8800 Ultra XXX Nightmare

[Slickric21]

Hey guys,
I just came across these forums and thoght it may be the place to get some help:help:

I bought a XFX 8800 Ultra XXX 2 weeks ago now in the UK from a shop called Scan.The rest of my specs are X2 4800+,Abit KN8 ultra,2gb Corsiar xms,X-fi fatality,150gb raptor,750w Silverstone (60a on single 12 v rail - replaced 700w OCZ GXS last week) Case is EZ Cool Alpine.

This card came clocked at 685/1674/2300.

It would continually freeze after a minute or so in the games I have
BF2/2142, Dirt, R6:vegas - with the computer locking up completely.
First i thought it was drivers so tested various, then settings eg Vsync on/off - after 2 solid days of troubleshooting established it would freeze with any combination of settings with any drivers.

I'm a member on "driverheaven forums" and have a thread over their and on the "hexus scan forums".

some suggested it was heat - so I went to town on the cooling.
I now have 2x front fans, 3x side fans blowing directly onto the card, I even fixed another 120mm fan inside the case to blow across the top of the card (none cooler side) and out ouf a PCI slot vent.
Add to this a top exhaust, powerful rear exhaust and the exhaust fans on the card and my PSu and there is good air circulation throughout the case (not no mention the case is actually perforated with 1000's tiny holes !!)
There is cool air coming in the front of the case - then being blow across the top of the card. There is cool air coming into the side - feeding the cards cooling fan with cool air.

My temps before I installed all these fans (just had 2x front and 1 side to start)
GPU idle/load 71/86
CPU idle/load 38/40
Sys idle/load 36/38

After
GPU idle/load 64/84
CPU idle/load 36/39
SYS idle/load 31/32

These temps were taken with abit guru/ ntune + riva tuner and were an a humid summers day.

The result - the card still crashes - albiet not as frequently.
It can run 3dmark no problems - but give it some hardcare gaming, particualry colin mcrae dirt which brings this card to its knees and it just packs up.

I have a support ticket 96817 with XFX europe, but they suggested down clocking the card (which did stabilze it - but I shouldn't have to do this I think !!!) and turn off anti virus etc etc - which any self respecting gamer would already do !!

So as the card doensn't run at stock only if down clocked to say 675/2290 or less I RMA'd it to Scan Uk.

They tested it for 30mins on 3dmark and on lost planet dx10, said it was fine and sent it back chargeing me £30 + vat for the privelege. I phoned them up and they confirmed that there test machine has an open case both sides - To combat heat related probs.

So i'm now stuck with this card, can't get it runing at stock - even though i've taken extreme measures to cool it in my case - bar taking the sides off when gaming I don't know what to do now ?

I think XFX have overclocked this particular card and that it can't cool itself under "normal" condtions.

Any suggestions would be most helpful

[xfxsupport]

The reason they asked you to downclock the video card is for testing purposes, always a quick way to help see if the problem lies with the video card. Add to your ticket the contact info for the retailer you had test your video card and I will see about trying to get the Europe team to help pressure them for further testing.


XFX Support

[Slickric21]

Thanks for trying to help.

I added the details to the support ticket, however Scan have already sent me the card back and I'd be loathed to send it to them again because 1) I don't trust them now 2) its expensive.

I'd love to get this sorted but I fear the worst....

[xfxsupport]

Let me see what I can do.


XFX Support

[Player1]

I had a Abit A8V (or was it AV8) a few years ago and i had problems with that mobo because both the cpu, ide, agp and the graphics card were factory overclocked. Make a quick check in your bios and on the abit forums to see if your mobo is oc'd and if its possible to turn it off.

[Slickric21]

Hey Player1,

thanks for the heads up, but that was one of the first things I didi - checked all bios settings and made sure was nothing was Oc'd.

Also In Ntune I can run the stabilty test for several hours with no probs.

Its the card IMO m8, clocked too high me thinks......................

I suppose thinking about it even if down clock it to say 675/2290mhz everytime gaming its still at least as fast as the nearest rival cards. Just frustrating as I could have been THE fastest card if it did what it said on the tin.

[Player1]

If you are running Vista do a clean install and then only install the drivers Vista didn't provide. On my first install i installed all drivers (chipset, lan ...) and the comp got unstable.

[Slickric21]

I've got XP

I have tried a clean install with the card when I first got it.
Also Whenever I changed drivers I used Drivercleaner PE.
All were the same 158.22/ 160.02 /160.03 /165.15/ 168.18 - freezing completley during a game.

