radeon 9800 pro

[wakkoguy]

I've got an ati radeon 9800 pro, i've had it for about a year when all of a sudden the screen started getting horizontal lines, i could things but then all of a sudden it got worse and worse, i sent in my card since it was under warranty and they sent a new card back.
But, now the card is doing the same thing, i noticed that when i place my system on it's side everything is ok.
the card is extremely hot (anyone know of a place to check the temp on the card) so i'm wondering if it is overheating for example, i just turned on my computer and my card is already hot with the fan running. should i get heatsinks for the ram or any other ideas?
update=the lines are not vertical on my screen

 

[fishmonger12]

does your case have good ventilation? your case temp could be getting too high. if not, maybe the card's fan is loose, or there's a loose fan connection. it's possible that ati got your rma, tested it, found no problems with it, and sent you the same card back. that's all the suggestions i can think of.

if you still have problems, email ati and describe what's going on to them. if you want to take a dyi route, you could try putting an aftermarket cooler on there. this voids the warranty though : \

 

[Smilin]

As long as that fan is spinning you should be ok heat wise.
The fact that it worked ok when on it's side *could* be heat related but I'm guessing it's more related to how the card was sitting in the slot.

Reseat that thing and make sure it's wedged in good.
Make sure it's screwed down tight.
Be sure the external power connector isn't hanging in such a way that it's tugging at the card.
Arrange your monitor cord in such a way that it's not tugging at the card.


Couple other random things that may or may not be helpful:
Put the external power supply on it's own rail - nothing else plugged into it (if possible).
Move your other cards further down so the slots directly next to the AGP are empty.
A can of air and a dust-bunny hunt never hurts.

 

[FlyingPenguin]

A loose power supply connector will cause video artifacts - try a different power connector. NEVER use one on a splitter cable - use one directly from the PSU.

A simple way to see if it's heat related is to leave the cover off the computer and point a desk fan at the video card. If it behaves, you know it's a heat/ventilation issue.

You may just not have enough ventilation. Tie up ribbons out of the way, and you may need to add an intake fan.

If your current PSU is a single fan unit, that IS NOT adequate for a gaming system. GPUs get HOT. You need a quality PSU with a fan inside the case and another fan on the back.

You can't spend $30 on a PSU for a gaming system. Cheap PSU = poor power regulation = crashes, lockups, artifacts. I recommend Antect True Power PSUs.

Hope this helps...

 

[wakkoguy]

well, i just received an email back from dell telling me that my puter shipped with a lousy 250watt psu. the radeon 9800 pro needs a 300w, but why would it happen after a year of use? Anywayz, someone suggest the antec true power psu? what's the difference between that and other antec psu's? also, can i use any psu or are there certain specs that i need to know that may make a psu not operable with my puter.

Finally, are the blue LED's ones really cool looking or not really and is it easy to install. i've worked with hardware but never built a computer
thanx!

 

[FlyingPenguin]

I swear by Antec True Power. I won't buy anything else for myself or my clients.

BEWARE: Some Dells use a non-standard PSU cable. The plug will fit, but the wires are connected differently. If this is the case with yours it'll toast the mobo.

Most of their systems released in the last year use standard ATX pinouts, but check first.

Compare your PSU's wire colors to this standard ATX wiring diagram:

http://pinouts.ru/data/atxpower_pinout.shtml

If you have the older non-standard pinout you can do a google search for an adapter cable that lets you connect a standard ATX 2.0 PSU.

 

[wakkoguy]

how do i compare my psu's wire colors? for example, how do i look to see which way is #1 or #20? if i look at the wiring from the way my case opens it is the left picture.

What does this mean? i called dell and they said that it is $30 for a 305w that they guarantee won't fry my system.

should i try an antec true power?

The thing is that this was not happening a year ago and then started randomly? could it be the new ati drivers? i tried old ones and the same thing happens

 

[wakkoguy]

Well, upgraded the PSU to 400w and still the same problem
anyone have any other suggestions?