video card probs

[TeLeMuNdO!]

i recently installed a Zalman heatsink on my Radeon 9600 XT (profile), and since then i've been experiencing choppy gameplay during games. in games like Call of Duty or Far Cry, i experience laggy gameplay when encountered with a large enviornment (especially the jungles of Far Cry). should i reinstall my drivers? reapply some thermal compound? i have been overclocking it recently, but this does not solve the problem. the temp on ATI Tools says that the temp on my card is 44 degress, i know thats not hot. does anybody have any suggestions?

 

[Wartorment]

You use arctic silver? Make sure none of the thermal paste is not touching any solder points.

 

[TeLeMuNdO!]

well, the VGA heatsink kit came with 2 tubes of some Zalman compound, is it really worth disassembling it and changing out the thermal compound?

 

[TeLeMuNdO!]

hmm, i was googling(tm) this subject, and i saw a few posts on other forums about people with good graphics cards that were having the same problem as me. a lot of people advised them to get a bigger PSU, i currently have a 350W, should i upgrade?

 

[Wartorment]

Yeah, you should have AT LEAST 400.

 

[didi]

Radeon 9600 XT shouldnt got problems playing this two games.
My GF4MX440 can play Call of Duty, not bad but just have to lower down the effects.
My friend GFFX5200 can play Far Cry already.
Is it your Ram not enough? At least 512 Ram recommended.
Or u turn the effects very high especially in Far Cry?

 

[TeLeMuNdO!]

oh yeah, i turn the settings on the highest, but my card can take it, right? i have a gig of RAM, so thats not the problem. i'll probably go out tomorrow and get about a 500-550 watt PSU. thanks for the input.

 

[zerozero]

Your PSU is not the problem but the card is. Although the 9600 XT is an excellent card, ii is still a mid level card. Here is a few things to check. Make sure your Vsync is off in your control panel. Set parameters to default so the game controls AA and anisotropic filtering. Reduce those 2 values in your game options 2 for AA and 4 anisotropic should do the trick if not, try 2 anisotropic. They will not affect the video much and you will still have all the eye candy. reduce your resolution to 1024 X 768 and it will also give you a few fps.