Discuss the latest in Tech, from gaming rigs & graphics cards, to phones & smart watches.
Don't forget Programming 101, and learn to code from our resident experts.
Ive posted here before about the same issue a while back and have continued to have the same problem. Well I'm using an ATI 9600 XT 256 MB and I used to have an ATI 9800 pro 128 MB but my friend and i swapped because my old 9800 pro would make my computer fail hardlock more than this 9600 does, althought the 9600 still does the problem often as well.
Anyways, the problem is I will be playing some games or something like that and all of a sudden my video card will make a computer startup noise or a recharge noise that is quite loud and a few seconds afterwords my computer will completely hardlock. I cant do anything and i have to physically restart my computer with the power button. I'm pretty sure it's not a heat issue and I think it has something to do with VPU recovery. My computer runs fine with the onboard video so im positive its the video card. I've checked temperature of my video card only seconds before it hardlocks and it is around 35 degrees C so it can't be a heat issue. It seems to hardlock less when the games I am playing are on a lesser quality resolution but I havnt confirmed if that has much to do with it. Worse graphic settings or highest it will still hardlock. I'm sure it isnt a malfunctioning problem because I sent the 9800 into the ATI repair shop and when I got the card back it my computer was still hardlocking. So I assumed ATI didnt fix my card so I wanted to see if my friends comp wouldn't work with it as well, well it has been running in his comp fine for over 4 months and I have his 9600. I have tried disabling VPU recovery but the problem still occurs, if anyone has any tips or ideas on anything I can try my ears and eyes are open, mind you the 9800 worked in my computer fine for 2 years.
Ive posted here before about the same issue a while back and have continued to have the same problem. Well I'm using an ATI 9600 XT 256 MB and I used to have an ATI 9800 pro 128 MB but my friend and i swapped because my old 9800 pro would make my computer fail hardlock more than this 9600 does, althought the 9600 still does the problem often as well.
So this has happened with both video cards? More likely to be a chipset issue then, possibly a faulty AGP bus.
Can you describe this "whine"? If it sounds mechanical, it could be your GPU fan spinning up in an effort to keep the card cool. If not, it could be something more serious...
35C seems too cool for any card by ATI that starts with a '9'. I'm positive that 9800's had heat issues, and I would assume 9600's do to. It's still possible that your card is having heat issues, and simply reporting the temperature wrong. Try running the computer with the case open and (preferably) a house fan blowing air into the case. See if your computer freezes. Also, next time it crashes, open of the case and feel the heatsink of the video card with your own hands.
If it's got a modern replacement cooler then it should be possible. Modern high-end cards can get those kind of temps when idle with a decent cooler. If it's got a stock cooler then you're probably right that it's actually too cool for a 9600.
To be honest I agree with Rookie, your mobo is most likely knackered and you can't repair that kind of damage.
My guess would be , if your getting extreemly high pitched sound, assuming its not a fan winding up from heat, that you have a serious voltage problem, and a squeeling sound short burst off one in anycase sounds like a very small capacitor struggling for ampage, its a similar sound to the sound you get upon turning a tv on.
If it is a voltage shortage, its onlt a matter of time till you fry something, l would be guessing at an overvoltage to the graphic's card, overclocked is it ? lts the video card or video card overheating from your discription, does your case have as good an air flow set up as your mates ?
Can you use the ATI tool to set up fan speeds at the right temps ?
set the fan to go 100 percent at 42 deg, 80 percent for anything under and test it, using the ATI cube.
It shouldnt go over 72 deg no matter what,[at around 78 deg the insulation looses integrety] if it does shut the cube down, average running temp under extreem load will be around 50 to 68 deg.
These card will run cool, when you start your pc, the chip temps are around 15 degrees, they run fine, under a 3d render, they wind up get warm, if you have one running at 30 odd degs under load , is probably got fried pipes in it, and is basicly rendered useless in most cases, l do have an x800 that still runs desktop but not 3d apps because of 4 pipes that died from 16, there is a good chance it is the agp bus slot too though, they are a common stuff up, thats a new mobo, basicly, test your card under the ATI tool if you can, one other thing, get two different temperature reading programs, to check its accurate, ati tool is one, make sure your drivers are up to date, they can really stuff your day, if your VPU is being engaged its got to be video card related.
Got any other video cards you can test out ?
Well, it does make the sound like when I turn on my tv almost, its like an electrical charge up, and i dont think its a heat issue because my video card like never goes past 50 degrees C. And when I'm using my onboard video it doesnt have the error but obviously the graphics suck lol, but m computer doesnt hardlock. Running games in windows seems to help but the problem does occur just not as often. If ATI Tool is the key and setting the fan speed and all that, instrutions on how to do that would be awesome.
Download the ATI tool from the ati site, then run it , click on settings, then up the top find the menu for fan controls,my settings are as follows, above 33C / 51% fan speed, 36/60 , 40/70 , 45/79 , 49/90 , 52/100, im in north qld australia, so it gets warm up here, l have no problems , even overclocked 50 odd htz in summer its fine, so give it a run, when you have set your temp/fan settings, run the 3d cube, run it for at least 8 minutes, it will warm up the card to its pretty much max in a full on hard rendering 3d game, which bf2 isnt really, it shouldnt run over 68deg really, though some do run a bit warmer, up to 72 is safe over that its likely to have the gpu recovery kick in.
The ATI tool was if l remember correctly designed for the x800 range cards but has a setting mode for 9800's and 9600's and 9550' l think.
If its not the card being faulty, it may be just one of those things where your particular set up, for whatever the tiny detail difference is, just doesnt like it, and finding it is a software nightmare or even a hardware nightmare.
Can you check your voltage readings in your bios, make sure all the voltages are correct and not fluxuating ?
Do you have a spare power supply to switch and check ?
Is it a lack of power to the video card ?
The 3d chip [ gpu] can sucky sucky some juice and its sister ram too.
Have you checked its set on x8 and not x4 bandwidth ?
l had a sound similar to a tv starting once, it was a dimm of ram frying, and the pc locking up, then going beep beep beep beep beep on re boot, until the stick was found and removed, try running the card with a stick of ram out even, see if your getting some sort of addressing problem.
Give that ATI tool a working out might solve the problem, good luck......
Yea, im still havin problems after trying to change the ATItool settings and I just dont know why I would just randomly get problems like this after 1 year and a half or so of solid performance. After no hardware changes or anything and it just starts acting up just mystifies me. What is that bandwith you are talkin about, i've never heard about that, and ive looked at my Power to my video card and it seems pretty stead and i havnt noticed any fluctuation.
This site is part of the Defy Media Gaming network
The best serving of video game culture, since 2001. Whether you're looking for news, reviews, walkthroughs, or the biggest collection of PC gaming files on the planet, Game Front has you covered. We also make no illusions about gaming: it's supposed to be fun. Browse gaming galleries, humor lists, and honest, short-form reporting. Game on!
Tech Discussion 
Problems with Video card 
Linear Mode
