Help! ATI 9800 Pro Fried!

[Uber_Gamer]

As I am typing this, I am having serious issues with my ATI 9800 Pro. My screen is layered with artifacts that get progressively worse the longer the computer is on - to the point where I cannot read or see anything. I have tried temporarily underclocking the 9800 Pro, but it does nothing.

Just recently I removed the stock fan/heatsink and installed an Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer 1 (Rev. 2) with some Arctic Silver 5. I followed the instructions to the letter for both applying the thermal paste and installing the heatsink. I even used Arctic Cooling's Thermal Material Remover and Surface Purifier before putting new thermal paste on. After about 1 1/2 - 2 months of solid, even overclocked performance, I've been getting these artifacts. Just so you know, I was not doing anything different or installing anything new, I was using my computer exactly as I had been before when I suddenly got this problem. So, figuring there was something wrong with my application of the thermal paste, I took apart my computer, cleaned and purified the heatsink and VGA chip, used my printed out Arctic Silver application instructions, and put everything back together. Same problem.

How can I remedy this? Or, is it time to look for a new card? (By the way, I've only had this card for a little over a year)

[SonicVanguard]

Overclocking will certainly reduce the lifespan of a graphics card - you've just proven that. I doubt there is much you can do to remedy your problem other than buy a new card.

[Uber_Gamer]

So you think this is a result of overclocking my video card? That sucks... I was under the impression that even overclocked, a video card would last me atleast 4 years.

How can I check the card's temperature to see whether it's the card overheating somehow or if it's just fried?

[kram 2.0]

Originally Posted by Uber_Gamer So you think this is a result of overclocking my video card? That sucks... I was under the impression that even overclocked, a video card would last me atleast 4 years. How can I check the card's temperature to see whether it's the card overheating somehow or if it's just fried?

Depends on which core - I believe the R360 9800 Pros have built-in temp sensors whereas the R350 based ones do not. I believe the card probably went south - the 9800 Pros run naturally very hot. Can you post your full sys specs including power supply output?

kram

[Uber_Gamer]

Here goes my specs...


Motherboard: ASUS K8V-SE Deluxe

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3000+ - Newcastle Core

Hard Drive: 120 Gb Seagate 7200 rpm IDE drive

Video Card: 128 mb ATI Radeon 9800 Pro - R360 core
(with attached Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer 1 and copper ramsinks on the 8 memory chips)

Memory: 2x512 mb Corsair Value Select Ram (CAS 2.5 I believe)

Sound Card: Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS

Wireless Card: Netgear... something or other... I forget, but if it matters I'll look it up.

Plus an ASUS DVD-ROM and a Lite-On DVD+-RW

My power supply is an Enlight 420 Watt. I'll just list what it says on the side of the PSU for the output...

+5V @ 40A
+3.3V @ 30A
+12V @ 18A
-5V @ .3A
-12V @ .8A
+5VSB @ 2A

Hope this helps diagnose my problem.

[glc]

Your GPU may be cooled properly, but the video ram isn't. Artifacts are usually due to flaky video ram, not a flaky GPU. Your overclocking may have overheated the video ram one too many times.

[tigstah]

i've gone thru 2 of those cards....they both went south after 18 months each.
i didnt overclock them tho.
you traded a few more framerates for a shorter lifecycle.
i would contact ati and see if they will fix it for a fee.....then again, bestbuy had some x800xl for about 250......