x1950pro causing my computer to crash while playing games.

[TeejayV]

Hello,

Here are my current specs:

X2 3600+ Brisbane
Asus M2N-E Mobo
Asus x1950pro 256 PCIE
Seagate 320gb 7200.1 SATA
Kingston Value Ram DDR2 667 - 2 x 1GB and 2 x 512MB
400w Generic PSU that came with this generic black midtower case.


I seem to be having a big problem with my new Asus x1950pro PCIE card. I've tried it out with 5 games total now:

C&C 3 Tiberium Wars Demo
Lord of the Rings Online
FEAR
FarCry

World of Warcraft - This is the only game i can go and play for hours with no problems happening whatsoever.

Basically i'll just describe the problem in detail. I boot up the game and it runs fine..... for about 10 minutes or sometimes even less. While in the middle of the game, no matter what i'm doing - menu screen, loading screen, gameplay - the monitor will suddenly lose signal and flashes to a black screen. I can still hear sound over my speakers for about a good 10 seconds, and then the entire system will then automatically reboot itself.
Upon reentering windows i will get a box that pops up saying that the x1950 display driver had an error and got stuck in an infinite loop trying to rewrite a thread.

Now a couple more details i will add:

1) i've tried using Catalyst 6.12, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 and 7.4. All these different drivers yielded the same result.

2) i've tried with the system overclocked (10% OC only) and with the system running stock.

3) I've tried playing around with the RAM hoping it would be something up with my RAM. Ran Memtest and everything passed. I've tried removing the two sticks of 512 ram, and let it run at 2gb total. Same result as letting the system run at 3gb's total.

4) this problem has NEVER happened while i've played World of Warcraft. I've already once logged in over 5+ hours at once in WoW and not a single crash. This problem always happens within the first 15 minutes of all the other games i've listed above.

5) I'm not sure what kind of power is running through my PSU on the 12V rail.. i'm not really sure what i'm looking for on the sticker, if someone could please tell me.. maybe that's what's causing it to crash.


If this video card were defective... would it not crash for any other game i tried to run on it? Why is it that only WoW will work perfectly and the others not? At first I thought it was a driver issue, but as you can see, i've rolled back to the previous 4 revisions of the Catalyst drivers all with the same result.

I really don't want to have to RMA this card to ASUS (i know it will take forever to get back to me), and so i'm hoping that one of you experts is able to point me in the right direction. I would really appreciate it if someone could give me advice on what to do. Maybe someone else had this exact same problem and found a remedy? I can only hope.

But anyways, thanks for reading, thank you in advance.

 

[Roguestar]

Sounds like it's overheating. Get the ATi Tray Tools and turn the fan up higher and check the temperatures.

http://www.guru3d.com/atitraytools/

 

[Bashbelly]

x1950pro needs a beefy power supply I'd put my money that your 400watt generic does not cut the mustard. If I remember correctly they recommend the bare minimum for that video card is 30amps over the 12v rail. You really dont see that kind of figure until some above average 500-550watt Power supplies.

edit: usually your power supply stats are on a sticker somewhere , take a peek at your current one to see what it can do amp wise on the 12v.

 

[Nirach]

I'd expect PSU problems too.

I'm, stupidly, running two 1950 Pros on a 530 and I get the exact same issue in C&C3+Sup. Com.

I ran ATi Tools on the other monitor while I played, temps didn't top out too much above 90, stock cooling no O/C.

Am currently waiting on some pay so I can get a meaty PSU. Will PM results if this thread is dead, if you're interested?

 

[Roguestar]

Nirach: get a Seasonic/Corsair/Enermax 550W. Superior.

I still think it's overheating, though Nirach's temperatures even sound a little hot to me, my X1950XT doesn't hit 90°C in BF2142 with everything up full on 1280*1024 and the fan spinning at 50%.

 

[Nirach]

My fans didn't ramp above 40% according to ATi Tools.

I don't like the temps that high, but hey. They are right next to each other, they are single height coolers.

I was thinking about the 1KW Enermax, EGA something.

 

[Roguestar]

Change the Fan speed scaling, then. Try and have them hit at least 60% when you're going up into the 70s.

You don't need a 1KW power supply. Running a quad core and 8800GTX SLI doesn't need a 1KW power supply.

 

[Nirach]

I like overkill, I know I can use a 600watt and be more than okay, but hey. Overkill is more fun in my book.

 

[TeejayV]

hey guys, you're probably right that it's related to my PSU. On friday i will be picking up a 600W OCZ psu, so i will let you know how that affects it. Nirach, feel free to PM me your results as well, i can use all the help and advice i can get. Thanks again everyone for giving me some advice! Have a great day.

 

[Roguestar]

^^ Why not try the fan-speed thing I said, it'll not cost you anything and if it solves your problem then you're sweet?

Originally posted by: Nirach
I like overkill, I know I can use a 600watt and be more than okay, but hey. Overkill is more fun in my book.

Is it okay in your wallet?

 

[Nirach]

Originally posted by: Roguestar
^^ Why not try the fan-speed thing I said, it'll not cost you anything and if it solves your problem then you're sweet?

Originally posted by: Nirach
I like overkill, I know I can use a 600watt and be more than okay, but hey. Overkill is more fun in my book.

Is it okay in your wallet?

So long as it's PC related, my wallet's happy