9800 Pro overheating/artifacts.

[Cheetah8799]

Hi gang. I'm not looking for any quick "RMA it" responses here, since I've voided any warranty, and this is a 2nd or 3rd hand card.

Here's what I have.

ATI 9800 Pro w/ VGA Silencer Rev. 2, and ramsinks attached with thermal tape.


When I bought the card last winter (Minnesota here), it would give the VPU recovery errors quite frequently while gaming. I decided my cheapo case had sucky airflow, so I modded it a lot and added some nice 92mm side intake fans, etc. :camera: :camera:. I also added the VGA Silencer and ramsinks. That solved all my problems for a long time, but now it's summer here, and I have no AC in my office in my apartment.

The card is now producing some white flecks in ATI Tool's 3D box thingy when I run default speeds and check for artifacts. Most games seem to run ok, but UT2k4 demo will cause some strange artifacts in the menu. I also get this a little in the Ground Control 2 demo. Luckily the card isn't crashing out of most games, might be in KOTOR...

So, I'm trying to come up with a solution. The VGA Silencer covers the ramsinks and I think maybe they aren't getting the airflow that some of the ram chips need. I'm also thinking maybe the VGA Silencer isn't getting the best contact with the core, since my 9800 Pro has the shim around the core.

I've attempted to play with the speeds of the intake and exhaust fans, and turning them up does seem to help a little, but mostle with the case ambient temps, and cpu temps. The video doesn't seem to be affected too much. Likely because of the VGA Silencer blocking the ram sinks.

Solutions?

I've read this article and considered maybe modding my VGA Silencer, or removing the shim, to get a better core fit. But I think maybe that the ram is the big issue. So I am also thinking maybe I should get some thermal adhesive to attach the ramsinks. Maybe even try to rig up some bigger custom-cut ramsinks from old heatsinks I have lying around.

Anyone think these are good ideas? Other suggestions?

thanks, sorry if this has been asked before, I did a bunch of reading of other threads and such, but thought I'd ask anyway... If anyone has a link for a good guide to remove the shim, please post, I'm having a hard time finding one with any pictures.

oh, and the VGA Silencer fan is set for the fast/high mode.

 

[Karaktu]

Underclock your core and memory independently to figure out which is giving you the problem. My guess would be the memory.

No A/C???? :Q

 

[Cheetah8799]

Originally posted by: Karaktu
Underclock your core and memory independently to figure out which is giving you the problem. My guess would be the memory.

No A/C???? :Q

Nope, no AC... I already spent my pennies on surge protectors and battery backup for my servers... As it is, an AC unit would for sure blow the fuse that all my electronics are setup on. stupid crappy old apartment...

I'll try the independent underclocking this evening hopefully. The ram has always been a problem for some reason, so I agree that it's probably the problem again...

 

[crsgardner]

To be frank, dude, basic AC will do wonders. Anyone will tell you that the base temperature any computer should be running at is 68-72 degrees room temp before overclocking. I'm surprised your parts aren't totally fried.

 

[Matthias99]

In my experience, 'white flecks' or 'snow' are from the GPU being pushed too hard. When I OC my RAM too far, I get really bad (and strange-looking) artifacting -- lots of white triangles and random geometry distortion (probably because it's losing half the textures and geometry data).

I definitely recommend some A/C, though... I *have* A/C, and I had to drop my GPU a bit to keep it running stably here in the summer (since I don't keep the AC on all day, it can get pretty warm and then takes a while to cool off).

 

[Cheetah8799]

To be frank, dude, basic AC will do wonders. Anyone will tell you that the base temperature any computer should be running at is 68-72 degrees room temp before overclocking. I'm surprised your parts aren't totally fried.

I agree that having AC is ideal, but as for parts being fried, I disagree with that. At work, we've run desktops and such in some pretty insane heat conditions and they very rarely go bad. Plus there are a LOT of people in this world who do not have AC, and still run computers that don't get fried.

In my experience, 'white flecks' or 'snow' are from the GPU being pushed too hard. When I OC my RAM too far, I get really bad (and strange-looking) artifacting -- lots of white triangles and random geometry distortion (probably because it's losing half the textures and geometry data).

Ya, that's what I've been reading. Snow from the gpu, triangles from the ram. Which is why I was thinking of removing the shim on the gpu to get better contact for the VGA Cooler.


As for AC. Well, for now it's out of the question. As I suggested above, the power situation in the apartment is WAY messed up. There are maybe 3 fuses total, and it isn't setup right. I think one is for the south end, maybe one or two outlets. Another for the north end, again only a couple outlets at most. My office is right in the middle, all my computers and such are on it. Right across the wall, same fuse, the TV and entertainment stuff is plugged in. Only way to split it all apart is to totally re-arrange the apartment into a configuration that I really really don't want to do. or run a 50' extension cable, which I've been considering for the tv...