9800GX2 Crashing

[atomicvai]

Anyone else have issues with the 9800GX2 locking up etc while playing games? I've only played a couple different games but it's done it in CoD4, Counterstirke and Test Drive Unlimited... I also originally had an XFX one before this eVGA which seemed to do the same thing... fresh install of Vista 64 with SP1. Running 174.53 march 25 drivers.

[MrWizard6600]

psu?

[atomicvai]

Doubt it.

[TheGoat Eater]

I would venture to say it was your PSU - you have the recommended minimum PSU wattage - well 20W over but I would still look at your choice of PSU with that monster of a card

[atomicvai]

I threw in a 750 with the same issues to check that. I've also run xfire 3870x2's off this PS with zero issues.

There's also a Quad SLI 9800GX2 review on another site that used the same PS for their setup with no issues.

Got me puzzled.

[QuadSLI]

Try the Driver 174.74 and tune up your GX2 fan speed.

[Talonman]

Good advice QuadSLI ...
Could be heat related.
How well does your PC's case circulate air?

Any chance of something on the back of the mobo shorting out 2 pins?

A backplate shorting out could make 2 different GPU's act up...

PSU was going to be my first guess, but he did swap them already.

[QuadSLI]

Good advice QuadSLI ...
Could be heat related.
How well does your PC's case circulate air?

Any chance of something on the back of the mobo shorting out 2 pins?

A backplate shorting out could make 2 different GPU's act up...

PSU was going to be my first guess, but he did swap them already.

I had the same situation before when my water pump went dead

[atomicvai]

Nothing on the back shorting out, I haven't put the side back on my case since installing the card, have had the fan speed running at 85% since I installed and also had a room fan blowing across the open case to make sure no air was pooling.

I've popped my 8800GT back in and all seems fine again, so I guess I'll just return the9800GX2, though I would rather keep it... the thing is smokin fast when it's not crashing. I just don't want to get stuck with the card if there's something up with it.

[xMrBunglex]

i just wanted to stick up for your power supply. my rig is all being run by a 600W power supply without issue. E8400 @ 4.0, two gigs of RAM, dual 3870's, i used to have a sound card in there, dual DVD drives, three hard drives, and six case fans all being run by my little PSU.

most of you guys with 1,000W power supplies got way more than you need.

[atomicvai]

Memory timings.... had my memory way too aggressive for its rated speed... I had the same freeze issue with my 8800 when I popped it in after playing for a bit... also went to the beta 174.74 drivers and seems to be solid now... hopefully... 1 more day to return for full refund.

[Guacamole]

Yeah my GX2 gets really hot after gaming for a while and everything goes into slow motion or stops but its definitely a heat issue even with the fan blasting 100% my card gets around 80 degrees or more that can't be good.. I then try to scan for artifacts in ATI tool and I artifact like crazy at stock so definitely heat issue for me...

[atomicvai]

My temps cruise around 80 degrees but I don't get any slowdowns etc from the heat. I leave the fan at 80%. I also leave the side off my case and mounted a fan to pull air away from the internal exhaust of the card.

I sure hope someone comes out with a decent aftermarket cooler for this thing though.

Been a day since I reduced my ddr2 timings and have had no more issues with freezing etc.

[Origin_Unknown]

set everything back to default in the bios and see if it still does it?

[atomicvai]

Yes if I go back to 1066 @ 5-5-5-12 at Performance rating 6 I get the old issues... was definitely a ram issue for me. I can probably tighten them a bit now, but everything is working, so I'm leaving it alone.

[cantankerous]

Wow, not liking the sound of the heat even at 100% fan speed on the card. Once you max out the fan speed on the card there is very little else you can do to keep it cool as long as you plan to keep it in your current case setup. Summer isn't even upon us yet where ambients can rise as little as 10c which is will shoot the temps of the card through the roof. I have a hard time keeping my Ultra under 80c in a hot room with the fan at 100%. I am not looking forward to keeping a GX2 under that temp as well. The fact that all that heat gets dumped back into your case and not out the back like it does on my Ultra also leaves me quite worried.

[SoulsCollective]

@ OP - install RivaTuner and bring up the temp graph chart. Leave it running, fire up COD4, play for a half-hour or so, and then switch over and see what the load temps are like.

[Guacamole]

Yeah I defintiely think some of these cards are suffering from excessive heat dump but I am happy to hear that some people are not suffering from slow downs like I am it is disheartening....

[Scubar]

You sure its not overheating LOL. After all it is a heat monster.

[Bullu$]

What about the PCIE frequency in the bios?
There was something with a 9600gt and a crystal frequency,don't know if the 9800gx2 also has that.

[atomicvai]

Nope the 9600 is different in how it generates its frequency.

[Jon Boy Deluxe]

Yes if I go back to 1066 @ 5-5-5-12 at Performance rating 6 I get the old issues... was definitely a ram issue for me. I can probably tighten them a bit now, but everything is working, so I'm leaving it alone.

So was it ram timings? Is this issue resloved? You, Guacomole and a few others have issues with this gpu and it is putting me off buying one...

Edit: Nevermind. Read in another thread it was ram timings. My bad.

[slugzkea]

use riva tuner and set your fan speed to constant 70-75%.

make sure your case has very good air flow, and room temp is everything

[Charles Wirth]

I have been going through the same thing with my card, I reloaded the OS, replaced the CPU, memory, downclocked to stock speed, installed an extra fan on the VC and tried different drivers.

I replaced the GX2 back to the Ultra and no more BSOD.

First started seeing constant lockups with Kane's Wrath and BF2.

My card was not overheating.

[dinos22]

charles
is it driver related then?