Overheating Problem Grafx Card

Lightoor

Lo, Light here.
I have a MSI NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4200 with AGP8X 128mb.

Problem is :: When i play the likes of Vice City/ Red Faction II / Any hi spec game -- It just over heats and the Tower and monitor are still on -- but its a black screen.

I'm able to play the likes of cs/dod for 10 hrs straight without any problems.

I tried leaving the side off, and on failing of that, turning it onto its side so the heat rises, but to no avail.

I tried using motherboard manager to make the cpu fan go faster, but it didnt do it any good.

Any advise on the matter would be greatly apreciated.

Thanks,
- Light

logistic

You could pick yourself up a fan that sits nexts to your gfx card which would take up a pci slot that may help.

The only thing is it might take up 2 pci slots, its a tight squeeze.

Something like this: http://www.compgeeks.com/details.asp?invtid=PC-A1

CombatCow

You should still be able to pick up the ThermalTake G4 VGA-Copper Cooler in maplin,i cant remember how much i payed for it but it kept the card really cool ,the downside was that the fan was really noisy - 29dB my ass more like 40dB : http://www.thermaltake.com/products/chipset/g4.htm

Actually i think i payed E 30 for it.
check peats,it direct ( maybe ) aswell for stuff like that.

CombatCow

milltown

Originally posted by Lightoor

I'm able to play the likes of cs/dod for 10 hrs straight without any problems.

Good on ya! My arse and my eyes would hurt like hell if I did that.

astrofool

it sounds like it isn't overheating, but that there's a software problem you have when playing high spec games (needing later directx versions for example), check your drivers (www.nvidia.com) and get directx 9b from microsoft, also make sure you've installed the latest motherboard drivers.

CombatCow

I wouldent dismiss over-heating, the gfx card will be pushed harder during games like the one's he mentioned - Vice City/ Red Faction II

Where as half-life wouldent be too stressful for a gfx card.thus producing less heat.

CombatCow

Lightoor

ta for the input n' all.
I'd say the fan would work, but -- should it need it ? --

Yep, im full updated on all fronts -- appart from bios/motherboard.

I've tried getting mobo drivers and doing the floppy disk thing, but after the reboot it says its the wrong drivers, so it wouldn't work.

I'll try to get more info on my mobo type etc.

Cs for 10 hrs is possible easily enough :P think of the lans.

Or even to get up and leave it afk for a while.

Thing is, when i turn on the pc alone, without running ANY games, the underneath is allready quite hot....

Could it be power management ??

more power to the card = requires more electricity, and more electricity = more heat ?

- Light

BadCharlie

U could always underclock your card "that way it will not heat up as much". Then if the game crash's again, then u know it cant be your card thats the problem. I know its not a soloution but it might be a way in finding out if the card is the problem in the first place.

My video card used to crash big games like freelancer ect... But that was due to me over clocking the card .

Sir Random

That card should not overheat at stock speeds with the fan working, even if it's a bit warm in the case. Could it be your cpu that's overheating?
Do what BadCharlie suggests, underclock the card and see (there's usually some tweaking software with cards). If it is the card, then the heatsink may be slightly crooked or the ram may be faulty. Has it always done this? if it's still under warranty, rma it.

Lightoor

i wouldn't even have a clue where to begin with underclocking it, but it isn't the system cpu/ anything -- as i have gotten a new geforce fx 5600 256mb /me drools - and that works perfect on all games.

I'd try underclocking if there are any websites/guide lines etc -- if you have any please.

Other than that -- im all out of ideas as to what the problem is.

Dooom

i had a problem exactly like this a while back (bar a few details). and it turned out that the psu wasnt powerful enough. check that it is, and if possible see if you can get your hands on a more powerful one (if a mate has one or whatever)..

Lemming

That sounds very much like a problem that I'm having with my Gf4 Ti4600.

I could use it for a while, although any 3d rendering seriously curtailed usage, and then the graphics would corrupt. Returning to the desktop was a no-no and whilst the desktop and sound would be there, inputs would lock out and the screen would go dead.

I've attempted to fix it with one of these beasties. 7 fans - 2 blowing air right onto the MoBo from the side panel and an aluminium body to boot

If that doesn't fix it, it's a new gfx card for me

So far so good today I might add ..... went through a few hours of playing Planetside and nothing bad happened