Dell Dimension 8300 Radeon 9800 video card failure?

[cah14522]

Hello, I have a Dell Dimension 8300 with the original ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB video card. Recently we have been experiencing problems with the display - a number of vertical lines/bars, about one inch wide appear on the screen. I've tried a different monitor on this PC with the same problem, and have tried the monitor on the problem PC on a different Dell and it works fine - so I believe I have ruled out the monitor as the problem.

Is there a way to run a diagnostics on the video card to see what the problem might be? And if so, how do I locate and read the results from the diagnostics, given my display problem which makes it very difficult to read the display?

I was going to jump in and buy a PNY GeForce FX 5200 256MB card as a replacement, but thought I should verify the problem is the card before purchasing the card from Amazon, for about $30 (after rebate).

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[dougie_boy]

sounds like it could be the GPU. try updating the drivers (if they have any recent ones)

if not i would look on ebay for an old AGP card, they are cheap and will hold you over until you replace your PC.

 

[nforce4max]

It is the card and had that one card my self it was a fun card while it lasted but you can try a few things to revive it. Like cleaning out the dust on the card. If that fails to help I would go ahead and replace it. If you are doing any gaming you should look for something better than than pos FX5200 (really pos got one sitting on top of my game rig dead). Your failing 9800 is better than that FX5200.

 

[cah14522]

So, are there any diagnostics that I can run to verify what's happening with the card? Granted - this is a fairly old system, purchased back in 2004, I believe. It's not my primary system, so I don't need it to be great. Mainly used for internet browsing by my wife and kids, although two of them also have PCs in their own rooms as well.

Is this just an overheating issue, or is the card actually failing? I'm willing to try anything to get it working, or just replace it if I know for sure the video card is the problem. I read something about bad power supplies possibly causing this same issue, so I didn't want to jump on a new card too soon.

Any advice on what card to buy as a replacement would be appreciated, but I don't want to spend a ton. Thanks!

 

[jwl3]

Sheesh, just buy a new card from a local retailer. And if that isn't the problem, return it.

It's 99% certain that it's the card overheating and causing lines and "rips" in the screen. This is called artifacting. I've had three 9800 Radeon pro's and the fans would get jammed with dust. Tried replacing with Arctic Silencer and it didn't help.

 

[cah14522]

OK - Thanks. I'll try cleaning things out tonight. The thing about overheating - it does this right away when I first turn the PC on, so does it really heat up that quickly? I could understand it happening after several minutes of use, but right away?

Thanks again - any suggestions on which card to purchase?

 

[nforce4max]

OK - Thanks. I'll try cleaning things out tonight. The thing about overheating - it does this right away when I first turn the PC on, so does it really heat up that quickly? I could understand it happening after several minutes of use, but right away?

Thanks again - any suggestions on which card to purchase?

Any thing made in the last decade can heat up that quickly. Heat can kill parts over time. If cleaning out the dust doesn't help the replace the card.

 

[cah14522]

It is the card and had that one card my self it was a fun card while it lasted but you can try a few things to revive it. Like cleaning out the dust on the card. If that fails to help I would go ahead and replace it. If you are doing any gaming you should look for something better than than pos FX5200 (really pos got one sitting on top of my game rig dead). Your failing 9800 is better than that FX5200.

How about this card?

Sapphire Radeon HD 3650 512 MB DDR2 Dual DVI / TVO AGP Graphics Card

Seems to be a reasonably priced alternative, assuming it would work in my computer, with the existing power supply, etc. Any thoughts?

 

[nforce4max]

How about this card?

Sapphire Radeon HD 3650 512 MB DDR2 Dual DVI / TVO AGP Graphics Card

Seems to be a reasonably priced alternative, assuming it would work in my computer, with the existing power supply, etc. Any thoughts?

That is a good agp card and is modern so it will be great for every day use as well games. Also being able to drive two monitors is a plus.

 

[multiscreenz]

I would get another ATI card. Maybe the 2400Pro PCI. The only way you can really diagnose it, is to try another video card. Make sure you uninstall the Graphics drivers before you remove the card and install a new one.

 

[cah14522]

I would get another ATI card. Maybe the 2400Pro PCI. The only way you can really diagnose it, is to try another video card. Make sure you uninstall the Graphics drivers before you remove the card and install a new one.

How do I go about uninstalling the existing Graphics drivers? If I do that, does my monitor stop working, or will it just not perform as well? Sorry for the noob questions...

 

[cah14522]

That is a good agp card and is modern so it will be great for every day use as well games. Also being able to drive two monitors is a plus.

So you think this card will work in my system, with the standard ports, power supply, etc.?

 

[nforce4max]

So you think this card will work in my system, with the standard ports, power supply, etc.?

Yes I do, they both consume about the same amount of power give or take 10-15w.

 

[cah14522]

Yes I do, they both consume about the same amount of power give or take 10-15w.

Sounds like this will go into a different slot than my original card, or am I mistaken on that? I just ordered the card, so hopefully will have it to install in the next few days. Also looks like I will need to connect this directly to the power supply with the supplied cable - true?

 

[nforce4max]

Sounds like this will go into a different slot than my original card, or am I mistaken on that? I just ordered the card, so hopefully will have it to install in the next few days. Also looks like I will need to connect this directly to the power supply with the supplied cable - true?

It is no different in the respect than your current card just use a 4 pin molex and your set. Every standard pc since the 80s has these power connectors.

 

[cah14522]

OK - Thanks again for the help. I need to uninstall the drivers from the existing card first, correct? How do I go about doing that?

 

[nforce4max]

OK - Thanks again for the help. I need to uninstall the drivers from the existing card first, correct? How do I go about doing that?

Boot up under safe mode and use driver cleaner it will do the work removing the old drivers. As for the new ones go on their web site (ATI no one else0 and get the up to date drivers for the new card.

 

[cah14522]

Any thing made in the last decade can heat up that quickly. Heat can kill parts over time. If cleaning out the dust doesn't help the replace the card.

OK - I went and bought myself some canned air last night, cracked the case and cleaned everything out. I also removed the card and re-seated it, just in case that was the problem. Everything worked fine at first, and I also went to Dell's website and downloaded the latest drivers for the card. This morning, the lines are coming back, so I guess it might still be the card / an overheating process - so I'm going to stick with the card I ordered yesterday and install that when it comes.

As far as safe mode and driver cleaner - how do I do those things again? Again, I apologize for the noob questions - I really do know how to work with PCs, it's just been a long time since I did a lot of this hands-on stuff.

Thanks!

 

[nforce4max]

OK - I went and bought myself some canned air last night, cracked the case and cleaned everything out. I also removed the card and re-seated it, just in case that was the problem. Everything worked fine at first, and I also went to Dell's website and downloaded the latest drivers for the card. This morning, the lines are coming back, so I guess it might still be the card / an overheating process - so I'm going to stick with the card I ordered yesterday and install that when it comes.

As far as safe mode and driver cleaner - how do I do those things again? Again, I apologize for the noob questions - I really do know how to work with PCs, it's just been a long time since I did a lot of this hands-on stuff.

Thanks!

Driver cleaner can be found via google search while safe mode can be had by pressing the F8 key while it is booting. It has been some time since I have done safe mode so there you go and good luck.

 

[cah14522]

Best answer selected by cah14522.