Radeon 9700 issue?

[94transam]

I have been getting lockups with my radeon during high graphics games. Im not even sure its the graphics card really. I just recently installed the newest bios and graphics drivers and it still does it. VIA drivers are current also. The more i turn down the graphics, the longer i can play without it happening. But my card is a powerful card and i dont want to do that. It just freezes in mid-game and the sound does too. I have 2 sticks of XMS 3200 corsair set at cas 2 (they are) and 2-2-6. Has anyone had this issue with this mobo/radeon setup?

 

[Schadenfroh]

turn off fast writes, i have heard of the occasional ATI/VIA conflict, although most run it without problems

 

[ockky]

i started getting some random lockups after having owned the same card for about a year and half. upgraded to a artic silencer and the problem was solved. my nephew has the card now and hasn't reported any crashes or want not either

 

[SickBeast]

Is the 9700PRO overclocked?

How is your case ventilation?

What drivers are you using for the 9700PRO?

Is your CPU overclocked?

Have you tested your memory for stability at those timings? Try Prime95 and memtest if you haven't yet. If your computer can run Prime95's torture test for 24 hours straight then you can be pretty sure that the graphics card is the problem.

Based on what you've said, drivers are not the likely cause. It sounds like heat and instability due to overclocking and poor cooling.

 

[94transam]

You know, it really seemed to be fast writes. It never was before, but now it stopped.
Thanks. I'll post back if it does it again.

 

[PuravSanghani]

94transam: It is a BIOS issue with "fastwrites" being enabled. We had the same issue with our 9700 Pro we use for our PC case test bed. Turning "fastwrites" off in the BIOS helped to solve the problem. You should be safe gaming away. Or should I say Dooming away

 

[94transam]

LOL
You hit the nail on the head Purav!
Cant be locking up just as i get to the next Alpha level now can i?

Thanks!