ATI Radeon 9800 overheating

[Bozos of Bones]

Yeah, strike that. I somehow neglected to notice i was a Pro, not an XP. No Overdrive in Pro, my bad.
Now about those dots, black areas and frozen points on the screen, the are called artifacts. Data compression is responsible in most cases, but a bad or overclocked GPU may cause it. You know when you watch a DivX movie, the little blocky bits of th pictures? Those are video compression artifacts. I had a GeForce2 before this PC, and when I knew I was gonna get a new PC, I wanted to OC the old one. After a week, the card started showing artifacts, some places on the screen became frozen for a few seconds and such. That generally means the card is done for, but ONLY if it shows up in ALL games or 3D applications. Artifacts in a few games here and there are mostly driver-related problems. I now have all kinds of things in Underground 2, because I don't want to bother with a new patch, and the version I have is not compatible with new ATi drivers. Light sources penetrate buildings, cars go see-through and on AntiAliasing x4 th screen goes black.
So the conclusion is: The solution to 90% of the problems related to graphics on your PC are solved jsut by downloading new drivers and patches for games.
Oh, and johnny, relax about KotOR 2, the game is like that. Too hastily done, you see.
P.S. I hope I didn't scare anyone with this.

[johnny]

That may be so, but that still doesn't explain the artifacts that appear all over the screen while playing NBA 2005. I didn't see any of those things either in KotOR when i was still using my old GeForce card, so it's definitely an ATI problem. We'll see how things go now, i just downloadedthe latest Catalyst drivers, but i have yet to install a game, too busy with protection proggies at the moment.

Oh...and the mainboard they put in this time, doesn't have a game port, so my MS Sidewinder is completely useless, as are my flighstick and throttle. Now i can go outthere again and buy the same stuff, except now for a USB port. Lovely

[ 07-26-2005, 09:30 AM: Message edited by: johnny ]

[aleph_null1]

Yeah, I've got the 9800 Pro too, and same problem, though only on the more intense games.

As silly as it is, I open up the sides of the tower (they just pop open) and have a floor fan running, in one side & out the other.

[Zebodog]

That's odd about KOTOR 2, the only problem I've noticed is with the slow down in certain areas, but that's a well documented problem that most, if not all ATI users experience.

It might be worth while to check your voltages, especially your 12V rails. The 9800 requires an additional 12V source since the AGP doesn't provide enough juice. If your power supply isn't up to the task, it'll cause funky stuff to happen.

johnny, just go grab an Audigy or Auidgy 2 sound card, they have game ports built in, and it would probably be a lot cheaper than replacing all of your gaming controlers.

[Jani]

What bothers me the most in this is that they are sellign a product with such a big known problems with it. I took the easy way and bought some extra cooling power from Arctic Cooling. Now the cooling isn´t a problen anymore, but my PC get´s some weird "no visible reason" black outs. >( First few times I got some message saying that "ati2dvag" has caused a loop and therefore shut down everything. I got the newest drivers, googled fix on that file and now it´s a bit better. Atleas I´m able to write here again. Last 3 times my PC just went off when I was typing.

I can say I´ll be using ATI only 3 times in my life. The first, the last and the only...

[johnny]

You could probably experiment a bit with the drivers too, the latest Catalysts may not be what you need. All 9800 PRO cards used to have the overheating problem, and you could fix that problem with Radeon Omega drivers, that's what did the trick for my brother. The black dots is a complete different problem though, and most likely not caused by overheating or a lack of power. As far as i can tell, that too is a driver issue.

[Felix The Assassin]

Here is a link to the only place I use for complete technical and user data priot to upgrade.
http://www.tomshardware.com/index.html

Here is the summer 2005 index.
http://graphics.tomshardware.com/gra...705/index.html

Here is the latest from nvidia. Man, the things I could do with $500+ dollars, just to be king of the hill for a few days!
http://graphics.tomshardware.com/gra...221/index.html

Could you post your PSU numbers?
Total watts?
Amps from your 12V rail?

This can be found on the stick/label of your PSU (power supply unit). You will have to power down, remove a side, and possibly either contorsion yourself to read it, or just loosen the screws and manipulate it enough to read it.

Should be something like
12VDC Amp 18A. From there we can maybe help with your overall situation.

