[Ashura]

I have a BFG Ti4200 64mb 8x card which is new as I got it after RMAing a defective one. A few times, while either playing games or after watching movies for a long period of time, the monitor just stops and gets nothing from the computer. If I restart the computer immediately, it doesnt work and I have to wait about 30 seconds or so for it to start working again. But when I leave the side panel of the case open and play or watch movies for a long period, the card is working fine. No sudden shut downs or anything.

I'm a n00b and dont really know much about Video Cards except how to pop them into the AGP slot and install the drivers :P. I wanetd to ask if this is a heat problem. Is the inside of my case too hot or something? BTW, my case is a Raidmax 350W one with 1 fan on the side:

http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage....156-106-07.JPG

Any help would be appreciated.

[Kenshiro]

Give us the spec of your computer and we probably can figure out what is going on.

[Ashura]

ECS 648FXA
P4 2.4C
256mb Apacer PC3200
Norcent 52x24x52x CDRW
LiteOn 16x DVD
Mitsumi Floppy Drive
Hitachi 80GB HD
64mb 8x Ti4200

[Kenshiro]

Personally, I owned an AMD system and am not familar with the Pentium setup.

Did you overclock your CPU, memory, or video card? Check the temp of your mobo and cpu. I believe that Pentium CPUs usually idle around 34 - 37 degree celcius stock.

Anyone out there knows how to check the temperature of video card????

[Ashura]

Nope, no OCing done so far. And the CPU is Idling at 35C. Does the mobo have a different temperature? Also, my case is open at this time just to let you know.

[Kenshiro]

I suppose that you build that computer yourself. Did you install the driver for the chipset in your mobo? If you didn't please do that first. That could be your problem. Keep us updated.

[Ashura]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I did. AGP drivers and Nvidia drivers were both installed.

[Kenshiro]

Now, try this method.

go to control panels and uninstall your video driver.

Use Nasty File Remover (or equavlient software) to remove the remaining nvidia files.

Reboot the computer.

Install the latest nvidia driver 53.03.

You can get all the above drivers and programs from Guru3D.com. This method ensures that you have a clean installation.

Almost forgot. Make sure that you set the Bios correct to see your video card (e.g AGP apeture size...etc).

If you are still having problems, RMA this one and get a new card.

[Ashura]

Unfortunately, that doesnt work. But I have noticed something new. The USB Modem I have attached to my comp suddenly restarts whenever the vid card shuts down. That cant be normal can it? Why would it suddenly restart just because my vid card stopped? Could it be that its not my Ti4200 thats causing the problem?

Also, I dont know if this is true or not but should the computer shut down after pressing the power button even if the vid card stopped working? It doesnt...

Thats all that I can add. Is it still my vid card thats the problem or something else?

[Kenshiro]

do you have another video card now? If you do, use it. Or you can use the onboard video. this way you can really find out if your video card is the problem.

You can also remove all other components on your computer, except the video card, and try it again. There might be a chance that there is a driver comflict.

My guess is that the problem might be your mobo also.

[Ashura]

Sorry for the delay, I was away for a bit. I popped in my old Gainward MX440 and the same problem occurs after a while, so I guess you're right and it isnt my Ti4200. But would the mobo also make my modem restart like that when the computer and vid card just stops?

[i am nude]

bottom line, your case temp is too hot, install more fans

[Ashura]

Ah, I see. I thought that might've been it but I didn't know if too high of a case temp would result in these specfic problems. Thanks for your help.

[theflyingrat]

I've got a really hard time believing that this would be caused by case temps. Do you know how many (yes, even newer) PCs with much 'warmer' hardware than that in definitely more poorly-ventilated cases than that work just fine?

If your CPU only idles at 35C, your case temp is definitely below that. I can't think of a component that would fail at that temperature. I have a similar setup (heat-wise...) and I don't have a single fan installed in my case. Idling, the temp stays around 37C in the case. Never misses a beat, either. I'd be looking at 1) power issues and 2) another faulty component - possibly a motherboard... overheating piece of circuitry on the motherboard, perhaps? Either way, something's b0rked - no good component should fail at those temps. Adding more fans would be a band-aid treatment, at best.

[Ashura]

Ah, my lack of knowledge when it comes to this stuff is so aggravating. :P

So its not my case temp and could either be a part of my mobo overheating or a bad Power supply. Is there any way to tell which? And if it is a mobo problem, am I going to have to replace the entire board or would it be possible for me to fix it?

I think I might as well post another annoyance of mine as it might have something to do with the cause of this one. When the Windows XP loading screen comes up during the boot, it sort of goes through different levels of brightness instead of slowly appearing in 2 seconds. But when I unplug my DVD drive, it slowly appears quickly as its supposed to. Is this related to my PS or mobo?

And it seems like this topic is pretty much off of Video Cards. How do I move it into General Hardware as I dont really know what the problem is. *doesnt see a move button anywhere*

[Kenshiro]

how many components do you have hooked up to your PS? If you have at least 250W rated PS, you should not have problems running 2 CD-roms and hard drive.

This is what I will do to check if the PS is good enough. Only connect the fans, 1 Cd-rom and the hard drive to your PS. If you have less components running, you take up less power and generate less heat.

If this does not solve your problem, I will guess you might have a bad mobo. If it does, you probably have a lousy PS.

[mrgreenjeans]

If the problem only occurs when the case is closed, I think it's obvious that the issue is heat. Have you check the fan on the card and make sure it's clean? I would add some additional cooling to the case and go from there.
The part about the modem shutting down makes me think of an IRQ conflict. Have you checked to see if your video and modem are sharing an IRQ?

[i am nude]

Originally posted by mrgreenjeans
If the problem only occurs when the case is closed, I think it's obvious that the issue is heat. Have you check the fan on the card and make sure it's clean? I would add some additional cooling to the case and go from there.
The part about the modem shutting down makes me think of an IRQ conflict. Have you checked to see if your video and modem are sharing an IRQ?

thank you for backing me up.

since the problem is time related and only occures after long periods of heavy use, and only when the case is closed. this is obviously a cooling issue.

Also, the issue with your modem is probably as mrgreenjeans said. USB ports often share IRQ's with the agp port. this should be a non issue when the card doesn't overheat though.