Need help asap, memory corruption on video card

Hello there folks, ive been away long enough, been really busy, anyways, today i was playing my COD4 on a saturday night and i saw some red artifacts on the screen and the game froze for a bit, then got okay....then after a while, i saw artifacts again and they didnt go....tried to take off card, cleaned up heatsink n fan, now its all glitchy on boot too, the whole screen filled with greens and reds....cant play jack on built-in card, its probably over heating, coz i think i can smell the silicon/metal smell when i smell the card, it wasnt even overclocked much, anyways, any hope? or new card it is?

Sounds like a new card:(

sorry to say, it sounds like you cooked the memory :(
If you're getting the corruption in the POST and BIOS then it's pritty much had it.

Although it could of been heat or "400w Generic PSU" they are the two most probable causes. :rolleyes:

Just to concur I'm afraid it sounds like the VRAM is shot, happens sometimes.

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Originally Posted by Pob255

If you're getting the corruption in the POST and BIOS then it's pritty much had it.

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And yeah he's right, if you get the problem before Windows is even loaded then it's even more likely. If it was purely in Windows it might have came down to something else like drivers.

Crap a doodle do! Anyways, someone suggested I get the Bios flashed so I have sent it for that...lets see otherwise I might have to go with 8600GT :(

Hunain! Welcome back :)

Get a 9800gtx, they are cheap now :)

Usually Filled Polygons, triangles etc..... are GPU related.
Sparklies are memory related.

Sounds like the GPU is overheating. Might be worth reseating the heatsink with some AS5.

Hey guys, thanks, and thanks SiM...i was busy with exams and then some career things going on...Anyways, the 7600gt came back, they said the processor and everything else is fine, some IC is not functioning properly, so basically they said if an old card comes along, they might be able to replace some IC and make mine work, so its not much of a hope, thanks again, for a low budget im looking at an xfx 8600gt with 1GB vram, its around 55 quid, I just want to know is that better than my 7600GT? plus will i notice any differences between the 1gb, 512 and 256 cards respectively?

On a 15 inch screen there will probably be little difference between 256mb, 512mb and 1gb.
The 8600gt would is a bit faster... than a 7600gt, but at £55 its not a good buy at the moment, look at a 8800gs ot a 9600gt or even the 256mb 8800gt which won't cost much more...

Actually if that's the card from Scan then it's not that bad a buy.
it will be faster than your 7600gt but not by much, last I saw the 8600gt was running around the level of the 7900gs
The 1gb is a sort of silly pointless marketing hype, it will not have the power needed to do anything that requires that much memory although as a 8600gt with GDDR3 that's not a bad price and not worth paying more for a 256mb version. (the only one cheaper on scan is GDDR2)

While your not going to find a 9600gt or 256mb 8800gt for £55 they are worth looking at for a low cost upgrade. (don't bother with the 8800gs, the 9600gt is better and the same price) But we are talking £75-100 which is nearly 50%-100% more
Another worth looking at is the ATi HD3850 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/139617 @£65

Given your budget, I'd say go for the HD3750. If you can save up a bit and increase your budget some, an 8800GT is a killer bargain (particularly the 512MB version, but that may be out of your reach for the time being).

Another alternative might be just getting a dirt-cheap card now to get you by, and save up for something better (such as the aforementioned 512MB 8800GT or maybe even a HD4850, or something in between). Personally, this is what I would do, but that's just me.

If you're after a budget card with excellent performance I'd suggest:

7900gs £39.99
8600gts £39.96

Prices don't include postage so it'll be around £3-5 dependning which one you'll go for.

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Originally Posted by Mithrandir

If you're after a budget card with excellent performance I'd suggest:

7900gs £39.99
8600gts £39.96

Prices don't include postage so it'll be around £3-5 dependning which one you'll go for.

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Of those 2 the 8600GTS should be faster and cooler.

The 1GB 8600 cards normally have very slow memory on, the 256MB ones work out faster as well as cheaper.

The 1gb card on scan has the same 1600MHz GDDR3 as standard 8600gt speeds
However That 8600gts is a great find esp at that price :)

256mb is fine for 1400x900 so I think we have a winner.

For under £50 my money would be on the 8800GS (384mb) for £45.90 - HERE :)

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Originally Posted by Mithrandir

For under £50 my money would be on the 8800GS (384mb) for £45.90 - HERE :)

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That is excellent value for money!!