Is it dying? :(

[gorcorps]

I have a 9800pro that I bought from somebody on these boards. I've had it for a while and ever since I've had it's been flashed to run default XT speeds. I've been playing Oblivion and it randomly crashes on me. Last time it crashed my desktop res (normally 1280x1024) was stuck at 1024x768. Even though the option was available to change it, it refused to go to that res. Plus, the screen was just a jumbled mess of squares... like one of those sliding puzzles. I restarted and everything seems cool now. I've had this thing for a while now, should I finally get something newer? Can't afford to overhaul to PCI-E yet so keep that in mind.

 

[Captante]

First of all make sure your cooling fan is turning at full speed... 9800 Pro's were a little shaky in the cooling department to begin with & the XT came with somwhat larger HS/Fan to compensate, second try clocking it back down to 9800 Pro speeds & see if that helps... you could also flash the BIOS back to the original.
If you end up needing to replace it & are on a really tight buget, you should be able to get another one of the same cards in FS/FT for +/- $70 or better yet somthing like a 6600GT which is a bit faster for around $90.

Edit: You COULD also buy my old BBA 9600XT!

 

[gorcorps]

It has an upgraded fan on it (arctic cooler VGA silencer, rev.3) and that's on full speed. I'm not on a horribly tight budget, but can't spend anything for another month or so. I guess I'll just reflash to default so it doesn't die before then and buy something faster. Oblivion runs like junk on it and I think since it's about to die I can justify a new card.

 

[Captante]

Sounds like the cautious & wise choice ... good luck & I hope it works, one last thing you dold try if its been awhile if a careful cleaning of the NV Silencer since even a small coating of dust can cause heat buildup.