video card issues

~Aster Blaster~ · July 23, 2008, 05:04:27 PM

So this is just starting within the last 30 mins or so, and I'm thinking the worst. I'll start by saying nothing on my computer has changed, no software has been installed and nothing out of the ordinary has occurred. I raided last night, and used my computer this morning, and turned it off over the daytime hours. I turned it on tonight, and it ran smooth for a while, but while playing WoW i started experiencing terrible video lag, and either of my monitors would periodically go black or have big black lines show up randomly where the video wasn't showing up.

I did nothing to configurations and absolutely nothing was altered in my computer from last night and all of last week and even prior to that. It goes in spurts, it runs fine for a few mins, then all the sudden I get serious lag for a couple mins, then it returns to normal.

My video card is the Radeon x1950xt built by powercolor, and I suspect that this is the issue. I've updated my drivers and it is continuing to do this. Anyone have any suggestions or could clue me in on something else to check?

I've done:
Reboot x3
Tested other games, same issue, occurs on desktop in folders also
Updated my drivers
running a virus scan
checking for spyware/adware now

papalovebear · July 23, 2008, 05:11:14 PM

cataracts?

I got no idea

Ruhnaui · July 23, 2008, 09:25:55 PM

After the raid last night my computer also started having problems. It froze up 3 times and gave me a 'critical error'. Each time I would try to do anything, such as pick an herb, load up my flyer, feed my pet...anything at all, it would competely freeze and give me that message.
I ended up on the tech support forum, and found a thread by a blue addressing it.
I took my WHB, WTF, cache, and interface files out of the WoW folder.
I know my problem isn't the same as yours but you might check the tech support forum and see if someone can help, or if it might have already been addressed.
Another person in our guild had the exact same error message last night as I did, around the same time too.
I haven't downloaded any new addons, or done anything different with my computer for at least 2 weeks, so it's very strange.
I hope that at least gives you a direction to go.
Ruh

Beorngar · July 23, 2008, 10:38:22 PM

If it does that in other games besides wow,and in windows as well, then it sounds like a vid card problem.
Does that card draw power from your power supply(alot of ati cards do) aside from just the slot it's in? If so it could be the power supply instead of the card.
If you have an another video card you can slap in there, try that to see if it runs ok.

Mel/Slap · July 24, 2008, 08:26:09 AM

Check the Power supply
Check the connecctions
check that the card is fully seated
As i remimber you play on a laptop right?
If so make sure its cooling good
You could have semi fried something and it will take a while to fully fail.
thats all i can think of off the top of my head

~Aster Blaster~ · July 27, 2008, 11:07:19 AM

It stopped later that night, so I'm not sure what the problem was. All hardware appears to be working correctly now, no clue what caused it. I'm guessing it was something didn't load up correctly in my video drivers so it wasn't processing the information correctly, I did reinstall those as well but it didn't fix it immediately.

Either way, problem is gone now.

Zatanku · August 19, 2008, 03:19:46 PM

Sounds like a heat issue. Especially since it was kind of sporatic. Since you are on a laptop not a whole lot you can do other then make sure you go into your settings and ensure the fan is set to be on at all times. A lot of laptops will be set as default to use the fans when needed. Problem is in some cases by the time the fan is really needed its too late to actually cool the system down.

Eganti · August 20, 2008, 09:19:27 AM

Being in IT, I do tend to think outside the box at times....

I remember this one time, I was trying to install windows on a Toshiba Libretto (very small laptop) and it kept freaking out on me, getting so hot it just froze up...

Well, I decided to do the install with the laptop in my fridge and guess what...it worked

it was one of those "what ifs" I just had to test.

obviously I'm not suggesting this as a fix. I have seen fans cause overheating issues with laptops. If its still under warranty I would look into replacing it, or like Zat pointed out, check your bios for fan settings and just keep it on all the time. make sure there is good ventilation around the fan area of your laptop.

Zatanku · August 20, 2008, 11:56:46 AM

Thank you Eganti, you just made me laugh very hard during a very stressful day.

~Aster Blaster~ · August 20, 2008, 08:11:45 PM

Dunno when my computer became a laptop, the video card I got in there is honestly about as big as some laptops :)

Still periodically does this, still can't figure out why. I have pretty damn good cooling in my computer, and its only done it since being in Kansas.

Cooling:
Crazy heatsink
Crazy video card heatsink
2x 120mm fans
4x 80mm fans
1x slot fan
ram cooler's
chipset custom heatsink
hard drive coolers on each of the 3 hard drives

I don't think that would even all fit in a laptop :)

No idea though, because my room is air conditioned at 65 degrees, and the ventilation right by my computer is open, and the case vents air out of the top and intakes on the bottom. I'm setup to have a filled air case or whatever, meaning more air going in than going out. All my high fans blow out, all my low fans suck in.

Really confident its not a heat issue.

Zatanku · August 21, 2008, 08:38:55 AM

Oh, sorry, don't know where it turned into a laptop in my head either. Um based on all that what kind of powersupply do you have. That is a lot of extra power being used for all those fans. In all honesty you can keep a computer cool enough to keep a block of ice from melting for several hours with 2 fans as long as its sealed and venting properly even with a highend card in it.

KyndaSortah · August 23, 2008, 09:51:00 AM

Have you cleaned any dust you may have in the case out, including fans on processor, vid card, power supply? A partially clogged fan will not work as well as a clean one. Also, to check to see if if is a heat issue, you can go into your BIOS and check CPU and motherboard temp; the same screen can tell you how fast your fans are spinning, as well. Your temps should be around 25-35 degrees Celsius. Other than that, it may just be a faulty graphics card. Vit had one a long time ago that worked well for a good while, then just started crapping out. Just my 2cp :)

papalovebear · August 23, 2008, 12:53:08 PM

you check if it's plugged in?

Apocunderurbed · August 25, 2008, 03:29:08 PM

only reason papa says that is because him being the jackass he is, will slap his computer around til things go flying and in doing so remembers they aren't "tied to the wall" or plugged in as we have taught him to say.

WoW tends to melt things very easilly. but pretty much what everyone else has said to check i will just reinforce. and yes cleaning is sometimes a big problem not allowing the fans to work properly. keyboard cleaner works wonders on laptops, and u can huff it.

WIN WIN!!!!

papalovebear · August 25, 2008, 03:43:33 PM

Too bad our laptops burned in our palm prints from playing wow on them all the time. . . Yours was really bad though.