getting a new card..

doomddoomd California
edited July 2009 in Hardware
hey guys im getting a new video card because of my 8800gts crashing my computer. im wondering if its best to upgrade to a 260gtx? some of my specs are
Intel Quad Q6600 2.4ghz
6gig Ram but only 3.5 used for 32bit vista
geforce 8800gts 640mb
asus P5N-E SLI motherboard
Antec NeoPower 550 psu

Comments

  • MAGICMAGIC Doot Doot Furniture City, Michigan Icrontian
    edited July 2009
    260 is a great card, but how sure are you that it is the graphic card that is doing the crashing?
  • doomddoomd California
    edited July 2009
    well i could be my drivers too for it but my problem and report for windows said my video hardware caused the crash, but also i was going to upgrade anyways but would the 260gtx be the way to go?
  • lordbeanlordbean Ontario, Canada
    edited July 2009
    gtx 260 is a good performer for the money. MAGIC is right though, you may wanna do some research into the cause of the crashes. A good many different things can cause a video driver crash in a PC that aren't even related to the video card.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited July 2009
    A video driver can cause a crash due to bad RAM, a faulty OS, or even a bad hard drive. The driver touches all three of those points of failure. It may not be your GPU.
  • doomddoomd California
    edited July 2009
    ill start on testing my cpu and memory.
  • doomddoomd California
    edited July 2009
    theres no problems with memory. hmm would low hard drive space lead to that too?
  • lordbeanlordbean Ontario, Canada
    edited July 2009
    depends how low, and how large your page file is. Even with huge amounts of ram, windows still likes to put some things in the page file. If you're running out of space and it can't figure out where to put things, it might be causing a crash.

    This is, however, unlikely. With 6 gigs of ram, page-related crashes shouldn't really be happening.

    If your system is prime95 blend-stable for an extended period of time (I would define this as 3+ hours without a crash, some may prefer longer), then there's probably nothing wrong with the CPU or ram. If the crashes you are experiencing with your 8800gts occur in any game, it could at that point actually be the card.
  • doomddoomd California
    edited July 2009
    thats the main reason why i thought my video card is crashing my comp. in almost every game i play now, i have bsoded
  • lordbeanlordbean Ontario, Canada
    edited July 2009
    It sounds like one of two things to me, then: either your graphics card is overheating (this causes a driver crash), or your graphics card has damaged spots in its ram (memory corruption would definitely cause a crash). The former may be fixable with a new case and/or more fans, the latter will not. Do you have a means by which to monitor the temperature the graphics card hits at full load?

    If you don't, I suggest this little utility:

    Furmark

    Run it in Stability Testing mode for as long as it'll go (until it crashes, essentially). Watch what the card's temp gets to. If it's over 90 celsius, it could be a cooling problem. Temps in the 80 celsius range are quite warm, but most cards can tolerate that. 90+ is where it starts going critical.
  • doomddoomd California
    edited July 2009
    okk.. it is a cooling problem.. on the first 200 secs my cards temps jump to 109c.. its lowest was 74c.
  • lordbeanlordbean Ontario, Canada
    edited July 2009
    Here's your methods of approach then, ranging from cheapest to most expensive:

    If the wiring in the case looks like a spiderweb, try to clean it up to improve airflow
    If there are any cards directly above or below the graphics card (particularly below), see if they can be relocated
    If the interior of the case is dusty, buy a compressed air can and clean it out as best you can
    If your case has extra fan mount points, buy fans to put in it (particularly if any are aimed at the graphics card)
    Failing all this, get a new case with better airflow. My personal favorite at the moment is the cooler master HAF 932, although most offerings from cooler master and antec will do you fairly well.
  • doomddoomd California
    edited July 2009
    alright! thanks! my case is small actually and ive had many heating problems before with my cpu. i was already thinking about getting a new case too when buying that 260gtx because i know it probly wasnt even going to fit.
  • lordbeanlordbean Ontario, Canada
    edited July 2009
    Definitely a good idea, by the sound of it. The GTX 260 may experience the same problems in your current case, given the temps your 8800 GTS is hitting.
  • doomddoomd California
    edited July 2009
    soo i actually bought a 275gtx for the same price! it was on sale soo what the heck haha! also i got a cooler master 690 and everything runs coool!
  • lordbeanlordbean Ontario, Canada
    edited July 2009
    nice, GTX 275 is a good solid graphics card. Sounds like you're all set for some good gaming times :)
  • doomddoomd California
    edited July 2009
    i know!! thank you everyone for helping me with my problem!
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