Upgrading my Video Card - Page 2

Erragon · July 11, 2007, 08:44 AM

yeah i recently upgraded my video card last week, at the moment i only have an amd athlon 3500 + Ht something something (i dunno what the actual thing is) with a pci-express slot and a 550watt power supply with a 12v 38a power rating. I fitted a nice Nvidea Geforce 8800 GTS over clocked (BFG model) and my god it's sweet i can play WoW on full settings with frame rates averaging at 40-50. Now i need to buy a new sli - friendly motherboard so i can fit in two of these babies and have my pc prepared for the new Unreal Tournament game

NewfieDave · July 11, 2007, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ggreen67

If WoW is all you play I would take the card back and get yourself a $100 VC and bank the remaining cash.

WoW is all I play right now, but part of the reason I don't play other games is that my old video card was so terrible. Now that I have the capability I'm going to try expanding my horizons a bit. A friend is loaning me Oblivion to see how it runs with my new spec.

singlemalt · July 11, 2007, 08:47 AM

Happy birthday. The problem is getting the right match for your vid card and your mobo. I can only get about three to four years out of a system before needing a complete upgrade.

I agree with the previous posters that you should upgrade your RAM if you can. It should be inexpensive. Upgrading parts typically leads to necessary upgrades for other parts.

It's kind of like a car. There comes a time when you cannot afford to fix and upgrade anymore. When you hit that breaking point, it's time for a new machine.

NewfieDave · July 11, 2007, 08:05 PM

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

I've been pulling out my hair all day over this "black screen" issue. I can't play for more than 5 minutes (and sometimes less) without having to hard reset.

Here's some more information and hopefully somebody can help me out...

Motherboard Spec: ASUS K8V-MX 754pin with VIA VT8237R Plus chipset (just downloaded up to date drivers for my chipset)

Things I've tried that haven't worked:

Setting my in-game video settings to the minimum
/console uifaster 0
All possible BIOS configurations for my AGP slot
All available ATI Catalyst drivers from version 6.6 to 7.6
Adding -opengl to the shortcut command line
Deleted my Cache, Interface, WDB, and WTF folders
Verified my DirectX 9.0c

I've also run WoW in window mode with an internal temperature monitor and it's constant between 56-57 degrees Celsius. Overheating is not the issue.

Anybody have any suggestions about what I could try next? I've already sent an email to Blizzard's tech support and it's being processed.

thorlock · July 11, 2007, 09:32 PM

Most of these problems are driver related or temperature related. Are the fans on the vid card and cpu turning? Test temp by taking the side off your case and pointing a fan into the case. If it still crashes, it could be the drivers. If you have the newest drivers and have uninstalled them and reinstalled them at least once, try installing some OLDER versions (not too old).

If all that doesn't work, try turning down the speed of your memory in your bios.

If that doesn't work, try posting in the WOW tech forum. I've seen some good stuff in there.

If all that doesn't work, maybe your card is bad.

Sorry.

Stanis · July 11, 2007, 09:36 PM

If you didnt yet, install the hyperion 4 in 1 driver for the agp 3.0.
Just the agp part should do.

http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx...D=1&CatID=1070

The link should take you to the right page for your motherboard. I used to have a similar problem a while back and I had to install windows XP and get rid of windows 98. If nothing else work, switch the card for an n-vidia.

-Stanis

NewfieDave · July 12, 2007, 04:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thorlock

Most of these problems are driver related or temperature related. Are the fans on the vid card and cpu turning? Test temp by taking the side off your case and pointing a fan into the case. If it still crashes, it could be the drivers. If you have the newest drivers and have uninstalled them and reinstalled them at least once, try installing some OLDER versions (not too old).

If all that doesn't work, try turning down the speed of your memory in your bios.

If that doesn't work, try posting in the WOW tech forum. I've seen some good stuff in there.

If all that doesn't work, maybe your card is bad.

Sorry.

I've done all that except for pointing a fan into the case but I've already established that overheating is not the issue. WoW was only pushing my temperature to 56-57 degrees Celsius and I had no problems when my card reached 63 degree Celsius during a 3D diagnostic.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stanis

If you didnt yet, install the hyperion 4 in 1 driver for the agp 3.0.
Just the agp part should do.

http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx...D=1&CatID=1070

The link should take you to the right page for your motherboard. I used to have a similar problem a while back and I had to install windows XP and get rid of windows 98. If nothing else work, switch the card for an n-vidia.

-Stanis

I installed the VIA Hyperion Pro Driver Package. Should I use the 4 in 1 Driver instead?

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to stop by my local retailer who sold me the card and ask him what he thinks I could do. I'll also check on trading this card in for an NVIDIA seeing as most people I know have been saying they have no problems with them.

It's also crossed my mind that this could theoretically be the result of the patch released on Tuesday, since I didn't patch until after I installed the card. I'm going to try my old card again to make sure it works.

NewfieDave · July 12, 2007, 11:45 AM

MASSIVE PROPS TO STANIS!

The 4 in 1 drivers have solved my problem. WoW is now both pretty and crash-free

Devicus · July 12, 2007, 12:50 PM

I'm running it on an X1800XT with 512mb and it's preeetty. But it still chugs a tiny bit when I'm in areas with a large draw distance or lots going on. But I have maxed everything but res (which is still pretty big) and I run 2 screens at 1450x1050. However with an X1600 you'll get (in the very least) good performance at moderate settings. Or moderate performance at highish settings.

