• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

ATI 9800 Pro 128 Meg Repeatedly Crashes

U

ubercaffeinated

Platinum Member
Hi, I have a ATI 9800 Pro 128 meg in my Dell 4600 and it crashes repeatedly in games, usually after several hours. I'm pretty sure its due to overheating, but I can't tell for sure. I tried using ATI Tool to give me some temps, but seems like there's no temp monitoring on this card. Maybe it was just ATI Tool. It's been doing this since I've got the machine, but I've finally become fed up with it so I'm looking to fix now.

What leads me to believe this is a heat issue, is that the computer only crashes during gaming, usually after several hours of heavy load. All my drivers are clean, up-to-date, and I've got no funky viruses. It is completely stable and does not crash at all during normal desktop usage.

How do I make sure its crashing due to heat and not an inherent problem with the card? Should I buy a after market fan like an ATI Silence 1? Thanks.
 
9800pros dont have temp monitors.

dells are known for poor airflow. my friend's xps(gen 3) crashes every hour or two also. he has a presshott(3.2) and a 9800pro also.

use a temp probe to determine the temp of the card. (they arent that expensive now, the case monuted ones are liek $10-20.
 
Heh yea, I guess the 4600s have poor airflow. I was surprised because my sc420 was really well designed in terms of airflow, and the 4600 just... wasn't. I'll try out a probe, but I'm 90% sure its a temp problem, or else it wouldn't crashing in game. In the mean time, how are the ATI Silencers? I've got a vf700 on my x700 and it works great, but I don't wanna spend 40 bucks for the 9800. 20-25 bucks for a silencer doesn't sound too bad.
 
I can't see why it would take it several hours to overheat though. If the cooling is poor it should show up pretty fast in heavy gaming.

Can you run it with the case open? Maybe with a house fan blowing into the case?
 
It's mainly because I play WoW and it's usually when I'm deep into the instance that it borks out. I can't remember how long it used to take for it to crap out in fps games. This system is usually used by my brother, and he smokes in his room, which I'm sure messes things up alot. I've told him to quit smoking in the room, and I've cleaned the system out, but it still crashes. I'll try leaving the side open with a fan and see if that does anything.
 
leaving side open is worse. screws airflow even more. cases usually actually heat up 1-2degrees with side off.(there was a poll about this somewhere).
 
Leave the case closed. Use the ATItool and click on "Scan for Artifacts". After about half an hour, the temperature will stabilize. If you have a heat problem with your card, it would crash before that and you will know.

It may be your RAM or CPU or power supply too that could cause instability.
 
Alright I've scanned for artifacts, and 10-15 mins into scanning I start to get artifacts every 3-5 secs. I stopped it right there. Is this a heat problem or is something wrong with my board? I'm gonna have a house fan goin in the side and see how it fairs like that.
 
have you checked tekmps with a temp probe? artifacts are most likely heat related but can be manufactering defects(messed up pipelines/shaders)
 
Well I directed a house fan full blast into the case and it only had 1 artifact in 16 minutes of scanning, a marked improvement compared to what it was before. Is there anything else I can do to make sure this is only a heat problem before I buy a Silencer for this sucker? And is this the correct silencer for it? It's an ATI 9800 Pro 128 Mb. Thanks a bunch.
 
Removing the stock cooler voids your warranty.
***************************************

You can remove the stock cooler and inspect the contact.
You can place a small amount of thermal paste and install and remove again to inspect. If there is a good contact and the sink seats properly on the chip, the paste should be spread and showing that the sink touches the chip everywhere not just at a corner.

 
It sounds like your video card is overheating, but have you maxed out the fans your case can hold? They don't have to be loud, just get as many slow fans in there as possible to exhaust the hot air. You can also try running Prime95's torture test overnight just to make sure the CPU isn't also having trouble. What's your room temp, anyway?

