WTF!!! Saphire ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Crashes

[w108rew]

Whats better performance, 8x settings that don't work, or 4x settings that do? Thanks for the Probe tip Sw1tCh[FX].

 

[w108rew]

telling someone to get an evga 6600gt if it doesn't work is pretty damn dumb

If you read my first post you would see that I asked for recommendations for a good 3rd party vendor for and nVidia 6600gt.

 

[Mr. Switch]

I'd reccomend that you just stick with your 4x settings. if 4x works, just keep it there. its if you buy an X800 or 6800 when you would notice a difference if at all. the difference between 4x and 8x is often only 1-3 fps.

 

[EdoKoi]

hey w108rew,

well, i hope i can help you out here.

i've got pretty much the exact same setup as you.

AMD64 3000+ winchester 939
A8V deluxe (rev.1)
2 x 512mb Crucial pc3200
PowerColor 9800pro 128/256bit

i built this during last x-mas..same thing as you described..lots of crashes in games and starting getting frustrated...

but alas the answer was right in front of me the whole time.

first things first..

make sure you have at least the ver.1008 bios installed for A8V

then make sure to INSTALL 4-1 VIA chipset drivers that came on your disc!!

i had forgotten to do that, and after i did...runs smooth as silk now..

not a crash in 4 months!

go into bios, make sure the aperture is set to 128mb..

i can now set it to 8x AGP.

turn FAST WRITES OFF.

i'm using the latest Catalysts 5.4 drivers.

one other thing to point out is that i run a 500watt Aspire PSU..

that 350watt, should be enough, but sometimes when you don't have enough "juice", system shuts down.

you might consider getting a more powerful PSU...

hope that helps ya..good luck!

 

[EdoKoi]

i forgot to mention that ATI cards have a function called VPU recovery...when your card is being pushed to it's limits..it will automatically shut down to prevent any damage to the card..

make sure you have adequate ventilation in your case..

try to play games w/ your case cover removed and see if that helps..

i've installed a PCI exhaust fan right under my card to keep it cooler as well...that helps a lot.

i have 6 fans circulating the hot air in my system.

not including the one on the card and CPU HS/fan.

 

[DJ-CHRIS]

I'd reccomend that you just stick with your 4x settings. if 4x works, just keep it there. its if you buy an X800 or 6800 when you would notice a difference if at all. the difference between 4x and 8x is often only 1-3 fps.

According to my 6600GT tests in the threads, 9800XT and 6600GT are same peformance, their was no difference in 3dmarks at all.

 

[dhw200]

I had a similar problem with my computer when i first got it. I had 4 sticks of 512 RAM running. Double sided RAM. The mobo was incompatible with that paticular configuration. I swapped out the RAM and got 2 1 gig sticks. Might not be ur problem, but it could be. check what kind of config ur mobo is compatible with.

 

[Mr. Switch]

quote:
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Originally posted by Sw1tCh[FX]
I'd reccomend that you just stick with your 4x settings. if 4x works, just keep it there. its if you buy an X800 or 6800 when you would notice a difference if at all. the difference between 4x and 8x is often only 1-3 fps.
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According to my 6600GT tests in the threads, 9800XT and 6600GT are same peformance, their was no difference in 3dmarks at all.[/B]

i haven't mentioned anything along the lines that a 9800XT is the same speed as a 6600GT. what i DID say though is that the difference between 4x AGP and 8x AGP isn't really that noticeable UNLESS one has a 6800 or X800.

 

[w108rew]

I had a similar problem with my computer when i first got it. I had 4 sticks of 512 RAM running. Double sided RAM. The mobo was incompatible with that paticular configuration. I swapped out the RAM and got 2 1 gig sticks. Might not be ur problem, but it could be. check what kind of config ur mobo is compatible with.

Checked that out, my configuration is supported by my mobo. Thanks for the tip though.

 

[w108rew]

Thanks for the info EdoKoi. I disabled fast writes, and my aperture was only set on 64Mb. Didn't crash, but it did do something new and just as annoying. The screen went blank, but I could here my character still playing (music, gunfire, walking etc.). I will try a more powerful power source, but I will have to wait awhile for that. I do believe that someone else posted the same blank screen problem. If anyone can send me to that post it would be appreciated, otherwise I will search for it.