Ugh, need help.

[Goretex]

Ok so it goes like this. At Christmas I built myself a new computer. I've had the computer working perfectly fine since then with no issues at all.

Three days ago I was playing tf2 when all of the sudden tf2 freezes and i'm stuck hearing a sound loop. I pressed ctrl alt del and after 3-4 seconds tf2 unfroze and looked like something out of a Dr Seuss book.

So yesterday and today I have been checking GPU-Z to see what my temps are at. Seeing as how the computer has worked flawlessly since I got it I didn't think that was the issue.

I played tf2 for 4-5 hours, temperature never went over 57 degrees. GPU fanspeed stayed at 37% (it usually sits at 35%). I stuck around for a long time (around 6 hours) and I got no freeze or graphic screwup.

I went to bed, played again today and after a few hours it happens again.

I noticed that everytime this happens my computer is sluggish afterwards. Alt-tabbing tf2 takes about 7-10 seconds and sometimes it hangs on a black screen and does some sound looping before it goes back in the game. Normally it just does it instantly. Other things seem like they load slower too.

After it happened yesterday I tried loading up GTA IV to see if my graphics card went nutso on me. All of my settings in gta IV reset to the lowest possible, and my GPU memory went from 497mb to 397mb.Restarting my computer fixes the problem. Tf2 works fine, all programs load fast again, GTA IV shows 497 mb of memory.


So today it happens for the third time. Closed tf2, installed driver sweeper, removed old gpu drivers and installed brand new ones. I played for a while and it happens again. This time the screen goes all wonky, I minimize it, and when tf2 comes back up it looks normal again.


So great eGO community I come to you. I don't know what the problem is. Is something i bought failing? I don't think a reformat will help, but i'm wondering if windows is causing it because i recently installed SP3 (about 2 weeks ago). IF my GPU is breaking wouldn't my entire computer lock up instead of letting me go back into the game again and keep playing?

Specs
Windows XP 32-bit
Intel e8400 CPU @3.00ghz
4GB Corsair RAM @1000
9800gtx+
Coolermaster Extreme Power Plus 500W

 

[HeavenKiller]

alright, so this is strange... did you get teh drivers from teh graphics card manufacturer or the chip manufacturer? also, you could try running memtest upon boot (you can google it and write it to a bootable cd) could be a bad sector in your ram. or potentially the ram on teh graphics card...

At the moment those are my only two relatively decent ideas...

 

[Frank Booth]

Seems like the card is failing. I would clean it well from all dust and make sure it is cooled properly. Then, if you can switch PCIe ports. But most likely it is either a heat problem or power problem, if it is not getting enough power. As circuits heat up their resistance goes up as well. If the circuit is loaded a lot then it can cause issues. If power is the issue and you stress it and get very hot it can fry it if your fuse does not go off well.

On a side now, Masterpiece looks pimp.

 

[Goretex]

alright, so this is strange... did you get teh drivers from teh graphics card manufacturer or the chip manufacturer? also, you could try running memtest upon boot (you can google it and write it to a bootable cd) could be a bad sector in your ram. or potentially the ram on teh graphics card...

At the moment those are my only two relatively decent ideas...

Got my drivers straight from the nvidia site. I'll see if i can try out a memtest tomorrow.

 

[bigbaddabooma]

its not a memory problem.memtest will do nothing.
nvidia has been slaking on drivers for the last 3 months big time..
my card has been crashing a lot since i installed the latest drivers.
I installed 1 year old DNA drivers and had not 1 crash since

 

[Goretex]

its not a memory problem.memtest will do nothing.
nvidia has been slaking on drivers for the last 3 months big time..
my card has been crashing a lot since i installed the latest drivers.
I installed 1 year old DNA drivers and had not 1 crash since

Before I installed the new drivers today I was using the old ones for at least a month and I had no issues until 3 days ago. I could try some older drivers from january or something, but i don't think that's the problem.

 

[Marxo]

It could be that the video card is failing but I think your problem lies with your power i mean 500 watts is sorta meek for that processor and 4 gigs of ram, also you have a big graphics card to. I think the problem is that since it cant give enough power to everything it has started to give less and less power to certain parts making the computer render less and become slower.

 

[jaxory]

I took a look at your PSU. It looks like a lot of people have problems with the fan on the unit going out, causing it to overheat and then eventually fail. If I were you, I would definitely check into that on the PSU. If it is starting to overheat, it will eventually start to fail (if it isn't already), which may be causing you to not have sufficient power to use your system properly. This of course may lead to what you are seeing happening.

It may not be it, but definitely look into it.

