Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (
More info?)
Ben (and everyone else) that's exactly what happened to me. First there were
artifacts appearing on my monitor and shortly thereafter the image degraded
to what we used to call in the 60's a "bad trip." The video card had, in
fact, fried. I don't blame this on Dell necessarily, since I subsequently
learned that nVidia cards were experiencing relatively high burnout rates
for a while. Who knows if Dell's case design contributed to my video card's
demise, however, the ATi card I purchased as replacement has lasted longer
than the original nVidia card.
--
Ted Zieglar
<ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers)> wrote in message
news:4188e1e4.4740460@news.charter.net...
> Sparkles??? New information. There are artifacts appearing on one of
the
> monitors on your system? If so, give serious thought to the possibility
that a
> graphics card is failing.
>
> I have replaced a number of failing or failed graphics cards on clients'
systems
> in recent months. The usual symptom is the appearance of artifacts or
shadowing
> on the screen. The usual cause is improper cooling of the graphics chip
due to
> poor ventilation in the case or (more likely) poorly designed ventilation
on the
> card itself. If a graphics card uses a cheap cooling fan or if the
cooling fan
> fails due to dust and dirt or cheap manufacture, the graphics chip
overheats and
> the dielectric inside begins to break down. The most frequent graphics
card
> failures are the cards with nVidia chips, but no modern "hot" graphics
card is
> immune to failure from overheating.
>
> Or, as you've implied with your questions, the graphics software may be
pretty
> badly hosed if direct draw, direct 3D and AGP texture acceleration are all
'not
> available'. Aren't some of these capabilities optionally supported by a
> graphics card and driver? Have you reinstalled graphics drivers and
supporting
> software or installed the latest versions?
>
> ... Ben Myers
>
> On Wed, 3 Nov 2004 08:15:22 +0000 (UTC), "777" <777@anemail.address>
wrote:
>
> >
> >"Tom Scales" <tomtoo@softhome.net> wrote in message
> >news:jaidnd1P-NDfuBXcRVn-pQ@comcast.com...
> >>I have the exact same power supply (or close) in my 4550. I run an ATI
> >>Radeon 9800 Pro and an ATI Radeon 7000 PCI. I also have a gigabit card
and
> >>the SB Audigy 2 with Firewire. I have three internal hard drives and a
DVD
> >>burner. Gotta believe a hard drive is more power than an optical drive.
I
> >>run 6 external drives, 5 HD and 1 DVD, 2 of which get their power from
the
> >>USB ports.
> >>
> >> Everything runs flawlessly.
> >>
> >> Tom
> >
> >I'm increasingly of the opinion that you and other posters are correct.
> >I've removed a number of components, including the second VGA card and
get
> >exactly the same problem. Thanks for your advice (and to others) as this
> >has saved me the cost and hassle.
> >
> >Using a tweak utility I raised the core clock - the sparkles (artifacts)
get
> >worse immediately. I dropped the core clock, the sparkles get worse
> >immediately - so I don't think it's a temperature issue as there would be
> >some delay.
> >
> >I tried the above, but with the 3D application running in a window. Only
in
> >the window did I get the sparkles (artifacts), the rest of the screen was
> >fine.
> >
> >Dxdiag also tells me that direct draw, direct 3D and AGP texture
> >acceleration are all 'not available'.
> >
> >Any suggestions?
> >
> >
>
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