Problem w/new 9600pro, please help!

[eliu]

Hello everyone,
I'm a regular at anandtech forums...but definitely new to the ocforums (though I read oc.com).

Anyway, I purchased a 9600pro that arrived this past Friday. It was to replace a Geforce 2 Pro that recently failed on me. I did not get to try it out right away, as I just had a stick of RAM fail on me, somehow resulting in MBR corruption (don't even ask, I have no idea). So I formatted & reinstalled windows.

So then...more troubles. Installed cat 4.4s, and tried to fire up Far Cry. It crashed in about 20 seconds. Same with Medieval: Total War (well, this one lasted more like 1 minute). Since then, I've tried several other drivers--Omega 4.4, cat 3.2, 3.7, and 3.10. All result in about the same problem (crashing).

However, the card is stable in windows--no problems there.

Background info on my computer/card:
300W Enlight PS
Thunderbird 1.33
Epox 8K7A
256mb crucial pc2100 (was 512, but 1 stick failed)
Maxtor 40gb & 120gb drives
Liteon 32x12x40
Creative Audigy
Intel NIC
128mb 9600 pro...purchased from newegg, see here.

Note: According to MBM5, my voltages are all above their rated values, except for the 5V line, which is 4.98 idle, 4.88-4.91 at full load. Previously with the Geforce2 installed, my load #s could drop as low as 4.75...not sure why this is the case.

So...yeah, I don't really know what's wrong

Could it be my PS? If it is, why don't I have any problems in windows...and why would it crash in low-intensity situations (like on the overworld map in Medieval...no fancy stuff there).

Incompatibility with motherboard?

Overheating? (I don't think this is the case--other overheating problems I've seen don't exhibit these particular symptoms. Moreover, in windows and "during" games, the heatsink does not feel noticeably hot, though the back of the card is warm.)

Things I could try later:
1) Create a 2nd windows partition and test video on a completely fresh install.
2) Remove card from my box & try it on a friend's computer.

^^Note that I would prefer to avoid those...

Anyhow, thanks in advance Please help me turn this $112 headache into something I can game with! lol

-Eric

 

[sLk]

Did you completely remove all bits of Nvidia drivers with the Nvidia card still installed before installing the ATI card and drivers?

edit - I just re-read and saw you re-formatted. nm.

Try the card in another computer.

 

[eliu]

Ok, I will try it in another machine as soon as my mom gets done doing her work.

But, in the meantime...another question/observation:

Radeon 9600pros are 400/600 right...? Because I just checked in AIDA 32, and it says 400/400 there. Windows reports the DAC at 400 as well. I d/led and installed radlinker; it says 400/400 too! Is this an indication that I've received a rotten egg? The card was purchased from newegg, manufactured by a company called Info-Tek (newegg carries several of their products--all ATi); see link above. The card is listed on newegg's site as 400/600, Radeon 9600 pro. Should I keep testing the card (i.e. on another computer) or should I just say it's screwed up and RMA?

EDIT: I just tried the card in another machine...and it worked there! Wow...what's wrong with my machine though? Could it be that my AGP slot was damaged when the Geforce2 pro died?