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View Full Version : XFX 8800GT Alpha Dog edition crashing constantly and quickly


Dalton
02-11-2008, 07:12 AM
I see this is a pretty common problem with this card judging from the number of threads about it on the forum, but while most people state that they can play for anywhere between 30 min. to an hour before their system locks up, I can only play new games (Crysis, Tabula Rasa, any U3Engine game) for about twenty seconds before my screen is filled with red squiggly lines and my entire system crashes.

I've gone back and forth with XFX tech support for several weeks now (turnaround time on responses to my questions seems to be two days or more for some reason), and they finally authorized an RMA (ticket number 131185). I was planning on buying a 3rd-party VGA heatsink/fan as this appears to be an overheating problem and I've read that this can fix lockups, but judging by how quickly the card locks up any time it's under load, does it sound more like my card is just borked and I should RMA without delay?

As a side note, at one point during the support process I was sent a new fan BIOS for the card, but this seemed to make things worse, as card temperatures increased significantly after flashing it to the card. Could this be causing problems, and if so is there any way to revert to the factory-default BIOS?

Any help would be appreciated, as I received this card as a Christmas present and I've had constant problems with it for almost two months now (even requiring buying a whole new motherboard and set of RAM as the card wouldn't even post with my old mobo which used a VIA chipset). I just want to be able to use my computer for gaming again!

xfxsupport
02-11-2008, 07:39 PM
What kind of temps were you getting? Sorry to hear you are having issues and it looks like you have your RMA and things are rolling. Also keep in mind the fact the video card didnt work with your VIA chipset mobo was an issue with the mobo and not the video card. Toss me a PM after you send it in, so I can help it though the system once it is here.

Dalton
02-11-2008, 08:14 PM
Card temps are 54-56 degrees Celcius idle, upwards of 70 degrees with older games like World of Warcraft or Half-Life 2, and spike even higher when playing any of the newer games I mentioned (I don't know specific temps, because my system always locks up and dies at that point). Before flashing the fan BIOS sent to me, I was getting temps about 10 degrees cooler.

Should I try a new fan/heatsink first to see if it resolves the issue, or does it sound like my card is just defective and I should send it back to be replaced?