Help!! My 6800 GT has a lot of video artifacts! help!

[Saiyanvirtue]

I am trying my best to troubleshoot a problem with video cards that I have been having. I used to own a 9800 Pro and after some time, I started getting tons of artifacts onscreen whenever I play any game. I never overclock any of my video cards, and after using the 9800 pro for a while, I noticed that the card just got damaged to the point where my desktop was full of artifacts at idle and I had to return it.

I have just bought a new video card, the BFG 6800 GT OC. I DO NOT OVERCLOCK MY VIDEO CARDS -- I have noticed tons of artifacting during doom 3 with this card as well. I have a 400W power supply. So this makes my justification that there is nothing wrong with the video cards, it's another issue. My video card reaches a temperature of about 76 degrees at its highest (is this normal?) before artifacts appear. This is my 2nd 6800 GT card (my first one crapped out after artifacting during doom3, and then the desktop normally showed artifacts when idle -- I'm assuming the card was severely damaged at that point). I have returned my 1st 6800 GT card for a new one, and this one started artifacting. I did not want this new card to get damaged, so I have stopped playing doom3.

Stating my problem once again, my 6800 gets to a temperature of about 76 degrees when things go awry. I figured that wasn't too high of a temperature (I don't know). Another thing I was thinking is that since I keep my desktop box inside a closed panel in my computer desk, maybe there's not enough ventilation. Does anyone out there have any experience with case ventilation issues? Is my card getting "too hot", and that is the reason it's crapping out? I am thinking either my card is overheating and causing artifacts, or there's another issue involved. PLEASE SOMEONE HELP!

These are my specs:
ASUS P4C800 Deluxe motherboard
400W power supply
2 case fans
Pentium 3.2 Ghz
1 gig of RAM
BFG 6800 GT OC

 

[Dman877]

Your temps seem fine. My BFG GT ran up to 85C without a problem. However, you should definitely get your case out of a cabinet, that's a big no-no for current computers. Since it happened to 2 completely different cards, maybe there's something wrong with the mobo/agp port...

 

[Delorian]

You might try putting a slot fan near the card, should lower its temps ~10-15C or so. Sounds like a poor ventilation/overheating problem to me. Or you could underclock the card, but you shouldn't have to do that.

 

[JBT]

THe 6800 Series cards are rated atleast to 100C so I'm sure its fine there. I mean the temp sensor doesn't shut it down till 120C... So I doubt its heat.

Also are you plugging in the Cards seperate molex connector?

I know you say that you have a 400 watt PSU but that doesn't mean its a quality PSU... What brand PSU is it and what are the Amps on is 12v Rail? the 9800's and 6800's are pretty demanding and a generic 400 watt PSU certinaly won't always be up to the task.

 

[Saiyanvirtue]

JBT,

I can let you know the specs on my PSU later on in the evening. If this is the case and the PSU is inadequate, would that mean I could be damaging my video card?

If by molex connector, you mean the thing that plugs into my power supply, I definitely connect that with the video card.

The artifacts appear slowly after time and get worse and worse. How can I further troubleshoot this? Do you think this may have anything to do with the AGP slot itself?

 

[JBT]

I wouldn't think it is damaging it but it "could be"

Yes the molex connector is what you were talking about. Now that that out of the way it still could be the power supply underpowering the card. As you play the card is warming up and as it warms up it is under more and more stress which means it needs more and more power to keep its self stable. If it is your power supply it may not have enough power on the 12v rail to satisfy either of those highier end video cards which need alot of power to run. The best way to trouble shoot the power supply is obviously try another power supply that is powerful enough to handle such a video card.

It also may well be your AGP slot or just the mobo its self. To see if that is the problem you would need to try the video card in another computer and see how it goes.

 

[Saiyanvirtue]

JBT,

Thanks. Anyways, what do you recommend I use for a PSU for my BFG 6800 GT OC? Would you think 400W is sufficient or should I go higher? What's a good reputable company?

 

[nitromullet]

First thing I would suggest is getting that computer out of the closed cabinet. You can't trust the temp readings on the nVidia control panel because in the time it takes for you to exit a game and open the panel your temperatures can drop significantly. I've seen the temps drop 10C in a matter of seconds.

There definitely seems to be something wrong with your setup that is causing your rig to eat video cards. Artifacting is usually a sign of video core or memory overheating. As far as I know not having adequate power doesn't result in artifacts but usually causes games to crash to the desktop.

