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Bizzare problem - please help

F

ForestBoy

Junior Member
Hi. I'm trying to fix my friends computer and I've tried everything. Here is a rundown of the problems and what I've tried. Any help is appreciated.

The machine is an old low end gaming machine. I don't exactly remember the specs - I'll post again once I get them.

ASRock MB
Sempron 2600
2 optical drives
1 HD
1GB Ram
ATI Radeon 9700 pro

This machine ran fine for about 4-5 months doing standard activities and playing World of Warcraft. Eventually, WoW crashed within 5 minutes every time, whereas all non 3d stuff worked fine. This persisted after a full reformat. Plugged in a really old Radeon 7200 card and WoW ran fine - although really crappy looking.

Tried the 9700Pro card in my computer and it works fine. I thought it was the power supply, but tried a working PSU and it didn't work either. I tried my video card in that machine (an ATI Radeon 9500) and it didn't work either.

So the system works. With an old video card everything works. The problems only occur when I plugin the 9500 or 9700 cards, both of which work fine in other machines. What can be the problem?
 
Since it dies at high usage (3D gaming), I would guess either the power supply isn't as effective as it once was (needs more power), or the temps are getting too high and it is shutting down for safety. Do you know what the temps are? You can try to play the game with the side panel off and a fan pointed at the card. Also, make sure there is no dust gumming up the fans. I just upgraded my wife's video card last night and holy crap was there a lot of dog hair in there!
 
I came to the same conclusion. We bought a new power supply and still had the same problems, but I realize it's still a possibility. As for temps, I've run the machine with the side open and it seems to always run cooler than my machine which does not crash with the same card in it. I will try to use a seperate fan pointed at the card.

The case is an Antec SLK BQE series and the only expansion card that we use is the video card. Everything else is built in to the MB. I find it hard to believe that cooling is the problem (no OC) but I'll give it a shot.
 
It sounds to me like something is fried on the video card that controls 3D processing. Same thing happened to me once. I had a GeForce4 Ti4200, and all of a sudden any 3D game I would play would lock up almost instantly. 2D functionality was perfect however. I eventually pinpointed the program by running the directx utility built into Windows. What I found was that the test froze when testing 3D drawing. You can access the DirectX Diagnostic Tool by typing "dxdiag" in the run dialogue box. Then click on the "Display" tab and choose "Test Direct 3D". If you pass the test, something else is probably wrong; if you fail it, I'd say it's the video card.
 
Also trying blowin a big house fan into the computer while testing to ensure that everything is cooled (ignore the noise for awhile). If all runs well than it is temps more than likely.
 
Originally posted by: ForestBoy
Hi. I'm trying to fix my friends computer and I've tried everything. Here is a rundown of the problems and what I've tried. Any help is appreciated.

The machine is an old low end gaming machine. I don't exactly remember the specs - I'll post again once I get them.

ASRock MB
Sempron 2600
2 optical drives
1 HD
1GB Ram
ATI Radeon 9700 pro

This machine ran fine for about 4-5 months doing standard activities and playing World of Warcraft. Eventually, WoW crashed within 5 minutes every time, whereas all non 3d stuff worked fine. This persisted after a full reformat. Plugged in a really old Radeon 7200 card and WoW ran fine - although really crappy looking.

Tried the 9700Pro card in my computer and it works fine. I thought it was the power supply, but tried a working PSU and it didn't work either. I tried my video card in that machine (an ATI Radeon 9500) and it didn't work either.

So the system works. With an old video card everything works. The problems only occur when I plugin the 9500 or 9700 cards, both of which work fine in other machines. What can be the problem?
Click to expand...


He's running the latest Catalyst 6.8 drivers?
 
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