Help with VX2435WM - giving various errors

[Caze]

Here's to hoping this will be a clear "help me!" post

So I have the VX2435WM monitor by Viewsonic, and also another screen with desktop extended onto that. I disabled it, thinking that my PC might not be able to take it, but it hasn't seemed to have made a difference. and a ATI Radeon 9800 Pro (Old, I know)

My problem is that while my PC functions fine on the desktop, within minutes of starting a game my computer will do 1 of 3 things.

1. Sound buggers up and repeats, and monitor blanks then I get a blue screen with "No Signal" I can't revert this unless I restart.

2. Graphics seize up on the screen but sound is still playing. Then my the monitor goes to another blue screen which shows "Out of Frequency" with a few numbers. I will find these out properly if they are needed. At this point, I can switch my monitor off and on again, and there is a 50% chance or so that I will be back, and the other half of the time it goes to No Signal again.

3. Graphics lock up and go fuzzy, I can't see a thing. Sometimes it locks up completely and I have to restart, other times I can go back to desktop and be greeted with a message about "VPU Recovery", which is some sort of ATI function.

I timed each crash when starting a game, most of them were around 7 minutes after starting, one was 1 minute in, and another kept up for 44 minutes.. after I quit and restarted the game when I saw I'd timed it for 6 minutes.

I've searched high and low all over the net and am tired of it, so I hope this is the right place I'm confused as to whether this is a monitor problem or a graphics card problem, because of the No Signal and Frequency stuff, but also because of the ATI crash recovery.

one more thing: I think I'm using HDMI on my monitor, if that makes a difference. I have two large cables in the back - one for power and the other HDMI.

 

[BassBomb]

You THINK you are using HDMI?

Why don't you know what you are using?

I'd check the monitor on another machine to isolate whether its that.
If that passes then it would be your computer going stupid.

If it does not pass that try a different cable w/ the monitor.

If that passes it was the cable. If it doesn't it is the monitor.

 

[xtknight]

I think your video card is running out of memory or bandwidth to drive the display. Maybe it's getting too hot or old to perform at the level needed?

VPU Recover generally doesn't indicate a monitor problem. It is a good idea to check the cable first though. I assume you are using a DVI->HDMI adapter from your Radeon.

 

[Caze]

BassBomb, Cut out the "think" there, I am using HDMI, because when the no signal error pops up, it has HDMI written beneath it. I have yet to try it out on another PC, but I can do so by tommorow when my brother is out.

xtknight, I personally think my PC is too hot for its own good, I have to install some temp software when I can to find out. What is a good average temperature? It is also quite old - a couple of years or three, not sure when the card came out itself. As for the DVI>HDMI, I really am lost on what you're saying, but I will poke around and see.

The cables are pretty new, since the monitor is (about half a year old)

Anyway, thanks both for your replies, I will check temperature and try out on a different PC tommorow

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

What xtknight means is because the Radeon 9800pro does not natively support HDMI, you need to use an adapter that allows the LCD's HDMI cable to interface with the Radeon's DVI port, hence the HDMI-DVI converter.

I'd say that your 9800pro is dying. It could be that the fan is failing, or the thermal compound between the Radeon's gpu and the HSF has dried out. This is not uncommon.

Any chance you can borrow another video card and give it a try?

 

[Caze]

I didn't switch any monitors around but I have found the problem. Once I took a look at the heatsink below my card and nearly melted my finger I figured out what the problem was.

I'm now sitting next to a mobile air conditioner that is blowing cold air into my PC.. But at least I'm not getting No signal messages

Anyway, normally you shouldn't have to do this to cool down a computer, so any ideas about what I should do so I can take the air conditioner unit away?

 

[xtknight]

Caze: I would say a good temp is below 80C (which might be stretching it). I saw a friend's 9800XT running at 90C for awhile, he didn't care to fix it, and it eventually died.

The 9800's DVI (TMDS) may simply not be up to par. Many older cards spec'd for 1920x1200 (165 MHz single-link) can't actually do it in DVI mode without serious problems. Here is an older article that tested the DVI compliance of several cards in 2004: http://www.tomshardware.com/re...ft-connection,931.html

You can try "reduced blanking interval" or "alternate DVI mode" (similar) as a stopgap solution but in the longterm you will want to get yourself a newer midrange card (like 8800GT) which will almost certainly not have the problems. Of course I am not sure that it is the graphics card but if you are looking for an upgrade I do think it's a good idea if you want to drive a 24" display at a high res like that, both 3D and DVI-wise. And with a newer card you can get rid of the air conditioner too. If the 8800 or newer card still runs hot then you can replace the heatsink on that with a different HSF like a Zalman.

You can also hook it up with VGA temporarily. The VGA transmitter (RAMDAC) can probably support a higher bandwidth. You shouldn't expect a clear image on the LCD until you can get a good HDMI/DVI connection.

Some LCDs may demand dual-link DVI for 1920x1200@60 Hz. Plugging in the specs for the VX2435wm tells me that it needs 164.5 MHz for 1920x1200@50 Hz (at the tip of the TMDS single-link spec, may work with "alternate DVI mode"), and 210.7 MHz for 1920x1200@60 Hz. That could explain it. For more detailed info http://xtiming.sourceforge.net/

I know that my video card automatically goes into dual-link DVI to drive my 26" 1920x1200@60 Hz. I can tell you though that I have also driven a VX2435wm fine on my 7800GT even at the same time with the 26". The 7800GT isn't that new anymore but I can assure you most new cards should support it fine.

 

[Caze]

I think it was time for an upgrade anyway and I can't sit here with the AC next to me all day, so

I can see it all clearly now, (pun non intended, I meant in my mind) I never did get a clear view on my monitor even at the exact same graphics settings as my brother, so it seems a new card is in order, which I was close to doing anyway. (I might be a little confused here since you were talking about getting VGA, I don't know) Call of Duty 4 even refused to start in native resolution :|

You say 8800GT might be a good choice, but I did some quick research and is it PCI express only right? But my motherboard is old too and only supports AGP. I know I need an upgrade, yes

So until I get a high end gfx card, any ideas on a low budget AGP card, that is better than 9800 Pro and supports my current monitor situation?

 

[BlueAcolyte]

X1650pro?