Freezing Games - Strange Colours - Help!

[Logan]

Hello!

I was having problems with some games. At first I thought it was the PSU but then I had my doubts and I'm pretty certain its the graphics card which is the problem. Anyway, heres a photo of the problem when it happens:



To explain the above a bit more. Basically, that happens. I can't get out of it. Sound still plays then after about a minute the screen goes black and I have to reset the PC.

Initially I thought temperatures. So I installed the Arctic Cooling S1 and Turbo Fans. This seemed to help. Unreal Tournament hasn't frozen on me again since. However I recently installed LOTRO and after approximately 20mins playing, I got the freeze you see above.

Now I used NVMonitor to log the events and I don't think the problem is temperatures as you can see from this extract from the log:

Just before loading LOTRO:


Time of crash:


GPU peaked at 47'C, time of crash it was 46'C. For a Inno3D Geforce 8800GT 512MB that's pretty cool right?

So I'm left scratching my head a little bit. The card is not being overclocked - at least not by myself. Although the Inno3D Geforce 8800GT I have, is the Overclock edition, which is set at:

Core - 650 Mhz
Mem - 950 Mhz

Is the factory overclock settings producing this problem and should I knock it down some? If so, how much by? Note: This only appears to be happening, or has happened on a selection of games i.e. UT3 and LOTRO. I can play WoW or Crysis for hours without a problem.

Or is it something complete different? Your help would be grately appreciated.

Note. System details to left <---

Many thanks
Chris

[Blitzen]

To be fair, your PSU isnt too clever for a start.

Does this do all this from post onwards? If so then the card is effed. The memory is over-heating or just dead.

If it only does it in game or 3d apps then the chances are its either:
a). The poor PSU <<-- For under &#163;40 i wouldnt be using any Hiper PSU, let alone that one with the good set of components you have. Take a look at their specs on the website. They just dont add up.
b). Driver issue

[Logan]

To be fair, your PSU isnt too clever for a start.

I appreciate that, but I've asked the question before about the PSU and there was a mixed response but generally the wattage for the system should be sufficient. Though I am looking to replace the PSU at some point near future, as it is a small concern.

Does this do all this from post onwards? If so then the card is effed. The memory is over-heating or just dead.

No. I can boot into Windows Vista fine. Its never happened to me outside of a game, and it only appears to happen on certain games. In a 2D environment it seems to be fine.

If it only does it in game or 3d apps then the chances are its either:
a). The poor PSU
b). Driver issue

Only in game, but NOT every game. I can play WoW or even Crysis for hours without a problem. Would that still point towards either of the above?

Thanks for your reply.

[pauldarkside]

A mate of mine recently had his Hiper go belly-up on him - can't beleive he actually purchased it in the first place. It's worth spending a more on a quality product considering what you want from it.

Have you checked it's not a driver issue?

[Logan]

Cheers. Yeah PSU replacement is one of my top priorities. Its just trying to convince the missus I need one after spending &#163;600 on barebones+ lol

I'm going to test the drivers today. I'm currently running the 169.28's which are BETA's. I'll revert to the 169.25's which are WHQL release drivers and see if it still happens.

Any advice on the correct way to remove ForceWare drivers?

Many thanks.

[iranu]

I had exactly the same screen thing happen in Bioshock when I overclocked my 8800gts 512mb although it was fine in COD4 and UT3 and had run 3dmark06 and ATi Tool artifact test with no problems. It also had no issue with the nvidia control panel stability test all below 95&#176;C. Using 169.21 drivers. PSU, 480W, 12V 28A in sig.

I had a feeling it was either too high memory clock, Bioshiote (great game but flaky) or naff nvidia drivers.

I backed the memory off from 1030 to 1000 and it is fine now in Bioshock (although F8 quicksave causes crash more often than not )

In your case I would go lower than the standard clocks. If that solves it then I'd RMA the card or I'd try other drivers and see if that solves the issue.

Can you try it in another machine? If it works fine in another machine with the same games and driver then it would point to a PSU problem. 12v+1 16A and 12v+2 18A should be enough with a GT. Another reason why I dislike multi-rail PSUs.

[Blitzen]

After what you replied to OP this is 100&#37; either PSU or driver related.

If it posts and plays some games then the card definitely isnt at fault.

[oralpain]

The card could very well be shot. Looks like the memory has been damaged to me. Drivers are also worth looking into.

Another, less likely possibility is the chipset. Voltage may need to be higher, or temps may need to be lower.

As others have said, you should also consider a new PSU.

[NightshadowUK]

When my X1950XT gave up the ghost the display was messed up from the moment I hit the power button so I'm agreeing with Blitzen here, chances are it's your PSU not supplying enough power when the card requires it or it's driver issues.

[iranu]

I've only borked two cards (cross fingers touch wood) in my fat fingered meddling PC career and I'd have to say I've always seen corruption in either bios, loading or windows screen with a damaged card.

Might be worth a google to see if others are having similar problems with that driver or PSU.

[hovick]

I had the exact same problem with my 8800gt. It was related to the memory clock, backed it down 5mhz and it hasnt happened since

[Blitzen]

The card could very well be shot. Looks like the memory has been damaged to me. Drivers are also worth looking into.

Another, less likely possibility is the chipset. Voltage may need to be higher, or temps may need to be lower.

As others have said, you should also consider a new PSU.

I seriously doubt it.

When my X1950XT gave up the ghost the display was messed up from the moment I hit the power button so I'm agreeing with Blitzen here, chances are it's your PSU not supplying enough power when the card requires it or it's driver issues.

Exactly...when a card is dead, or the memory on the card is faulty, it is almost definite that you will have screen corruption like you have as soon as the power is on regardless of whether its the boot screen, bios or desktop.
The Number 1 thing to consider here (after aclean GPU driver install) is your PSU.

I had the exact same problem with my 8800gt. It was related to the memory clock, backed it down 5mhz and it hasnt happened since

IF the is your problem (which i doubt but could be) then RMA the card if it cures it. YOu say you are running at stock so no underclock should be required.

[Hunain]

by the looks of it, most probably its a faulty overclock and/or beta drivers causing the issues. You might want to knock down the mem speed and also revert back to the last final driver release.

As for the correct way to remove forceware, I simply use the uninstall softwares option from the control panel, just remove Nvidia drivers, restart, run the other setup, restart, should be fine.

Try the mem clock speed first, and then drivers, if both dont work, maybe its the PSU, Im doubtful about the PSU though as you say you can play Crysis for hours with out an issue, quite probably its a driver thing. Do let us know.

[hovick]

I seriously doubt it.



Exactly...when a card is dead, or the memory on the card is faulty, it is almost definite that you will have screen corruption like you have as soon as the power is on regardless of whether its the boot screen, bios or desktop.
The Number 1 thing to consider here (after aclean GPU driver install) is your PSU.


IF the is your problem (which i doubt but could be) then RMA the card if it cures it. YOu say you are running at stock so no underclock should be required.

I should have made it a bit clearer, I didnt underclock, i had overclocked too much so just had to back off the memory frequency. I believe this problem is simply related to memory frequency being to high for the card