I'm convinced its the clocks being too high, as stabilty improves the more i down clock it. When i go to 675/2290 It has played fine for 4 hours none stop. The moment I use stock values 685/2300 it will freeze - maybe after 2 mins or 20 - but it will happen.
There is no artifacting or any warning - it just locks up and only thing is to hit reset button :frown:

One thing I have noticed is that in rivatuner when I check the clock speeds there is an exclaimation mark next to the shader clock speed of 1674mhz, and the slider bar is right at the top of the graph indicating it can't go any higher - but I don't have access to downclock this.

The default clock settings of this card are Core 685mhz / Shader 1674mhz / Memory 2300mhz.

I'm just wondering if A bios flash to the original specs of this card 675/1667/2300 may be the answer ultimatley ??????

[Player1]

One last thing you can try is goto XFX website and download the drivers from there. I went there and for my 8800GTS they had 158.28 whql.

[Scott]

I would not flash the BIOS. Just lower the clocks until XFX can get you a new card.

It is possible in you enviroment (meaning room temps, case temps) that the card is overheating. I know mine will not overclock even 5 more MHz before it will lock up like yours.

[Slickric21]

Well the room case temps internal today are reading 26c and cpu temp 31c room temp is 20ish.

I've gone to town on the cooling as per my first post. This has made an improvement - so it seems to be heat related - But I don't think I can do any more now.
When I RMA'd the card to Scan Uk they tested it in an open case and found no problems. I Have tried this and indeed it played fine for over 2 hours in BF2 - but Colin mcrae Dirt soon saw it freeze. The gpu temps were the same as when i've got the side of the case on though.

The gpu temps are idling now about 65 load is low 80's - which for this card is nothing abnormal.

I'll wait to see what XFX support do as the shop (Scan have not been much help and charged me £30 + VAT)

[Slickric21]

Well i got the card back from Scan and in the end they refunded me the "no fault found fee" which was a bonus.

However I got another response from XFX tech support asking me to Isolate one of the cores on my cpu whilst gaming.
I did - It still freezes.
He also asked me to test the card on an SLI certified motherboard...... which I can't do untill the end of the month (when I'm upgrading my CPU +MOBo+Ram to the new core2duos)

Also on the hexus scan forums another person has added a post stating he is having exactly the same problems as me. That makes 3 of us on their now !!!!

Still frustrated.....................

[Scott]

Lower the clocks on the GPU and lets see what my guy Shannon can do for you.

[xfxsupport]

I am currently working with the support group in your area to try and get this resolved. In the mean time like Scott reminded, down clock the video card and test it out. This is actually a great way to help determine if the video card is faulty.


XFX Support

[JHV]

Just finished packing up my 24 hour old XFX 8800 Ultra and shipping it back I assumed that it was defective after undertaking several hours of tweakign and workign with the Tech Support people at XFX.

System specs;

Windows XP Professional SP2 (Fresh Install)
Intel Quad core 6600 processor (2.4Ghz)
4GB system ram Pc6400 800 mhz
XFX 680i LT Mobo
850W Power supply

System never went over 120°F (tech support said that critidcal temp was in the vicinity of 130°C so I was no where near that).

Ghost Recon looked amazing, but only for about 1 minute before freezing (audio continued, but video needed to restart/reboot).

War Rock - Played for 1 - 2 minutes and then got a system freeze

Call of Duty - same results.

I tried every concievable fix that I could think of and all the recommendations from XFX' tech support (have to say that they picked up very quickly and really tried to help- props to them).

Ran lower resolution - no fix
Ran slow clock speed - no fix

Ran stability test and passed with flying colors.

Tried card in lower slot, upper slot and no joy either way.

Updated driver to current on XFX website

card played video back fine, but failed miserably on any 3d game I owned

Bottom line is that I'll give it another try, but if I can't run full resolution and full clock speed with a card that cost me nearly $800.00 US, why on earth would I bother to own it?

If I have any better results I'll be sure to post them.

[Slickric21]

Yep will do.

My last response on the XFX support ticket was to try and test the card on another MOBO. I can do this at the end of the month as i'll be upgrading CPU then to E6850.

However i'm sceptical this will have any effect. I've been contacted on the 'Hexus Scan' forums by 2x people with differing setups- same card, and they have the same problem. 1 of those guys is having is card replaced by Scan for another brand, they just accepted his word it was faulty and are swapping it straight off. (they didn't do this for me even though I raised my query within 7 days of purchase).

Also on Driverheaven.net forum there is 2x people on my thread with same problem with this card and in the Nvidia forums another 2x with this card and fault.

That makes 6 people with XFX 8800 ultra XXX that have same problem :frown:

On the brightside though, even if I downclock the card to 675mhz - it still is the fastest 8800 out there by a mile............... I just hope that each time its froze its not damaged the ram/chips in anyway.

