Worst Computer problem ever faced (GPU related)

[Gabb]

Like Nitestick and Surge have said, the video crashing can stop other processes too. I know this has happened to me when my GPU crashes at times. I'll get a bunch of red artifiacts, and a half-second sound loop will start playing. If I wait for much longer before resetting my comp, I'll get a BSOD related to my GPU. I just have to hit my reset button on my computer, and wait for it to boot up again.

Ah now I understand thanks for the information. Your crash sounds somewhat similar to mines ( the sound loop was about half a second but I didnt get red artifacts, rather my screen froze ), except I didn't get a BSOD and actually made it back to desktop. Are our cards just getting too hot? ( you even have the new G92 ), you think any permanent damage is being done? Also how far can you get on the ATI Scan for artifact test until you get errors?

Does artifacts necessarily mean physical damage done to the card or is it just the cards inability to work that fast due to conditions at hand?

The reason I may think its the former is because when my ATI 256mb x800 xl started getting purple equally spaced squares when playing counter strike source, people on the forums were saying my x800 was probably starting to die.

 

[carnageX]

My card actually stays pretty cool...I think my card may be going back, because I overclocked the crap outta this card for a while...lol. May be why I sometimes get BSOD's in games, cuz I have ATiTool open on my 2nd monitor, monitoring my temps before I get the BSOD, an they're mid 60's.

Artifacts can mean instability, heat issues, or the card going bad. You kinda just gotta narrow it down by checking each thing out.

Not sure exactly how long I can last the artifiacts test...haven't tried lol. I call it good if I pass 20min.

 

[Gabb]

My card actually stays pretty cool...I think my card may be going back, because I overclocked the crap outta this card for a while...lol. May be why I sometimes get BSOD's in games, cuz I have ATiTool open on my 2nd monitor, monitoring my temps before I get the BSOD, an they're mid 60's.

Artifacts can mean instability, heat issues, or the card going bad. You kinda just gotta narrow it down by checking each thing out.

Not sure exactly how long I can last the artifiacts test...haven't tried lol. I call it good if I pass 20min.

hmmm BSODs at mid 60s temps? something seems wrong....have you tried playing games without having your card overclocked? do you still get BSOds? Your cards pretty new, so unless it was defective to begin with...somethings wrong

it always perplexed me just how many people haven't done artifact test with their 3d card. I mean people insist on doing countless of memtests ( to test ram ), orthos or prime95 ( to test processors ), but don't do an artifact test with their video card.

What else can I check with my video card to make sure its okay? I mean I never got a BSOD or anything while playing a game and didnt think they existed with windows xp. I usually just get the crash to desk tops with the only exception being in my original post.

 

[carnageX]

Yeah, I've tried underclocking my card, which seems to have helped a bit I think. I think I may try to send it in sometime (gotta send it to Veedub first tho, since I bought it from him, and its under warranty lol), and get a new card. Cuz I did OC the balls outta this thing for a while, and I know you're not supposed to run the memory clock over 2000 (1000x2) mhz for long periods of time...which I did for a while, so I'm thinking maybe that has something to do with it.

 

[Gabb]

Yeah, I've tried underclocking my card, which seems to have helped a bit I think. I think I may try to send it in sometime (gotta send it to Veedub first tho, since I bought it from him, and its under warranty lol), and get a new card. Cuz I did OC the balls outta this thing for a while, and I know you're not supposed to run the memory clock over 2000 (1000x2) mhz for long periods of time...which I did for a while, so I'm thinking maybe that has something to do with it.

Try some ATI scan for artifact tests to see if your cards alright and let me know how long you can go without errors and how hot the card gets. My card got up to 104 celcius at one point! I always assumed the shut down temp was 100 celcius...never thought cards could get that hot without turning off

 

[Gabb]

Try some ATI scan for artifact tests to see if your cards alright and let me know how long you can go without errors and how hot the card gets. My card got up to 104 celcius at one point! I always assumed the shut down temp was 100 celcius...never thought cards could get that hot without turning off

lemme know how this goes

 

[carnageX]

Sorry, haven't had time to let it go for a few hours . But if its any consolation... I was able to play CoD4 for a few hours without problems last night on full settings .

 

[Gabb]

Sorry, haven't had time to let it go for a few hours . But if its any consolation... I was able to play CoD4 for a few hours without problems last night on full settings .

I really dont think video cards can last the artifact test for that long ( especially after overclocking ). Last night I did the same artifat test and it went on for 45 mins with no errors compared to 10 minutes with errors...i guess the AC being on and my dusting of inside helped. I played 500+ hours of COD4 at full settings with never any problem, but torture/error tests are a lot more strenuous then playing a moderately powered game. ( I dont consider COD4 that demanding cause it has minimal post processing compared to crysis )

 

[NosBoost300]

voltage.. voltage solves stability problems along with proper cooling

 

[Gabb]

voltage.. voltage solves stability problems along with proper cooling

doesnt voltage add heat leading to further video card artifact problems?