Problem w/new 9600pro, please help!

[eliu]

Note: The card was purchased from newegg; it's manufactured by Info-Tek. However, on newegg's site, the 9600pro is listed as 400/600 (as it should be). In AIDA32, it sees my card as 400/400; same problem in (Omega's) RadLinker. Should this be an automatic indication that something is wrong w/my card & that I should RMA and stop trying to make it work?

Hello everyone,

I purchased a 9600pro that arrived this past Friday. It was to replace a Geforce 2 Pro that recently failed on me. I did not get to try it out right away, as I just had a stick of RAM fail on me, somehow resulting in MBR corruption (don't even ask, I have no idea). So I formatted & reinstalled windows.

So then...more troubles. Installed cat 4.4s, and tried to fire up Far Cry. It crashed in about 20 seconds. Same with Medieval: Total War (well, this one lasted more like 1 minute). Since then, I've tried several other drivers--Omega 4.4, cat 3.2, 3.7, and 3.10. All result in about the same problem (crashing).

However, the card is stable in windows--no problems there.

Background info on my computer/card:
300W Enlight PS
Thunderbird 1.33
Epox 8K7A
256mb crucial pc2100 (was 512, but 1 stick failed)
Maxtor 40gb & 120gb drives
Liteon 32x12x40
Creative Audigy
Intel NIC
128mb 9600 pro...purchased from newegg, see here.

Note: According to MBM5, my voltages are all above their rated values, except for the 5V line, which is 4.98 idle, 4.88-4.91 at full load. Previously with the Geforce2 installed, my load #s could drop as low as 4.75...not sure why this is the case.

So...yeah, I don't really know what's wrong

Could it be my PS? If it is, why don't I have any problems in windows...and why would it crash in low-intensity situations (like on the overworld map in Medieval...no fancy stuff there).

Incompatibility with motherboard?

Overheating? (I don't think this is the case--other overheating problems I've seen don't exhibit these particular symptoms. Moreover, in windows and "during" games, the heatsink does not feel noticeably hot, though the back of the card is warm.)

Things I could try later:
1) Create a 2nd windows partition and test video on a completely fresh install.
2) Remove card from my box & try it on a friend's computer.

^^Note that I would prefer to avoid those...

Anyhow, thanks in advance Please help me turn this $112 headache into something I can game with! lol

-Eric

 

[Crashman]

Oh, I'm so sorry about your luck. 760+686B was never a good choice for stability/compatability, it worked with some parts and not with others on a fairly random basis. Normally I wouldn't expect a compatability issue, but this particular chipset combination was well known for them, ESPECIALLY when using Creative sound cards.

Fact is, several stability issues that might not crash the system on their own can contribute to an unstable system. It would be funny if pulling your sound card made your video card work.

It's also possible you got a bad card. I'd return it. Newegg has a "for exchange of same part only" policy on many of their video cards, but in this case it appears they misinformed you. Considering DDR memory is labled at it's data rate, which is 2x the clock rate, the card should be running 400/300 (aka 400/600 since 300MHz DDR memory is DDR600). If it's running 400/200 by default it's a "cheap" version of the pro.

The most notorious cheap version is the Powercolor 9600 Pro EZ, which can come with 4ns or even 5ns RAM! You need 3.3ns or faster RAM to run 300MHz (DDR600), so overclocking is not an option. You got less card than you paid for, I'd return it even if it's not defective.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Crashman]

More news! Newegg calls your card a GeCube, according to <A HREF="http://www.ocfaq.com/softmod/bios.php" target="_new">This Site</A> it uses the worst possible RAM, 5ns, which is ONLY approved by the manufacturer for operation at a MAX clock rate of 200MHz (DDR400).

Heck, even the 9600 non-pro my customer received (by Saphire) used 4ns RAM, manufacturer approved for 250MHz clock (underclocked to 200MHz of course).

Newegg also states the cards use 600MHz RAM, so evidence is building that they are publishing BAD INFO on this card!

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[eliu]

In reply to your first reply:
Ah, I see...I didn't realize my motherboard had so many problems. When I bought it (brand new, 2 years ago), the 8k7a was very popular; everyone recommended it...

But yes, anyhow...
I think I've progressed beyond a bad video card to a bad motherboard.

I tried the 9600"pro" (bah...I will return it b/c I want a real pro) in another computer, one with a 1.2duron and an ECS k7s5a. Both have 256ram and a 300W PS. The ECS has no sound card (onboard).

Anyhow, the Radeon ran games on the ECS. It also ran cool on the ECS...both in windows and after gaming for an hour. On the Epox, the Radeon doesnt run games at all...and it's pretty warm, even hot after idling in windows for 5 minutes.

I tried both machines with an ATI Rage IIC (AGP); It was hot on the epox, cool in the ECS (no games, just idling in windows). Then I tried a PCI Matrox Millennia II--warm in both machines.

This makes me think that the motherboard's AGP slot could be bad...maybe damaged when the Geforce2 died...maybe it caused the geforce2 to die, beats me.

So...do you think my mobo could be damaged? Also, should I remove the Audigy and try again?

Thanks Crashman! Your advice is much appreciated.
-Eric

P.S. Though, that issue w/creative cards would make sense...my audigy has random problems every here and there, but it has been pretty happy with creative's latest drivers.

In reply to your second:
Yeah, I made a post on anandtech forums, and someone just replied there with similar info--they said the card is using TSOP and must be an "EZ" pro. Anyhow, do you think I can get my money back from newegg?? Isn't this false advertising or something? I feel cheated here...getting a fake pro when the website clearly stated the specs of a real one.

Well, I hope there is something I can do...man this is awful--I do have horrid luck. >.<<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by eliu on 05/09/04 07:22 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Crashman]

They won't refund your shipping, but if you tell them the problem they should refund your money. In fact, they legally have to!

Or you could make it easier on both of you...if you tell them you want to exchange it for a BETTER card and pay the difference (this assumes you'd buy the REAL Pro from Newegg as well).

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[eliu]

How do I do that though? Newegg's RMA process is online...and my only two choices are RMA refund and RMA repair. I don't want repair (it isnt broken), and I don't want a refund (15% restocking fee). Should I contact customer support instead?

Thanks!
-Eric

P.S. Also...what do you think of my motherboard's AGP slot? Is that definitely a mobo problem? Or should I try to remove the Creative?

 

[Crashman]

Yes! Product misrepresentation is a crime! Of course people do make mistakes, so the only way you'd get any criminal action against them is if they refused to refund!

They know this. Unfortunately it's a lot easier and faster to use an automated RMA option for them, hence any peculiar circumstances are left up to the Customer Support group to handle.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>