8500 LE Problem

[cgs007]

I am stumped !! My ATI 8500 LE(Built by ATI) is locking up my system?
When i say locking up i mean the hard drive is not working, everything is frozen and when i move the mouse it makes a zipping clicking type noise.
It is not as bad as the first card i returned but when i go to full screen watching a DVD and right click for menu options the system locks.
When i play UT2K3 it locks up after a few mins.

I have tried : 1. updating Via Chipset Drivers 2. Latest Catalyst video drivers 3.Reinstalled Direct X 8.1 4.Replacing system ram 5.Turned off AGP 4x in the bios
When i installed the card i made sure all remnants of the previous driver were deleted, i used regclean and detonator destroyer.
I tried my old radeon 7500 in place of the 8500 and played UT2K3 for an hour straight with no problems.
I did a 3DMark 2001 benchmark and it scored 5000 which is good considering the old CPU and HD i am using.
The card is not hot to the touch when it locks up so i dont think it is a heat problem, my system and CPU run in the low 30's celsius under load.
Someone suggested it might be a PSU problem ,currently using a 230 watt unit?
Is the radeon 8500 that powerhungry? compared to my 7500.

My system specs are : Win98 SE>Abit KT 20 mobo (kt133)>Duron 950> 128 meg ram> Built by ATI 8500 LE> 10 gig hd> All mobo and Video drivers are the latest

I want to keep this card(when it does run it runs fast) so can anyone suggest anything else?
Any input is greatly appreciated

 

[Moishe]

the PSU is pretty small on wattage...
I bet a 300w would work, and wouldn't cost that much... but if the PSU is small or the case is non-standard you might not be able to replace it...
A better alternative might be just to buy a good quality case with a 400+w PSU that you can use for a few years without needing a new one.
I assume that your case is either a pre-built box or just old to have that small of a PSU in it....?

a good case costs money, but it's WELL worth it as it will save you hassle and should last a long time.

 

[cgs007]

I just swapped PSU's and it still locks up with a 300 watt unit.
The mouse noise i spoke of comes from the PC speaker if that means anything?

 

[cgs007]

Bump^ any other ideas? anyone

 

[cgs007]

Thanks for the reply Moishe, but i give up on it,,Back to Best Buy it goes

 

[jliger99]

I was trying to rack my brain and remember what the problem was when *I* had the "clicking mouse" problem.

When you move your mouse there is a ticktickticktick over what seems like evey pixel the cursor passes over, correct?

The same thing happened to me...

...just before my hard drive died.

If the same thing is happening to you, you might want to back up all your important stuff, just in case.

I hope I'm wrong.