On a side note, rejigging my fans and modifiying my case I have got the idle temps of this card down to the 55-57c range, at load with DiRT colin mcrae it reached 78c. So i've reduced these temps by 15c idle and 10c load since i've had this card. But however it still froze.........:jawdrop:

[Slickric21]

Well got the e6850 and Asus striker extreme 680i.

Games still lock up. XFX support have said "recontact the supplier" so obviously can't help anymore.
I'm loathed to send it back to the supplier scan as they found no fault 1st time (admittedly using 3dmark with vista - not what it freezes for me).

In the meantime I've been playing with rivatuner and have concluded that if I set the fan to run 80% or higher the card doesn't freeze at all - regardless of clock speeds being lowered or not.

So now i'm in the dilema do I keep the card and always do this (80% fan level) or send it back and prey they find a fault this time ?????

I'm just worried that the freeze ups have damaged or effected the cards longevity:frown:
Also the fact that my temps for this card are relativley low compared to others (with the extra cooling i've installed) yet it still froze concern me

[xfxsupport]

I will let them know that returning to your retailer might not be an option and I suggest you do the same. I will try to arrange it so you can send the video card directly to them.


XFX Support

[guyfromgermany]

Hello!

I'm new here.

I wanted to buy a XFX 8800 Ultra XXX (the new one with higher clocks - 685/1674/2300). The package also contains Lost Planet, wich is a hint that the card _should_ be the "new" one with the slightly higher clocks.

But reading about the problems that XFX 8800 Ultra Users have, I really have reservations whether to buy this card or not.

I'm from Germany and I think we do not have a XFX branch office or sth. like that. The retailer is "e-Bug" (www.e-bug.de).

What if my 8800 Ultra XXX will not run properly?

Can I exspect help from XFX USA (oh dear - shipping costs coming to my mind :( ) or can I simply send the card back to my retailer?

The retailer problably will not have the card in his sales mix for an exchange card all the time!

How long does it normally take to replace the card by making use of the XFX 2 year warranty?

@XFX-Team:

Please say that not every 8800 Ultra XX is not running properly, i really want to buy one ;)

Thank you very much!!!

best regards

[Slickric21]

Well not every XXX card has the freezing issues, as one poster on here can testify. See http://www.bjorn3d.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14134

However this is the only user I've personally encountered who runs them no probs - there must be others though surely.

I think the nature of situations like these is you only hear from people who have problems - not from those who don't.

As for my card, UK XFX support was a watse of time - they were slow, primative in their response and help (eg i'd wait 10 days then get a reply like "try disabling your anti-virus") & ultimatley couldn't help me at all. They passed on responsibilty to the supplier - who had already rejected my RMA before. I still have the card and it does run fine at 685/2300 if I use Rivatuner and set fan speed to 80% or higher whilst playing games it freezes on.(or down-clock it to 675mhz)

This support forum is geared towards North American users, you can't get direct help here (just my experience). As for german XFX I don't know.

However your first point for a return is your supplier - you will know very quickly if you have a problem on the card - so returing it to them should be no problem. If they don't have the same card to swap 1)get a refund and buy a different card, or 2) get them to send it back to XFX for a replacement.

As for buying the card, i'd say go for it. By No means are the 'freezing' problems isolated to XFX - all makes of card are doing it to a small amount of users with the Ultra oc'd versions.
As least if you go XFX you get a good bundle and get THE fastest single card on the market at the moment :lol:
It is a sweet card

Good luck

[Scott]

My card works fine.

[ShadOLurk]

Add me to the list of unhappy XFX 8800 Ultra XXX users.....

Mine will crash in the first 10 seconds of BF2/BF2142:frown:

I'm going to try clocking down the card & try the fan speed tweak.

Is RivaTuner the best thing to use ?

What speed does the Fan normally run at ?

My Specs:
Intel Core2 Quad Q6600
Gigabyte GA-965P-DQ6 (Rev1.0+latest Bios)
Enermax Infiniti 720W PSU
4Gb CorsairTwinX XMS2 DDR2 PC2-6400 CAS 4-4-4-12, EPP (4x 1Gb)
Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic
XFX 8800Ultra XXX Graphics Card

Everything running @ stock frequencies

Using 162.22 WHQL Drivers - Vista Ultimate 64bit OS

Shad.

[Schwarz]

Maybe starting a ticket over at XFX and RMAing the card would be a good idea...

[Slickric21]

ShadOlurk,

Try using Rivatuner and set a Fixed fan profile - so it runs at say 85% speed constantly (you can deactivate and revert back to normal anytime)

The fan currently runs at 60% untill the temps go over 80'c I think. by this time its too late for some people and its frozen.

try that first, see how you get on.

[ShadOLurk]

setting the fan to 85% lets me play much longer...
but i still get artifacts even at 100% fan...

I've got it working fine.... only if i lower the clocks to ultra xt speeds.

So no XXX speeds for me.:frown: