9800 pro dead :\

[Maskirovka]

so my brand new 9800 pro started making my monitor flicker...it got steadily worse until now i can't read anything...i've already put in an RMA request...i just wanted to post the things i tried just to make sure i didn't miss anything or do anything stupid.

tried:
-using the monitor on another computer (works fine)
-changing which power cable was going to the card (internal)
-unplugging all my fans and my extra HD to make sure it wasn't draining the power somehow (i have an antec 430W power supply)
-reseating the video card
-reinstalling drivers (mobo chipset and vid card)
-checking the video cable for bent pins

the only things i couldn't try that i thought of were:

-using a dvi-to-vga adapter to see if the vga port on the card is the problem
-putting the card in another computer (i don't have another computer with an AGP slot)

that's probably the biggest thing i haven't done...i guess i could have a bad AGP slot on my mobo but i'm not sure how to rule that out. does anyone know if this sounds like it's definitely a vid card problem?

 

[blahblahblah]

Sounds like a video card problem. You've done everything I would've done in that situation.

What refresh rate were you using?

 

[Roland Deschain]

Yep, time to start hunting down those warenties, the worst problem I had with the Pro is that all Eidos games have problems with Catalyst 4.5 and up.

 

[B_MAN]

was it a sapphire?

 

[Loshadka]

Render pipelines malfunction.

 

[Daegon]

When you get your new card in, make sure your case is /well/ ventilated, those 9800pros get hella hott.

 

[Maskirovka]

thx for the replies, guys...

i was using 100hz, but it eventually started happening during boot and while in the bios.

and yeah it was a sapphire...and my case has 5 good fans in it, one right over the AGP slot on the side. i did notice they do get pretty damn hot...i didn't really believe it at first...but wow

 

[RotorHead]

i had a card problem and after buying a new one come to find out it was the AGP slot wasn't working....

 

[B_MAN]

oh god
i just bought a new sapphire 9800 pro
im gonna pray that it was just a factory defect
did you overclock it?
how long did you have it for before it started acting up?

 

[Johan_Tayn]

don't panic! a lot of us(me included) own Sapphire 9800 Pros and they work fine.. Fluke, IMO.

 

[Maskirovka]

oh god
i just bought a new sapphire 9800 pro
im gonna pray that it was just a factory defect
did you overclock it?
how long did you have it for before it started acting up?

i had it for about 2 weeks, but only got to use it for about 2 days worth...i didn't even get a chance to overclock it yet. i'm sure it was just a factory defect of some kind.

god i hope it's not my AGP slot...i have no other card to test with...and i really can't afford a new mobo right now :\ on top of that...i don't want to upgrade right now...and buying a new mobo for my 2.4c would be a total waste of money...i could be spending it on buying something new....

 

[The Terminator]

well to test ur AGP slot, Id say try and gfx card u have in the slot, if it works then its def the card. Just get a replacement.

 

[Maskirovka]

UPDATE:

horribleness....

first bad news: checked the RMA status today and it tested OK.
2nd bad news: the return shipping is going to take 7 days
3rd bad news: the card is going to my house in michigan instead of to me at summer camp in new york.

what a horrible mess. it's bad enough that they say my card is fine. if my card's fine then that means i have a RAM or mobo problem. i've already RMA'd one of my two sticks of ram and my mobo isn't under warranty anymore (i don't think). but on top of that, it's going to take until next thursday to get to the wrong address...AND NOBODY WILL BE THERE TO SHIP IT TO ME.

i specifically asked them to ship it to my summer camp and they agreed and sent me an email. meh...maybe they'll send me a free motherboard or something since that would be cheaper than sending me a free card. it'll be interesting to see what they do to fix this problem.

anyway...does anyone have any ideas for what else to test? i mean...if my video flickers when i'm in the BIOS, how can i run memtest or anything? i don't have another computer to put the RAM into...how do i know whether or not to replace the RAM or mobo?

so shitty

 

[Asus]

It's the card or something on that end.
If the AGP slot was bad then it wouldn't flicker but rather it would not talk with the graphics card. Same with the memory, it wouldn't allow your PC to run correctly.

