Video Card Issue?

[JaoSming]

Help!

Screen starts to artifact after about a minute of internet/game playing. If I do nothing it wont happen. Once it starts artifacting my desktop my computer freezes but my screens will still flash the artifacts and shit.

SLI'd 8800GTs, owned for about 2 years now.

plugged my monitor into my secondary card to post this / 2k11 video

[shadowgrin]

Yep. Either one of the videocard is my guess. Try using just one videocard to see which one is shite.

[benji]

Or just check the temps on them with GPU-Z, one of them (or both) has overheated. This is a known design flaw in many 8800GT batches, especially the early ones.

Assuming you didn't recently install the drivers that shut off the fans and burn up your card.

[Patr1ck]

Drivers, Plugs, heat, memory gone bad.

On my older computer with the x800 ati radeon, the fan died, but i had a slot fan underneath it keeping it playable. After an hour or two of playing a game like half life 2, the framerate would go to shit and I would get nothing but artifacts. Alt tabbing out of the game and letting my card cool down would allow me to play for a bit longer before it happened again.

So, to troubleshoot a heat/fan issue. Grab household fan, open computer case, blast fan on case aimed at videocards. Play. If it doesn't artifact, then heat is your problem. If it still happens, obviously it's not heat, and could be a memory chip on the card gone bad.
Obviously try rolling back or updating your drivers.

[NovU]

I got 8800GTS on my second computer now, and used to own 8800GT. Those fuckers seem to heat up a lot and the fans get loud. Had to get extra fans for the case.

[JaoSming]

havent updated drivers in a while, got 3 different temps on the front of my computer, nothing out of normal there

seems to be fine using the other one as my primary, and 2k10 didnt have any performance issues when I just barely tried it.

[JaoSming]

talking with Ben, evidently 65 and 73 celcius is a bit high for gpu temps

[shadowgrin]

Have you tried formatting your PC?

It had to be said. It's the NLSC's well-known solution to PC problems! Those temps. are indeed high Jao. You can pasteurize orange juice with that.

[NovU]

talking with Ben, evidently 65 and 73 celcius is a bit high for gpu temps

65 celcius at idle? That's about 22 more than mine.

According my OC Tuner and ATI Overdrive...
CPU Temp: 32C/89F
Motherboard Temp: 28C/82F
Video Card Temperature: 43C

If you've been running your vid card at such high temparture, it's very likely lifespan of ur vid cards have been shortened.

[benji]

That's just the one card, the other one is also at 69/61 on idle. His case only has a side fan and a back fan with a closed front. Those cards are easily getting over 100 when playing a game I bet.

[Patr1ck]

How about we format your account?

Describe the artifacts. Does it look like the polygons just go ballistic? Able to take a screenshot or image? Does it scramble like this?

(nevermind this, they are high temps)65 and 73 are not incredibly high. On the x800 I was talking about, it would get to 75-80 and then start bugging out, so you are pretty much at the threshhold. Remember that the sensor is for the gpu, and I am not sure if there is one for the memory. The memory will also get hot, so if you want to grab a digital thermometer and hold it on the memory to see, it might be a higher temperature.
You can always underclock and see if that improves the situation, then you would definitely know it's a heat related problem.

Idea just popped in to my head. Switch the slots on the cards, see what happens.

[NovU]

That's just the one card, the other one is also at 69/61 on idle. His case only has a side fan and a back fan with a closed front. Those cards are easily getting over 100 when playing a game I bet.

Over 100 sure would kill the video cards sooner or later. I would suggest manually upping the fan speed that are on video cards. I thought Nvdia cards aumotically adjust the fan speeds depending on the temparture, just like all cards do these days. If the newer drivers doesn't provide to be the solutions, manually adjusting the fan speed seems like a better way to cool it a bit. After-market video card coolers are another solution, but costs a bit and sorta is a hassle since you might damage the cards if you don't do it properly.

Anyways, when under heavy loads, the fans get loud as hell. That goes both for ATI and Nvidia. I start to wonder why they just can't make the fans more like after-market ones. Lousy ass original fans just aren't enough for some cases these days.

[JaoSming]

That is the best way I can describe it. It was doing it on my desktop.

playing 2k10 for a game the highest it got was 80 (was 73), other one stayed the same since SLI isnt enabled right now.

I do need to dust blast the inside a bit but cant cause I cant find the damn key to the stupid lock that is on it (havent found it since the move) the fans are OK though.

[shadowgrin]

I remember seeing similar screens like that...and then my videocard finally died. (overheating was the cause)

[JaoSming]

fabulous

[shadowgrin]

Maybe yours can still be saved. Maybe, seeing as how the image can still be seen despite the artifacts.

Mine was like your screenshot at first. Then after a few months, similar to Pdub's screen. After that the monitor just goes black if I play games, even flash games or anything graphics intensive, but I can still use the PC for surfing or typing. Then it died, no bootup screen, no nothing.

[JaoSming]

what was happening was after a minute of perfect use, it would artifact the entire screen then seconds later freeze up (no blue screen but I couldnt do anything) sounds would repeat if they were playing


its been on since i switched the cards with no issue


all in all, bigger things are going on right now.....and if it were to die ive been wanting to upgrade from the 8800gt anyway

[shadowgrin]

after a minute of perfect use, it would artifact the entire screen then seconds later freeze up (no blue screen but I couldnt do anything) sounds would repeat if they were playing

Yep, exactly like that with mine.

[NovU]

The problem with a sucky case is that even if you put up a good cooler on your video card, the heat is likely to be accumulated inside the case, possibly effecting other components as well, which is why you shouldn't build a gaming system on like cheap Best Buy selling computers(HP, Dell, Acer, etc). If you want a good long lasting PC, go with Antec case, or any other good gaming case to start with. Only costs around $100 and will last a lot longer.

Anyways, keep the Video Card temperature always under 70 even at under heavy load. I think you definitely need to up the fan speed on your video cards for right now, even though it's likely to lower only the GPU temperature, ahd not for the momory rams on your cards. What makes it worse is that your system is SLI, meaning double the heat generator inside the case. Speaking of heat, go Heat and Wade.

[benji]

Okay, we can all admit that was clever.

[shadowgrin]

I felt violated. I didn't know it would end like that.

[NovU]

Sorry, folks. I dunno wut came over me. I will try to keep it down a notch.

[rise]

and if it were to die ive been wanting to upgrade from the 8800gt anyway

That's the spirit!!!

[Patr1ck]

Probably just the thermal paste no longer making good contact between the chip and the heat sink. I'm surprised you haven't hacked your way into fixing the issue by now.

[JaoSming]

kinda a good reason for that.......ill give up some details in the steam thread when im not on the ipod in an ER