Bear in mind this same rig slays oblivion at max everything, windowed, going wow can be pretty heavy on any PC.

July 11, 2007, 08:44 AM	#11 (permalink)
Erragon Newly Registered User Character Info Erragon 70 Blood Elf Warlock Anachronos Euro PvE Guild: Evolution Profile: Blizzard Armory Talent Spec: 6/6/49	Re: Upgrading my Video Card yeah i recently upgraded my video card last week, at the moment i only have an amd athlon 3500 + Ht something something (i dunno what the actual thing is) with a pci-express slot and a 550watt power supply with a 12v 38a power rating. I fitted a nice Nvidea Geforce 8800 GTS over clocked (BFG model) and my god it's sweet i can play WoW on full settings with frame rates averaging at 40-50. Now i need to buy a new sli - friendly motherboard so i can fit in two of these babies and have my pc prepared for the new Unreal Tournament game

July 11, 2007, 08:47 AM	#13 (permalink)
singlemalt Member Character Info singlemalt 70 Human Warlock Gnomeregan US PvE Profile: Blizzard Armory Talent Spec: 43/7/11	Re: Upgrading my Video Card Happy birthday. The problem is getting the right match for your vid card and your mobo. I can only get about three to four years out of a system before needing a complete upgrade. I agree with the previous posters that you should upgrade your RAM if you can. It should be inexpensive. Upgrading parts typically leads to necessary upgrades for other parts. It's kind of like a car. There comes a time when you cannot afford to fix and upgrade anymore. When you hit that breaking point, it's time for a new machine.

July 11, 2007, 08:05 PM	#14 (permalink)
NewfieDave Member Character Info Conchrot 70 Undead Warlock Anub'arak US PvP Guild: Revolving Door Profile: Blizzard Armory	Re: Upgrading my Video Card AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I've been pulling out my hair all day over this "black screen" issue. I can't play for more than 5 minutes (and sometimes less) without having to hard reset. Here's some more information and hopefully somebody can help me out... Motherboard Spec: ASUS K8V-MX 754pin with VIA VT8237R Plus chipset (just downloaded up to date drivers for my chipset) Things I've tried that haven't worked: Setting my in-game video settings to the minimum /console uifaster 0 All possible BIOS configurations for my AGP slot All available ATI Catalyst drivers from version 6.6 to 7.6 Adding -opengl to the shortcut command line Deleted my Cache, Interface, WDB, and WTF folders Verified my DirectX 9.0c I've also run WoW in window mode with an internal temperature monitor and it's constant between 56-57 degrees Celsius. Overheating is not the issue. Anybody have any suggestions about what I could try next? I've already sent an email to Blizzard's tech support and it's being processed.

July 11, 2007, 09:32 PM	#15 (permalink)
thorlock Member Character Info Khanlock 70 Orc Warlock Chromaggus PvP Profile: Blizzard Armory Talent Spec: 43/7/11	Re: Upgrading my Video Card Most of these problems are driver related or temperature related. Are the fans on the vid card and cpu turning? Test temp by taking the side off your case and pointing a fan into the case. If it still crashes, it could be the drivers. If you have the newest drivers and have uninstalled them and reinstalled them at least once, try installing some OLDER versions (not too old). If all that doesn't work, try turning down the speed of your memory in your bios. If that doesn't work, try posting in the WOW tech forum. I've seen some good stuff in there. If all that doesn't work, maybe your card is bad. Sorry.

July 11, 2007, 09:36 PM	#16 (permalink)
Stanis Member Character Info Stanis 70 Gnome Warlock deathwing Euro PvP Talent Spec: 5/45/11	Re: Upgrading my Video Card If you didnt yet, install the hyperion 4 in 1 driver for the agp 3.0. Just the agp part should do. http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx...D=1&CatID=1070 The link should take you to the right page for your motherboard. I used to have a similar problem a while back and I had to install windows XP and get rid of windows 98. If nothing else work, switch the card for an n-vidia. -Stanis

July 12, 2007, 11:45 AM	#18 (permalink)
NewfieDave Member Character Info Conchrot 70 Undead Warlock Anub'arak US PvP Guild: Revolving Door Profile: Blizzard Armory	Re: Upgrading my Video Card MASSIVE PROPS TO STANIS! The 4 in 1 drivers have solved my problem. WoW is now both pretty and crash-free

July 12, 2007, 12:50 PM	#19 (permalink)
Devicus Member Character Info Devicus 80 Gnome Warlock thunderhorn Euro PvE Guild: Ultra Cohesion Profile: Blizzard Armory	Re: Upgrading my Video Card I'm running it on an X1800XT with 512mb and it's preeetty. But it still chugs a tiny bit when I'm in areas with a large draw distance or lots going on. But I have maxed everything but res (which is still pretty big) and I run 2 screens at 1450x1050. However with an X1600 you'll get (in the very least) good performance at moderate settings. Or moderate performance at highish settings. Bear in mind this same rig slays oblivion at max everything, windowed, going wow can be pretty heavy on any PC.