I'd RMA the card before removing the stock HSF, though. Or you could buy a Zalman fan arm kit at NewEgg, and mount the fan so it blows across your 9800P. No voiding of warrantees, reasonably priced (~$9 shipped, IIRC), and if it doesn't help, you can always use it for your CPU or something else (the Zalman fan arm and the Zalman 92mm fan at 7V is enough to keep my XP 2400+ with a Thermalright SK-7 at around 44C idle, 52C loaded--albeit in winter).
 
Originally posted by: makoto00
Is there anything else I can do to make sure this is only a heat problem before I buy a Silencer for this sucker?
Click to expand...

Touch the heat sink while scanning for artifacts with ATItool.
Is it hot or just warm or cold?
If it is hot, the cooler is doing its job. You may need to improve the cooling of your case. What is your case temperature?
If it is only warm, probably, the contact between the sink and the GPU is not good.
 
It's pretty hot to the touch. The cooling abilities of this case is really... crappy. It's a dell 4600, and when I cracked it open, I realized how cramped things were. The cpu has a hood to vent out the hot air, but thats about the only fan the case has. I don't think there's any extra places to put fans to allow for better ventilation either.
 
Originally posted by: makoto00
It's pretty hot to the touch. The cooling abilities of this case is really... crappy. It's a dell 4600, and when I cracked it open, I realized how cramped things were. The cpu has a hood to vent out the hot air, but thats about the only fan the case has. I don't think there's any extra places to put fans to allow for better ventilation either.
Click to expand...

In that case, you may not get a reasonable benefit from changing the cooler and you will void your warranty also.

It is better to find a way to cool down your case.
 
But doesn't the silencer vent outwards anyways? I could always dremel open the side out I guess and add a panaflo. But if a house fan on full blast still gets me an artifact after 15 minutes, what will a couple of panaflos do? Or will properly placing them give me a greater effect?

I've no qualms about changing coolers or anything, I've done it twice so far on an X700 and a 9800 pro 256 with great success. But in both of those cases I knew for sure the cards were problem free. With this card I'm not 100% sure its just a heating problem causing it to bork out. The only things that lead me to believe it's the heat is that it doesn't crash when I'm not gaming, and it's not really cool in there.
 
I don't know any way for you to confirm that the card is not damaged other than placing it in another PC and testing it there.

The fact that the silencer exhausts warm air does not mean that it does not need cool air!
If air inside the case is too warm, the intake of the silencer will be warm.

The silencer is not going to help cool down your case in any noticeable way. The amount of air that it exhausts is very small.

What is your CPU temperature shown by Motherboard monitor?
How about your motherboard temperature?
 
Dude, it's a Dell. Meaning I have no temp monitoring available. :disgust:
I'm pretty sure the cpu heat gets out of the case pretty well, its just the heat buildup for the gpu card has no where to go. I would put in a front side fan to suck air into the case, but I can't even do that because the HDD is placed vertically blocking the front side. So the videocard is blocked on top by the cpu fan shroud, and to the right of it is the hdd blocking any fresh air coming in. Clearly this case was designed by a genius.

 
Can you hold your fingers on the heat sink when you are running ATItool when it crashes? I am wondering how hot is hot!

It is possible that the sink is not seated properly on the GPU.

Do you have another PC? Or can you take the card to a friend's and test it on their PC?

Is the card under warranty?
 
The card came with the machine and the machine is no longer under warranty. I've only had the machine an year and a half, and I've heard ATI warrantees are for 3 years. The card is still RMAable, right?

I have another machine with a real case that I'll try it on tonight.
 
I dont think its the video card, but the ambient tempurature in the case, and the CPU. I currently have a 4600i with a 2.6ghz p4, and a 9800pro. It too would shut down from playing games.

Know how i fixed it? I totally removed the CPU cooling duct, and the CPU heatsink, and replaced it with a stock INTEL heatsink/fan set, and left the case fan that went with the duct running solo, to cool the entire case.

My computer no longer shuts down, and nothing feels hot to the touch.

You might want to experiment with that before anything.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top