Dying 800xl, seek help or replacement advice

[jb124]

I have an ASUS EAX800XL-256 video card that was working well until last weekend when I noticed the fan wasn't quieting down after initial boot. I decided to reinstall the drivers for the heck of it and the driver installation failed from a non-specific fatal error. Both ASUS SmartDoctor and ATItool no longer reconizes that it has a fan. It also runs very hot now even though the fan is maxed. It used to run about 51-54c while playing games and around 43 when idle (and lower fan speed), now it's at 52-54 all of the time. I OCed it in gaming mode like 5% (through ASUS's SmartDoctor), but nothing special. It is almost a year old.

So I am thinking the fan control chip died and possibly the temperature sensor. The card works fine other than that though. Anyone know of a way to check/fix the issue?

Assuming the card is dead, can anyone recommend a decent replacement please? I run 1280x1024 and the main game I play is WoW. I'd like a card that isn't all that noisy if possible. Price isn't that much of an issue (no more than like $350), but I want a good value for whatever price it is.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Ichigo]

The card isn't dead or else you couldn't use it at all, much less play games.

 

[jb124]

Originally posted by: Ichigo
The card isn't dead or else you couldn't use it at all, much less play games.

Umm, yeah, I said dying, not dead. The fan/temp controller chip is what I think may be dead.

 

[Ichigo]

Originally posted by: jb124
I have an ASUS EAX800XL-256 video card that was working well until last weekend when I noticed the fan wasn't quieting down after initial boot. I decided to reinstall the drivers for the heck of it and the driver installation failed from a non-specific fatal error. Both ASUS SmartDoctor and ATItool no longer reconizes that it has a fan. It also runs very hot now even though the fan is maxed. It used to run about 51-54c while playing games and around 43 when idle (and lower fan speed), now it's at 52-54 all of the time. I OCed it in gaming mode like 5% (through ASUS's SmartDoctor), but nothing special. It is almost a year old.

So I am thinking the fan control chip died and possibly the temperature sensor. The card works fine other than that though. Anyone know of a way to check/fix the issue?

Assuming the card is dead, can anyone recommend a decent replacement please? I run 1280x1024 and the main game I play is WoW. I'd like a card that isn't all that noisy if possible. Price isn't that much of an issue (no more than like $350), but I want a good value for whatever price it is.

Thanks for your help!

Hardly my fault if you can't keep track of your own statements.

 

[jb124]

Originally posted by: IchigoHardly my fault if you can't keep track of your own statements.

Haha ok whatever dude. Either way, do you have a recommendation on what to do to fix my existing card or a recommendation on a new card? Otherwise please move on.

 

[Ichigo]

How the hell is anyone supposed to know whether that card is AGP or PCI-E? You could be running an AXP setup for all we know.

 

[josepavento]

No need to jump on him.

Why not just ask him if he has agp or pci-e? Why not just ask him his system specs?

 

[jb124]

Originally posted by: Ichigo
How the hell is anyone supposed to know whether that card is AGP or PCI-E? You could be running an AXP setup for all we know.

I thought my EAX model number would tip off such a knowledgeable person like yourself...

But, in case someone helpful comes along, it's PCI-E, on an ASUS A8N-E mobo with an Athlon 64 4000+ CPU. I've replaced the stock NB cooler with a Zalman passive heatsink, so card length might be an issue in potential replacements. I'll figure that out if it comes to that.

 

[Matt2]

Try and pop off the HSF and reapply thermal paste to lower the temperatures. Can u use ATI Tool or ATI Tray Tools to increase/decrease fan speed?

 

[soydios]

Popping off the heatsink will void the warranty, if you're looking to RMA it. How long was/is your warranty on it?

@Ichigo: chill out, no need to be nitpicky

Just to check, you properly wiped off the old video drivers using a driver cleaning tool? Have you tried installing new drivers? Etc.

The card should still be in warranty, so don't remove the stock heatsink. Of course, if the warranty is already void from a third-party heatsink, then all I can say is redo the thermal paste and hope for the best.

 

[jb124]

Originally posted by: Matt2
Try and pop off the HSF and reapply thermal paste to lower the temperatures. Can u use ATI Tool or ATI Tray Tools to increase/decrease fan speed?

Well I think it might be under warranty (supposedly 3-year limited I think) still so I'd like to try other options before popping off the heatsink/fan, if there are any. ATI Tool doesn't recognize that the board has a fan, and neither does ASUS' SmartDoctor. SD used to see the fan and allow controlling of it before the problem started last Friday. I hadn't used ATI tool before last weekend though. SD no longer reports temperature, but the AIT Tool does.

Originally posted by: soydios
Just to check, you properly wiped off the old video drivers using a driver cleaning tool? Have you tried installing new drivers? Etc.

The card should still be in warranty, so don't remove the stock heatsink. Of course, if the warranty is already void from a third-party heatsink, then all I can say is redo the thermal paste and hope for the best.

Oh, the third party heatsink is on the motherboard chipset (NB), I only mentioned it because it is in range of the video card and woud have to influence any replacement solutions.

I tried using both ATI's uninstaller and the Driver Cleaner Pro to remove the drivers in Safe Mode. The ATI Catalyst Control Center still appears in the Add/remove programs list though. I can't remember if I did it in 'Safe Mode with VGA' or not yet though, so I can try that tonight. Every time I try to reinstall the drivers I get fatal errors. I wrote it down last night but forgot to bring it with me today to work. I can post it later. It even does goofy things like brings up the ATI installer dialog when I right-click on my desktop or copy a file in Windows Explorer.



It seems odd to me that a card would power on and idle at 52c and then only get up to 56c under max load when it used to idle happily at 43c. I haven't made any changes to the computer in 2-3 months at least. The thing that stands out though is that both manufacturer and third-party tools no longer report seeing a fan on the card. That's what makes me think the fan/temp controller chip might be malfunctioning. If I had a backup card I'd just RMA back to the vendor, but as it stands, I don't have a backup card.

 

[Wheezer]

From the sounds of it, your fan is dead/dying. The only chioces you have as stated eairlier is to RMA it or replace the HSF yourself.

It's not that hard to replace the HSF, I have the X800 XT and had to replace the fan on mine with a VGA Silencer. The stock one came off rather easily, if you decide to do this you will need to unscrew the fan retaining bracket on the back of the card, the stock HSF should come right off, if it does not put the card into the anti-static bag and stick it in the freezer for a a while then gently pry it off with a butter knife, it should pop right off without damage to the GPU. It seemed they didn't put too much paste on the one I have so mine came off pretty easy.

 

[Dribble]

If it's under warranty and breaks send it back and get a replacement, you don't have to try and do it yourself.

 

[EarthwormJim]

Definitely contact ASUS to see if you can get an RMA number.

When my ATi x800xl died on me, I simply contacted ATi, sent in my old one and got a replacement in a few days.

And Ichigo what the hell is your problem, leave the guy alone. If you don't like his thread don't post in it.

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: Dribble
If it's under warranty and breaks send it back and get a replacement, you don't have to try and do it yourself.

This is the way to go for sure... Asus warranty support is for the most part very good and as far as I remember overclocking with their Smart-doctor utility won't void anything, while removing the factory heatsink will leave you out in the cold if the problem turns out to be somthing other then the fan.

Even if you decide to get a new card to replace this one, you should still do the RMA & then either keep the card as a spare or sell it.