 

[DarkosCY]

my only two suggestions would be checking your gpu's thermal contacts, but like others have said, i believe the problem lies with your psu, i think your comp needs more juice, since as frank has said, higher temp = more resistance = more power dissipated as heat = less power getting to your comp components! wow, doesn't that sound like cool physics!! NOT ;p

 

[SCSwat]

I've successfully run a 9800gtx in an HP OEM system with a 480watt psu.
The error you are seeing is usually due to texture cache corruption and can also be from either
driver malfunction or corrupt texture memory, that is the memory on the graphics
card or VPU overtemp. Being that you can operate the machine for a period of time
and then have it lock up spontaneously, I'd look into the overall health of the
graphics card and temporarily swap it out with a known good card for testing
purposes.
Following that I'd move to an older driver as suggested before and then stress test
the computer at that point with 3DMark or similar.

 

[-Jv-]

I've successfully run a 9800gtx in an HP OEM system with a 480watt psu.
The error you are seeing is usually due to texture cache corruption and can also be from either
driver malfunction or corrupt texture memory, that is the memory on the graphics
card or VPU overtemp. Being that you can operate the machine for a period of time
and then have it lock up spontaneously, I'd look into the overall health of the
graphics card and temporarily swap it out with a known good card for testing
purposes.
Following that I'd move to an older driver as suggested before and then stress test
the computer at that point with 3DMark or similar.

It could also be your CPU in that HP rig didn't use that much power..

but 500W seems more then enough for me.. All I could think of is a bad gpu. if you have another one, try to play with that and see if it gives you problems.. The only thing then could be drivers or the GPU itself.. I had something similiar with my 8600GT and it gave me artifacts in any 3D application.

 

[Toasteddude]

This sort of thing has happened to me before. If your card was failing, then yes, the computer would be locking up. Before the lockup, there would be artifacts on the screen. What happened here is not artifacting, it is the game rendering the incorrect textures.

The last time it happened to me, I verified the game cache, then I updated my drivers. It worked for me. Normally, if it happens once and you quit the game, it will happen again unless you restart the computer.

 

[Goretex]

I just find this confusing because the symptoms don't point to any specific thing that could be wrong.

For now I will go to a driver from jan/feb I guess.

 

[Stinky Wizzleteats]

From the pics, its really looks like overheating. Are you sure the sensor on your card is working properly? Try an external thermometer to make sure your card is reporting the correct temps. If it turns out that its not overheating then it might be a solder failure on one of the components. although rare, its possible that there is a 'cold solder' that as the card heats up causes an inadequate connection to properly connect a part to the pcb which causes partial failure & graphics anomalies. Also make use that the heatsink [assuming that yours has one] is properly attached so they can dissipate heat properly.

 

[Frank Booth]

Some power supplies are shown to be like 500 watts but that is not the right number to look at, may only be a maximum. You want the continuous output not peak which is what they advertise, or i guess i can say the RMS voltage. If you multiply 500 by .77 then you do not have as much power at it seems.

Since so many have also suggested heat or power i would take a temp gun if you have one and temp the surface of the card. Also if you have a multimeter test the voltage output of the card.

 

[Goretex]

Some power supplies are shown to be like 500 watts but that is not the right number to look at, may only be a maximum. You want the continuous output not peak which is what they advertise, or i guess i can say the RMS voltage. If you multiply 500 by .77 then you do not have as much power at it seems.

Since so many have also suggested heat or power i would take a temp gun if you have one and temp the surface of the card. Also if you have a multimeter test the voltage output of the card.

If it was my power supply, would I not notice a problem for 2 months but then start to have issues from degrading PSU quality?

I ran rivatuner for a few hours and all of my temps were normal. Core temp idles at 40 degrees and peeks at 65 degrees. I saw nothing out of the ordinary.

 

[bigbaddabooma]

If it was my power supply, would I not notice a problem for 2 months but then start to have issues from degrading PSU quality?

I ran rivatuner for a few hours and all of my temps were normal. Core temp idles at 40 degrees and peeks at 65 degrees. I saw nothing out of the ordinary.

thats a average temps for a stock cooler...
and I would try older drivers..atleast 6 months older.

 

[bull55dog]

Goretex, make sure you delete the current video driver before you install the new one and this also.
http://www.nvidia.com/object/driver_installation_hints.html

 

[jaxory]

If it was my power supply, would I not notice a problem for 2 months but then start to have issues from degrading PSU quality?

I ran rivatuner for a few hours and all of my temps were normal. Core temp idles at 40 degrees and peeks at 65 degrees. I saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Well, if your PSU is constantly running at peak, it will start degrading over time, yes. It's like running as fast as you can, instead of at a nice moderate rate. Sure, it'll work for a while, but you're gonna get tired a lot quicker.