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PC Gone to Hell 1

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Lightning4

Technical User
Joined
Jun 2, 2005
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9
Location
US
What I have is probably one of the worst computers I can imagine. Nothing, absolutely nothing works... I can't pinpoint the problem at all but sadly, I'm not a computer expert or anything, I'm just desperate for some help to get this thing working.
I think the problem is in the graphics card though, I try running any newer game (Ones recommending you have DX9.0c), and it will work for a few minutes, but the condition deteriorates until it is a choppy, unplayable mess. I did notice that setting it to 8x instead of Auto in the ASUS setup improved things to what they currently are. I've already got the latest drivers of nearly everything I can think of as well, the motherboard, the graphics card, sound card... any help would be appreciated.

ASUS A7V600
AMD Athlon 3200+
1GB RAM
Win 98 SE
NVidia GeForce FX 5200
Sound Blaster PCI 128
 
Nothing, absolutely nothing works

Well we know that isn't true. Have you tried with minimum hardware to see what happens? Does it do this if you are not playing games? Have you tried another graphice card?
 
Well, at minimum hardware setting, games won't even launch anyway. Putting the settings in the game itself to the lowest does not improve the situation I first mentioned at all.
When I'm not playing games, no, it does not normally do this, but, well, that's kinda boring now. :P
No, I haven't got any graphics cards readily available right now... I'm not sure where my old Radeon card is right now, and this is the best card we currently have.

Other things, occasionally with some games, there is also a spontaneous restart. No questions asked, it just suddenly restarts the computer.
Older games, not as intense in graphics such as early 3d games or 2d games, exhibit few, if not any, problems.
 
It sounds like an issue with the graphics card.. what model of radeon is it? I know i had similar issues with a 9600XT. Ati cards are great, but sometimes a pain in the ass to get tweaked correctly. I would follow franklin97355's lead and try another card, as this should be the main issue. It sounds like whenever your card is being bombarded with work, it locks up.

Keep us posted!!
 
No, I said my current graphics card is an NVidia GeForce FX 5200 128MB... sorry if I didn't come off clear enough or anything, but this card is the best one in the house, and I'm not sure where the Radeon is at all anymore.
 
ok! Well anyways, whether it's the best card or not, i would recommend trying another one, just to see if the issue is coming from the card or not. It seems everything points to the video card, so you might as well try another card just to make sure.

 
If you are talking about the very latest games like Doom3, Half Life2 etc then I'm not suprised they are slowing down badly when you only have an entry level FX5200.
These titles really need a minimum graphics spec of:

ATI Radeon: 9500/9600 or above (Radeon 9700/9800pro or higher recommended)

Nvidia FX: 5600/5700 or above (FX5700ultra or FX5900XT or higher recommended)

Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.
 
Well, what I'm trying to play is nowhere near the pain-bringing specs you just listned, nor is it those two games.

Problem is, when it does work like with one game, everything is perfectly smooth, then somehow things deteriorate, the FPS hits rock bottom and textures here and there won't fully load.
 
You may have a program on your computer that has what we call a memory hole. What happens is some program uses up blocks of memory and never releases them until the whole system slows down and just quits. This kind of problem often is caused by some program you have downloaded.

A lot of downloaded software comes with free spyware. Spyware collects info and then sends it back to wherever you got it from. This boggs down your computer eventually. Microsoft has a beta spyware blocker that can also unhijack your browser. Their are other anti-spyware programs also.

If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.
 
Two things I would check are the power supply or the CPU heatsink as they would cause reboots if they were not working correctly under load.
 
I don't think memory holes would cause reboots, just freeze up's.

I agree with franklin9735555555 ;)

I built a computer, loaded it with a phat graphics card
2 hard drives, cd rom, burner, sound card... etc. ..etc..
and ran out of money and settled for a generic 350 watt power supply.

350 watt power supply... is alright, however generic ones never perform to their ratings.

Hard drives pull about 50 watts from your power supply, and I think 1 gb of ram will do about the same thing.

The newest graphics cards can pull up to 110 watts under a full load (when playing a powerful game like you described).

How big (and what kind) is your power supply?

Tim


 
It seems to me that if it was a power issue, you'd see sudden system failures happening randomly. The gradual video deterioration sounds more like a heat issue. Try popping the system open and running it without a cover and see if that changes anything. You might also check the fan on the video card and make sure it's spinning happily.

I try not to let my ignorance prevent me from offering a strong opinion.
 
I've got a 450 watt power supply.
 
Whoops... 400 watt, not 450, sorry.
 
Sadly, I believe I have found the problem. It turns out the fan on my trusty GeForce FX conked out and was causing all these problems.
 
Oops, failed to read your last post. At any rate, you are at least be aware of the greater than 512MB issues.
 
My 5200 card had the same problem. I didn't find out until the card was "gone". I had to re-arrange the PCI cards to allow clear air to the fan (found that the audio card was shorter). No problems since.
 
I thought that was the problem as well, but the fan just flat-out quit.

That aside, another problem seems to have reared it's ugly head. Ever since tampering with the Sound Blaster drivers, trying to upgrade them, I've been having a heck of a time trying to get them to work again. Removing the drivers from the Add/Remove tool and reinstalling them does not work, manually deleting them and reinstalling them does not work.
I constantly get the 0x88780032 error. A google search shows a few other cases of this error, no one replying to any of them.
 
If you start a new thread you will probably get better help.

Lots of people quit looking when a thread gets this long.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.
 
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