Here is a link to Toms about picking a PSU, it's a yera old, but the info is valuable.
http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20040122/index.html

Hopefully we can get it figured out, and you can have a good experience.

Peace

[Jani]

Hey

I wisited links you posted and seem to be quite a noob when it comes to PSU´s. If I understand correctly what it says in mine is 300W and 13A on 12V. I have no idea If it enough for my Athlon 2600+ and craphics card. It also have 2 HD´s and DVD`s to supply.

The reason I´m worried with the temperature is that the cooling system around the craphics card is too hot to touch with a bare hand. Supposed overheating system problem should be solved when I get my new cooler. What I didn´t realise to check in advance is the coolers power demand=/

Does those numbers above seem something to work with? And if necessary; is it safe to change the PSU on your own? It has quite a large safety sticker on it (which ofcourse just makes me really really want to open it).

Jani

[Felix The Assassin]

Originally posted by Jani: Hey I wisited links you posted and seem to be quite a noob when it comes to PSU´s. If I understand correctly what it says in mine is 300W and 13A on 12V. I have no idea If it enough for my Athlon 2600+ and craphics card. It also have 2 HD´s and DVD`s to supply.

You are on the verge of overload meltdown. You need at least 16A to adequately power an Athlon (18A is the current reccomended) Add in a smallish 300w capacity, then add the HDDs and optical drives you are taxing your system! Now, add in a super hot, super hungry video card, and you have achieved pixelation shutdown. Your PSU is the culprit. It will not do you any better with an equal nvidia card, again power shortage.

The reason I´m worried with the temperature is that the cooling system around the craphics card is too hot to touch with a bare hand. Supposed overheating system problem should be solved when I get my new cooler. What I didn´t realise to check in advance is the coolers power demand=/

Temps are high because your PSU is working at and above it's rating to keep up with power demand. The Addition of the graphics card has overloaded your PSU, and that as well increases temp, along with the card; a. being underpowered, does not have enough power supplied to operate it's internal cooling fan. b. without adequate case cooling is overheating as well. A GPU will be hot, way hot, too the point you should not try to touch it. A CPU on the other hand should not fry an egg!

The label on my PSU reads:
+5V: 38A*
-5V: 0.5A
+12V: 22A*
-12V: 1.0A
+3.3V: 30A*
+5V SB: 2A
* +5V, +3.3V & +12V maximum output 460 Watts max.

You may not need or want all of that. What you do want however is; Enough wattage to provide power, enough Amperage to allow sub-conponents to operate, and a spare amount left over for really hot days.

Does those numbers above seem something to work with? And if necessary; is it safe to change the PSU on your own? It has quite a large safety sticker on it (which ofcourse just makes me really really want to open it). Jani

You are short, way short on amperage on the 12V rail. Again Athlon needs at least 16A preferably 18A to run. Check the docs with your graphics card, it may also give you an Amp rating. A quick search only revealed that the 9800 Pro needs at least 300 w with 75w going to it alone. If you re-read the link from Toms about picking a PSU. You will learn that PSU advertisement vs reality are not exactly the same. Therefore, from a start point drop 25% from the advertised number. Then deduct 10% for reserve power, then deduct 15% if room temperture is over IIRC 82* F. So, you are looking at being 35Watts short, with two HDDs, and AMD 2600, 1 DVD, Basic memory, and the ATI card. Your main heat is comming from the PSU. Replace now, if not you can destroy hardware by insuffiecent power and or overheating.

What is meant by cooling is case cooling. How many intake fans do you have? How many exhaust?
I can't get the link for theory of air flow to cooperate, so: Two in down low, One out up top, reverse PSU fans.

The PSU is a complete LRU (line replacable unit), you only disconnect the power leads, the power cables, the 4 mounting screws and install new one in opposite order. Do not (EVER) open a PSU unless you A) really are an electrician and understand how voltage is stored in capacitors. B) you have a wish to learn the effects of stored electrical energy on the human body. It really won't bite you, if you handle the outside, and do not open the box.

Reversing the fans is a overclocking trick and is not normally needed for normal use.

The ATI 9800 Pro is a very hungry card, as is any of the same capabilities from that other company. Get the PSU upgraded, and then we can check on case cooling before we look into other areas.