In dire need of help. Problems with 9700 non pro.

[Ediot]

I'm running a xp2200+, 1024 ram, 80 gb system, win xp pro with 9700 non pro and the catalyst 3.1.
When I set the Direct3D's and OpenGL's Anti Aliasing and Anisotropic Filtering to 4x and 4x, and everything else on quality (instead of performance), and play counterstrike using OpenGL, the game will quit to deskop after playing for a few minutes. Battlefield 1942 lasted for half an hour and Neverwinter Nights lasted 45 minutes before experiencing the same problem. Medal Of Honor: Allied Assault, Alien Versus Predator 2, Freedom Force had the same problem too. Sometimes it goes into a blue screen. But i have no problem running 2d games.

So naturally, I went back to the shop that sold the system to me and told them to fix it. But the problem persists. The technician claimed that the 9700 isn't meant to be an OpenGL card and my settings are too high. Should I believe him? And out of the 5 games, which one is a Direct 3d?

I would really appreciate what help I can get here. And I need help fast.
Thanks.

 

[1ManArmY]

So much for customer service:disgust:

 

[Ediot]

Anyone? Please?

 

[kylebisme]

go in there and show him benchmarks from this site and this thread if you have to but the guy either doesn't know what he is talking about or is pulling your leg.

 

[Viper96720]

What kind of memory you using? When I used to get kicked out of games ended up I was trying to run the memory to fast. Was some so called PC-133 memory but could only do PC-100.

 

[Schwan]

What kind of power supply do you have?

 

[Glitchny]

that is bs that he says it isnt meant to do opengl, all cards support openGL through extensions in the kangauge and their own drivers, so he is tottaly lying, if he says its only a Directx part tell him hes a dumba$$ and that no company would make a card that wouldnt run most 3d editing utilities

 

[Protouringcars]

Ediot ~

Cough cough...sounds like the same crap I went through when I bought a Radeon 9500 Pro. I'd play Counterstrike and all the walls on the maps would jiggle back and forth reallly rapidly when ever I would move! I gave the card back to www.newegg.com. I think there's nothing you can do man.... seriously....the only thing I can think of that may give you some kinda chance is to pray. All bs aside, this is how my rig was set up. I had an nforce1 abit board, with decent kingston ram, and the latest service pack installed. I didn't mention that I was running th latest drivers because to be honest, nvidia has NEVER once failed with ANY drivers I've installed. And I install them on a regular basis mind you (every month I check for updates). Other than that, the reality of ati still having drivers still leading to game performance problems is very apparent as not only seen seen through your experience, but my own and also a friend of mine who went from an 8500 to a ti 4200 due to ati being "too much trouble" for him. Of course ati looked to be kicking nvidias @ss everywhere benchmark-wise, so I went with their 9500pro. Bad results for me. For all those happy with their ati card, my hat is off to ya.... but I grumble knowing that if ati has been putting forth their best effort in device driver creation, then tisk tisk. When's the last time a funny car was practical to drive on a curvy road ? Never ! You'd go with something more like a touring or ralley car. This relates to ati and nvidia. Ati with their drivers is giving you a pretty narrow path to drive down, especially if you're me and switch hardware out like a villian. I also don't get to benchmark cards like many sites do, where i'm sure they're assisted by the card manufacturer on what hardware to use since it has already been pre-tested at the manufacturers labs. So since I'm not in those shoes, I have to go with a card that has high reliability when it comes to gutting out my motherboard and ram and replace it with that of new. That being said, Nvidia is a sure shot winner for the majority, no matter what recommended system configuration category you fall under. Maybe sometime down the road ati will have better compatibility....who knows. Technology always gets smaller and faster.....so if it takes a while for nvidia to hit warp speed once again and regain this "crown" everyone talks about, then WAIT IT OUT. At least you can bet money that it will be compatible with just about any hardware configuration as long as you follow the minimum system config recommendations. Have a good one.

 

[Ediot]

Hmm, interesting. I met another technician today from the same shop. Well, he told me not to tinker around with the driver settings too much and use what he have set for me. They told me 4x aniso and 4x FSAA is too much for the card to handle on the resolution I'm playing in (1024x768). That's why I'm curious, since what he told me is different from what I've read in reviews.

I think he is pulling my leg.

Additional info of my system:
420W PSU
pc2700 ram (kingston)
asus a7n8x non-deluxe

 

[Orbius]

If you're overclocking that could be the problem, also check your bios settings, try turning off fast writes and sidebanding. If the memory timings are really aggressive it could be that causing crashes not the videocard.
Aside from that do a clean install of XP with all the proper 4 in 1's, etc. Install the drivers and everything and try the card if its still doing it return the card it could have bad ram or something.

 

[Ketchup]

Originally posted by: Ediot
Hmm, interesting. I met another technician today from the same shop. Well, he told me not to tinker around with the driver settings too much and use what he have set for me. They told me 4x aniso and 4x FSAA is too much for the card to handle on the resolution I'm playing in (1024x768). That's why I'm curious, since what he told me is different from what I've read in reviews.

These guys are feeding you B.S. because they want you to go away and not bother them. To tell you the truth, I think this is most probably a driver/software issue. You could spend hours playing with drivers and such, but I think your best course of action could be something you may consider very drastic. Find the latest motherboard, video card, sound card, et al. drivers and format your hard drive. Install windows, and the first thing you wanna do when you set up your computer is install the drivers.

Even if you card couldn't handle those settings (it can by the way) your computer would not crash. It may run slow, but it should not crash. Make sure the power connector has been plugged into the video card. This card needs the extra power to run right. If you can't open the box, take it back and ask them to check it, but make them let you watch while they do it.

Hope you find my advice helpful and good luck

 

[Ediot]

I'v got the extra power plugged in and formatted the harddisk and reinstalled windows xp many times. My friend's system (pentium 4 2ghz Northwood, 512mb ram, 40 gb hdd) with the same video card, same driver and playing the same game did not experience any problems.

Got into an arguement with the second technician, who surprisingly was also the owner of the shop, about the OEM 9700 card's performance. Finally, he told me that my demands (4x aniso and 4x fsaa) were too high and he would give me a full refund for everything I've bought, since "my shop can and will never satisfy your gaming needs" (direct quote from the boss) and told me I should go to voodoopc.com to find the system I needed. When I left the shop, his face was red with anger (no kidding).

Ahh, well, with tech support like that, I think it's the first and last time I'll buy from the shop. I think I'm lucky to get a refund and I'd be better off spending the money on a system from a more reputable shop.

Thanks Anandtechers! You just saved my $933 from going to waste!

 

[Protouringcars]

I say get tech support online lol... make your own computer with some help if you're not sure how to. You don't need to buy it at a computer store. Only upgrades need to be bought there. If you're considering making one yourself that will reap the best rewards

 

[Ketchup]

Originally posted by: Protouringcars
I say get tech support online lol... make your own computer with some help if you're not sure how to. You don't need to buy it at a computer store. Only upgrades need to be bought there. If you're considering making one yourself that will reap the best rewards

I agree. Plus, you can probably build it better and cheaper yourself. How much money are you willing to spend?