The card is the only thing that would make your monitor flicker.

Hope you get it sooner than later. :\

 

[Maskirovka]

their RMA status checker thing says the card tested fine....i kind of agree that if it was a bad AGP slot or bad RAM that the problem wouldn't be flickering. hell...i dunno...i'm just gonna see if they reply to my email and call and bitch if they don't.

meh.... :\

 

[Asus]

But the monitor was fine?
Power issue?
Oh well

 

[RABIES]

The sapphire redline software and also the Rage Tweak software have an option called "Shimmer Fix". It's some hokey thing for trinitron and diamondmax monitors if you experince issues with flickering or shimmering. In this case if your new card somes in and it still flickers (god forbid) try that setting. Supposing you have a trinitron or diamondmax?

 

[Maskirovka]

it flickers in the bios screen though...how will a windows-based program help that?

monitor is fine...and i unplugged a bunch of stuff (extra HD, fans, cd writer) to see if i was getting drained power, but it didn't change anything.

i dunno...do you guys think it's a RAM problem?

 

[RABIES]

Heh, beats me, I was just tossing out ideas.

BIOS huh? Odd. Perhaps the card was just bad?

Fun Fact - On OLD OLD monitors if you crank up the refresh rate, it will burn into the screen. Since the tube cannot compensate for the higher refresh rate it will begin to draw the image at one horizontal location and burn it into the screen!

 

[Maskirovka]

no, the card was not bad...it tested out as good at the company i bought it from. they're sending it back to me...well...to my house in michigan...not to me at summer camp...cause they fcuked up.

so i have some other problem besides the vid card....that basically leaves RAM and mobo...

 

[Dynasty]

OOOOOOOOHHHHH god. im getting a 9800 pro, tho it is from powercolor. 9800 pro's get hot hey?? damn, looks like i'll need new fans lol. soz about your problem btw maskirovka, its the worst kind of hardware prob i can think of, that just irritates when you want to play games.

 

[Maskirovka]

yep...and i'm stuck in this computer lab all day with little punk ass kids asking stupid questions. if i could play games in between stupid questions, that'd be wonderful.

 

[NYHoustonman]

so my brand new 9800 pro started making my monitor flicker...it got steadily worse until now i can't read anything...i've already put in an RMA request...i just wanted to post the things i tried just to make sure i didn't miss anything or do anything stupid.

tried:
-using the monitor on another computer (works fine)
-changing which power cable was going to the card (internal)
-unplugging all my fans and my extra HD to make sure it wasn't draining the power somehow (i have an antec 430W power supply)
-reseating the video card
-reinstalling drivers (mobo chipset and vid card)
-checking the video cable for bent pins

the only things i couldn't try that i thought of were:

-using a dvi-to-vga adapter to see if the vga port on the card is the problem
-putting the card in another computer (i don't have another computer with an AGP slot)

that's probably the biggest thing i haven't done...i guess i could have a bad AGP slot on my mobo but i'm not sure how to rule that out. does anyone know if this sounds like it's definitely a vid card problem?

And I JUST made the connection. I thought I had seen this message before... Welcome to the Anandtech forums ...

 

[Maskirovka]

And I JUST made the connection. I thought I had seen this message before... Welcome to the Anandtech forums ...

lol...i always post in every forum when i have a big problem...you get so many more ideas on what to do...i love anandtech...and their forums as well.

 

[Maskirovka]

update:

omfg...got my card back...decided it must be a power issue after checking my RAM. noticed the 3.3v was around 2.5...omg.

so i pull the ATX power cable out of my mobo and 3 of the plastic pins are burned on the inside. immediately i'm thinking how much it's going to suck if my mobo is damaged or if i have to buy a new PSU. so i decide to blow into the cable and into the socket...plug it back in...voltage is now normal...everything is working great.

i hate computers

 

[Cybernoid]

I bought a R9800XT this week (Club 3D) and it didn't work at all. I'm returning it monday.

 

[Asus]

w00t!
Everything is alright then.

Club3D huh?

 

[Rocketman9mm]

be glad it didn't happen just as you got HL2. that would really suck. get the game finally and your system decides to screw u.