Maybe you all can help me on this GFX card issue

[Expendable Grunt]

Alright, months ago I was playing M and B. Randomly, weird gfx issues started to show, like in the following pics.







So I stopped playing the game mostly because of that. Good game though.

Anyways the issue went away for some time. Reciently when I got back into BF2, I cranked it up onto maximum to see how well it plays. Well, it went alright, but then I got these issues again. So in BF2 mod I accually took a screen shot (about 2 weeks old).



Same thing appears from time to time in Vanguard



And in CnC3



Other issues outside of those "lines" I get are random patches of grass and the like stretching themselves up into the sky really freaking high (obscuring my view in those places), and this new one from tonight.




These issues come and go, and are really annoying me. I want to avoid buying a whole new card until I do my Dx10 build, and if this problem is solvable I would like to fix it so I can keep this current rig, or perhaps sell it for a few hundred.

It's not a driver issue, already did that. It appears on several graphics levels, so I don't think it's that per se.

It's a 7900GT from XFX; XFX tech support doesn't have a clue what it is, and nither did anyone on the BYO forums, so I turn to you for some help.

The GPU temperatures I've recorded are around 54c at idle (sometimes down to 50c), and as high as 74c during PR when I alt-tabbed to an already-set-up nvidia core temp. checker.



Any clues?

[[R-CON]Desertfox]

I may be wrong but isnt 74C a little bit high?

[Woody]

You didn't happen to spill any liquids on it, did you?

[[R-CON]Wolfe]

I use a 6600gt/oc and had similar issues. After 2 days of intense troubleshooting (including drivers and micro-managing hidden gfx card properties) I finally narrowed it down to two issues:

• The 6600-7900gt series of cards seem to have a little-known fact; that some batches of gt cards left the factory with a hardware flaw, causing a certain component to overheat too easily even though the high temp didn't register on the temp monitor. This was evidenced by several tech forums who finally got the manufacture to admit the flaw, replace it at no cost, but didn't exactly make the problem public.

• Although the "shutdown" temp is listed at 145 deg C, my 6600gt/oc begins to show signs of glitches when the temp reaches 70+deg C. It usually takes about 3-10 minutes for this to occur.

My card happens to be one of the manufactured faulty ones, but I don't have the receipt from such a long time ago. I fixed the issue by adding another fan that blows directly on the card, reducing in-game temps to 58deg max. Haven't had a problem since.

Recommend:

• Trying the fan approach first; since it's the easiest and cheapest trouble shooting method. Even if it's a box/floor fan; use anything that will cool the temp to less than 70deg and see if that works. Since you reported that the issue comes and goes, and that your max temp load is 74deg, that might be the cause as your temp fluctuates during moderate to high graphics load during play.

• Also, be sure that your card is free of all dust. The tiny ducts around the gt cooling fans are easily blocked by dust. Even dust on the board itself can cause heat buildup, like a wool blanket. Clean the board, and use a fan.

Computer problems are hell. Good luck.

[Darkpowder]

Its definitely heat problems, check your cooling in your PC.
Make sure the fans inside it are not creating pockets of hot air by them trying to hinder each others contribution to the airflow in your case.
Check that the Fan on the GFX card is still working.
Post a diagram of your fan layout and we will advise.
Also check the obvious that your room is well ventilated and that your PC isn't tucked into a tiny space.

[Expendable Grunt]

Yeah, I had figured it to be a heating issue. I've had the card less than a year -- I got it from new egg so maybe I should contact XFX about replacements?

The PC itself is ventilated, sitting ontop of my desk accually.

Fan positioning...One on top blowing inwards, one on the side blowing inwards, one on CPU heatsink, one on GFX card, and one on the back blowing out.

I might pick myself up a can of compressed air and blow out the cards fan/sink today. Sadly this is a dead-end machine IMO and upgrading it to the next level requires everything to be replaced except optical drives and case. I've set up a 3000USD budget (of which I currently have 1600) to upgrade to the whole 8800GTX/Core 2 Duo 6800 Extreme/DDR3 RAM/etc.

I might get myself the 20 buck Antec Spot Cool -- CPU magazine gave it a 3.5/5 review, so it might help. To be honest, he dosn't say much of anything bad about it so I'm sort of confused as to why he gave it a lowish review. Maybe it's cus it requires a 3 pin motherboard power supply port, not a molex.

I wonder if I should water cool the next one? (There exists a watercooled 8800GTX but it's 300 bucks more than a fancooled one...)

I'll get ahold of XFX this evening after classes and see what I can get done.

Thanks for the help -- nobody else other than you guys (excluding myself) said a temp problem.

M.

[[R-COM]strima]

I tried water cooling, it's good but a real pain pouring the water through the side vents.......

[El_Vikingo]

My 6600GT
61´C - Idle
75´C - Ingame

[[R-DEV]Gaz]

looks like a heat dissipation problem with the card causing artifacts when under stress (gaming).

Check your card fan is working correctly. The ambient temp in your case *may* also be a factor, meaning the hot air in and around your card is overworking the oem gfx cooler fan. Think about buying an aftermarket fan for the card.

May be wise to double check the case fans at the rear (if at all?) are 'pointing' the right way. They should be extracting hot air out the back instead of drawing cold air from the rear, as you will have a front fan drawing air into the front already, and this will upset your case airflow dynamics. If you find the rear case fan is pointing the wrong way, just unscrew it and turn it round

You could go down the RMA route, but it's a pain in the arse tbh. Worth it though if your consumer rights cover you. US consumer laws are not as consumer favourable as UK ones, as we can make manufacturers/resellers eat shit if we want to up to 12 months after the sale date with a receipt lol.

[Expendable Grunt]

Added a CnC3 pic. I got that compressed air so I'm gonna go blow out the fan on the card tonight. I'm gonna email XfX right now about replacements.