 

[JBT]

Yes 400watts it enough for a GT technically 350 is actually but you just need to make sure you get a quality brand. Depending on your budget a decent PSU can range from 40 bucks to well over 100. I would recommend a Forton, Enermax, Seasonic, Antec, and even Thermaltake seems to make good PSU's now adays. Check out those brands on Newegg and tell me how much you are willing to spend on this PSU and I can help you find a good one.

 

[Saiyanvirtue]

JBT,

I'm flexible with the price, I prefer a power supply less than $60 that will work good with my rig. From what I have heard, the 12V rail should be @ 20 amps. What do you think about that?

 

[imported_Sigma]

What does your bios say the voltage to your AGP slot is? Maybe a component that regulates the voltage to your slot has gone bad. Just a guess.

 

[user1234]

you can't go wrong with thermaltake purepower 480 for $56
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-153-007&depa=0
or spend 20 more ang det the butterfly with cool lightshow, dual SATA, and sleeved wires

 

[Saiyanvirtue]

Sigma,

What should the AGP voltage be at, within the bios? I will look at this later when I get home.

 

[JBT]

The AGP voltage should be at 1.5. For 60 you can probably get a 400 watt Forton or an Enermax. Both are great. The only reason I wouldn't reccomend the Thermaltakes right off is I have heard of a few DOA's and an underpowered 12V rail but other than that they seems to be good I don't mean it is underpowered for your set up I just mean they should have had a highier power 12v rail rather than over powered 3.3v and 5v rails.

 

[YouAreForbidden]

AGP voltage should be set to 1.5v if im not mistaken.

you need to get that puppy some fresh air. the 6800GTs cooling works well, if it doesnt injest its own hot air which it does if you have case fans in the front lower part of your case.

one solution is to get a kit such as this for $15. it will route the cool incoming air directly to the intake of your GT.

open the cabinet, that computer is breathing fire. i had poor cooling when i got my GT b/c ive swtiched to watercooling and removed the majority of my case fans. i reinstalled 2 intake fans and lowered my temps a good bit.

also as JBT was saying. the 12v rail may not have enough juice and/or if it isnt on its own line from the PSU you may not be getting all the power. if you have multiple 12v lines use one for ex. on HD, CD-Roms, and the floppy and dedicate another soley to the GT. also ive noticed that my TruePower 480w is getting MIGHTY warm since getting my GT.

Hope this helps, hate to hear about video cards dying.
Y.A.F.
:beer:

 

[Saiyanvirtue]

Thanks guys, I have since checked my power, it's a 420W system. I have just popped in doom 3 and it's running great, thanks to me moving the desktop case out of its cabinet.

It looks like the "nvidia temperature guage" doesn't make much a difference if your case isn't in a nicely ventilated area.

I hope it continues to run smooth, now that I removed my desktop case from the closed cabinet that it was in. No artifacts yet.

Thanks

 

[imported_Sigma]

I'm glad you got it figured out.

It has me wondering though about the accuracy of built in temp probe on these cards. My case is in free air and has pretty good ventilation. My BFG 6800GT usually levels off around 76C after several hours of gaming. I dont get any artifacts.

Also like other posters have said I've seen people posting numbers in the high 80s without any artifacting.
So I dont understand how your card could be artifacting at the same or lower temps than many other people have.

What did your artifacts look like? Were they white dots?

 

[Saiyanvirtue]

Sigma,

My artifacts were green dots, and glitchy green patterns all over the screen.

I have strong doubts regarding the temperature guage -- I am thinking that parts of the card and motherboard were recycling the same hot air or something (while my desktop case was in the cabinet)... maybe humidity was an issue... I really am not going to rely on the temperature guage that much in the future because of this incident.

Thanks.

 

[JBT]

Cool glad it was just the temp. No need to waste money on a PSU if everything is all good.

 

[user1234]

Originally posted by: JBT
The AGP voltage should be at 1.5. For 60 you can probably get a 400 watt Forton or an Enermax. Both are great. The only reason I wouldn't reccomend the Thermaltakes right off is I have heard of a few DOA's and an underpowered 12V rail but other than that they seems to be good I don't mean it is underpowered for your set up I just mean they should have had a highier power 12v rail rather than over powered 3.3v and 5v rails.

Yes, you are correct, the 12V rail in my thermaltake 480 is low, usually 1.5% below spec, but even under load (prime95) it's only 2% below, so it doesn't dip too much. You're also right about the other rails, but all are very stable and with 3% of spec.
The other most notable issue with this PSU is that the fan can get really loud when it's spinning fast - I mean it's a really annoying high pitch whistling sound which must be at least 45 dB. And in automatic fan speed control mode, it usually gets pretty loud, so I used the manual speed control, and set it to always spin at a medium speed, in the range when it's spinning practically silently, and this seems to work fine.