyting I
booted with the heatsink removed but still had the same problem. I
guess it's a $160 piece of junk, although it does seem to function
--

 

[patrickp]

You're probably right about the static. I confirmed that the heatsink
is totally flush, and just to be sure it wasn't touching anyting I
booted with the heatsink removed but still had the same problem. I
guess it's a $160 piece of junk, although it does seem to function

Lesson for the day: always observe static precautions (grounded strap,
non-static surfaces etc) when handling cards & boards.

You may now unbolt the stable door and wait for the next horse... ;-)

Patrick

<[email protected]> - take five to email me...

 

[Mark Klebanoff]

Lesson for the day: always observe static precautions (grounded strap,
non-static surfaces etc) when handling cards & boards.

You may now unbolt the stable door and wait for the next horse... ;-)

Patrick

<[email protected]> - take five to email me...

Assuming that's what caused it....
--

 

[T McIntosh]

Sounds like you either phyically damaged one of the chips or card was over
heating more than you knew. It is a remote chance that the fan unit you used
as a replacement doesnt actually sit flush on the GPU. Test that simply
enough by using the old heatsink and booting. Also, look closely at all the
chips around and under the heatsink. Did this GPU heatsink come off easy or
was it a bit of a fight? If all else fails it maybe damaged beyond repair.
Time to look at buying a new card. If you like the ATI Radeon 9600XT units I
have 2 I was going to sell on Ebay. One is slightly used (maybe 3 weeks
tops) in a testing system and I still have the retail box. 2nd was used
slightly more, maybe 2-3 months. Both are retail units but I only have the 1
box left. If you are interested let me know.

T McIntosh