Problem with GTS 250 1GB

[sureshkondaveet]

Hello all,

I have recently brought a Galaxy Gefore GTS 250 1 GB graphic card.

I have a Intel DG41RQ mother board, Intel Core2Duo processor, 2 GD DDR2 RAM, 1TB Segate SATA hard disk and a DVD ROM. I have 450W Zebronics SMPS. I have Windows 7 32 bit OS.

The problem is, when I am playing games like COD MW2, Medal of Honor, Split second the game freezes randomly. This happens with almost all the games. Not sure why this is happening even after having 1GB graphic card. Could it be because of the graphic card not getting sufficient power or any other reason? I have updated Nvidia drivers and my PC is very fast when not playing the games.

Thank you for letting me know what might be causing this problem and which I should do to fix this. [/FONT]

 

[BathroomFeeling]

Well it sounds like either a software or driver problem. Did you update your motherboard drivers? What was your previous card? Uninstalling old drivers doesn't always remove all traces of it in your OS, so there might be a conflict somewhere. What's your antivirus and/or firewall? Do you have any programs running in the background? When playing games, and when the freezes occur, does your hard disk churn?

 

[Meghan54]

The questions that should be asked are at what resolution are you playing your games? And at what graphics settings are you using?

It's not always simply the amount of memory that counts, although that is important....it's also the gpu involved combined with resolution chosen and graphics quality settings. Bet the "problem" lies in that combination.

 

[sureshkondaveet]

Well it sounds like either a software or driver problem. Did you update your motherboard drivers? What was your previous card? Uninstalling old drivers doesn't always remove all traces of it in your OS, so there might be a conflict somewhere. What's your antivirus and/or firewall? Do you have any programs running in the background? When playing games, and when the freezes occur, does your hard disk churn?

Hi,

First of all, thank you very much for your response.

This is my first graphic card and there were no Nvidia drivers installed before this. I used to use Norton 360 antivirus to verify if it this is an antivirus problem, I have uninstalled Norton. At present I am using Microsoft Security essentials and I have disabled the inbuilt firewall also. There are no background programs running and the hard disk I am using is a brand new. Before this, I used to have 320 GB HDD. Had same problem then also.

 

[sureshkondaveet]

The questions that should be asked are at what resolution are you playing your games? And at what graphics settings are you using?

It's not always simply the amount of memory that counts, although that is important....it's also the gpu involved combined with resolution chosen and graphics quality settings. Bet the "problem" lies in that combination.

Thank you for your response.

I use 1440 x 900 resolution and I normally play games either at high or very high. As I have a 1GB graphic card I suppose that is not a problem. One of my friends has a GeForce 8500 GT 256 MB card and COD MW2 works fine in that PC with high settings and same resolution.

 

[BathroomFeeling]

So have you updated your motherboard drivers? Also try lowering the graphical settings as well as the resolution down to the minimum in these games, and see if it still occurs.

 

[sureshkondaveet]

So have you updated your motherboard drivers? Also try lowering the graphical settings as well as the resolution down to the minimum in these games, and see if it still occurs.

Nothing change after upgrading my motherboard drivers. When I lower the graphical settings to lower, it works fine. At least does not lag as it lags with high settings.

 

[BathroomFeeling]

Well if it works fine in lower settings, we can safely rule out most software problems. Errant sound drivers for example sometimes causes stutter regardless of game settings. I suppose we can then also rule out most hardware-based problems to just one, a slow graphics card.

Unfortunately we can't tell you for certain unless you have a spare graphics card to test it (or even your friends 8500). Best you can do right now is play at a setting that gives you no stutter. You could also check to see if your card is running at PCIE x16 instead of x8 in your BIOS, or heaven forbid anything lower.

 

[sureshkondaveet]

Well if it works fine in lower settings, we can safely rule out most software problems. Errant sound drivers for example sometimes causes stutter regardless of game settings. I suppose we can then also rule out most hardware-based problems to just one, a slow graphics card.

Unfortunately we can't tell you for certain unless you have a spare graphics card to test it (or even your friends 8500). Best you can do right now is play at a setting that gives you no stutter. You could also check to see if your card is running at PCIE x16 instead of x8 in your BIOS, or heaven forbid anything lower.

What do you mean in the BIOS? On the mother board, I have connected it in a PCIE X16 slot. How do we check it in BIOS.

 

[BathroomFeeling]

Oh okay nevermind then, it should be x16 in that case. You can enter the BIOS to confirm though. When you boot your system (cold or warm), just press 'Delete' or 'F1' or 'F2' just when it starts, it'll tell you which to press. I like to tap it continuously the moment it restarts, until I enter the BIOS. Little chance of missing it that way.

When you enter it, look for Advanced Chipset Features or something like that. Then go to PCIE Config. There, it'll say something like Link Width x16. If it's x8 or lower, change it to x16.

 

[sureshkondaveet]

Well if it works fine in lower settings, we can safely rule out most software problems. Errant sound drivers for example sometimes causes stutter regardless of game settings. I suppose we can then also rule out most hardware-based problems to just one, a slow graphics card.

Unfortunately we can't tell you for certain unless you have a spare graphics card to test it (or even your friends 8500). Best you can do right now is play at a setting that gives you no stutter. You could also check to see if your card is running at PCIE x16 instead of x8 in your BIOS, or heaven forbid anything lower.

What do you mean in the BIOS? On the mother board, I have connected it in a PCIE X16 slot. How do we check it in BIOS.

 

[BathroomFeeling]

What do you mean in the BIOS? On the mother board, I have connected it in a PCIE X16 slot. How do we check it in BIOS.

As mentioned earlier, just restart your system & press 'Delete' or 'F1' or F2' contonously until you get to a blue screen with menu.

 

[Meghan54]

Or just download and run GPU-Z which will show what the video card's slot is running, too. From Tech Power Up.

http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/SysInfo/GPU-Z/

 

[sureshkondaveet]

Or just download and run GPU-Z which will show what the video card's slot is running, too. From Tech Power Up.

http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/SysInfo/GPU-Z/

I have checked the video card ... it is connected on a PCIE-16x slot. I checked in BIOS as well but could not find the slot type..

Just a small query... how do I know my card is getting enough power? When I use the GPU monitor tool, I see that the temp and fan speed is at 90 to 100. So.... I have been having doubts that my card is not getting sufficient power. Please let me know if there is any tool to verity this?

Thank you.

 

[Zap]

I have 450W Zebronics SMPS.

Is this your unit? Oh "deer."

(Okay, not necessarily a Deer, but it doesn't look very promising.)

When I use the GPU monitor tool, I see that the temp and fan speed is at 90 to 100.

There is definitely the possibility that your card is not getting enough power based on the PSU you are using. However, if the temp is 90-100° CELCIUS while the fan is running 90-100%, then I would be worried about overheating. What case is it in? You can try running it with the side panel off the case and a desk fan pointed into the case to see if it alleviates the problem.

 

[nenforcer]

Yeah that a MicroATX board it may be getting to hot in there by being to cramped.

Also, have you disabled the onboard graphics in the BIOS?

The OS shouldn't be showing 2 different display adapters in Device Manager.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I'm having a similar problem with GTAIV on an AMD quad-core, with a Galaxy 9800GT 512MB. PSU is Antec EA430.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2118259