Unsolvable Graphics Problem!!

[Viperphantom]

Hello, I have a rather unique problem that has not been solved anywhere else. Whenever play a game (counter-strike, BFME2, etc.) my graphics run fine for about three minutes, usually over 100 fps. Then, at about the 3-min mark, the performance suddenly drops to an unplayable frame rate, about 10fps, where it stays for another two min, then bumps back up to normal. The cycle continues as long as I play the game. 2D apps (Word, web browsing) work fine, no problems there. I've updated every driver, uninstalled every graphics card driver and reinstalled, turned the graphics all the way down, defragged, etc. Even ATI has no idea what the problem is.:mad: Help! System specs are:

Pentium 4 840
ATI X850XT PE
1GB DDR RAM
2 WD 200 GB in RAID 0
Creative Audigy ZS

Thanks!!

[mousiness]

reinstall all brand new drivers and see what happens, woops nevermind it says youve done that

[Das Capitolin]

This isn't so tough. If I were called out to troubleshoot this problem, this is what I would do:

First, swap the video adapter with another. You have already told us you spent time making changes on the software side, to let's eliminate the card itself.

If that didn't change things, review the BIOS settings and make sure everything is as it should be.

Next, confirm that temperature is not an issue.

Finally, review the event log and search for possible clues, and repeat the software steps you have taken.

[mousiness]

do you have any idea which motherboard it is?

[Viperphantom]

It's a D955XBK I think...

[mousiness]

ok then there shouldnt be any problems intel boards rarely have problems like these let me check on their site for any known problems, well it does say there are known heating issues over by the chipset side of the board and a little bit by the CPU side, double check temperature numbers for normal ratings

[Viperphantom]

Thanks guys, I'll check out the heat issues. I've been reading that dust can really mess some systems up, and it's been a while since I last cleaned out my case, so I'll prob do that. Any tips for proper use of compressed air?

[mousiness]

just dont put the psi too high or itll destroy the pc, and no vaccums either itll suck out the parts and it can cause an electric charge in the system, i suggest pure hand cleaning

[Viperphantom]

Hmmm...ok. One last question--what is a normal operating temp for the card, and then for the case in general?

[mousiness]

on good air cooling around 40 would be normal, anything around or over 60 is too high, thats the CPU, the case should be around 40 degrees on air, im not sure about that perticular card though

[Viperphantom]

Cool, thanks man for all your help.

[mousiness]

anytime thats what the people at b3d are here for

[werty316]

Check your temps.

[Kougar]

This isn't so tough. If I were called out to troubleshoot this problem, this is what I would do:

First, swap the video adapter with another. You have already told us you spent time making changes on the software side, to let's eliminate the card itself.

If that didn't change things, review the BIOS settings and make sure everything is as it should be.

Next, confirm that temperature is not an issue.

Finally, review the event log and search for possible clues, and repeat the software steps you have taken.

This sounds exactly like a temperature related problem, as previously mentioned. ;)

Dusting is definitely a good start... only tip for that I can think of is make sure the system is unplugged first, because if any of the propellant comes out in it's liquified form it'll almost be like using a water gun on the computer. ;)
If you need a good utility to measure your graphics card temps then I would suggest ATI Tool, which you can DL from http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/259 (http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/259). It will display your GPU temp, along with fan speeds and other useful stuff... They also had some info on temperatures that you might find useful HERE (http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/overclocking/voltmods/101).

[mousiness]

this motherboard is known to have severe heat issues, go to the intel site and read for yourself, you might wanna put on new fans for your CPU if nothing is solved, and maybe a chipset fan would help because most of the heat is coming from the chipsets, and the mosfets dont appear to be cooled in any way either which is bound to cause trouble. in the end if nothing helps cleaning the dust or heating wise just get a zalman vpu cooler

[newsk-1]

I had problem like yours and fixed it by using a driver cleaning utility{Driver cleaner Pro} and doing a complete driver reinstall.
I also had it when I over clocked my video card too high and forgot to bump up the voltag to the GPU core.
Hope this helps.

[darkorb]

i had the same problem. like mine was it goes fine, then the fps drops to half for like 2 seconds. i think it def was a heat issue. i changed my heatsink and got a zalman vf700-alcu, dropped like 15 degrees. first just get the air cans and spray in ur case, get all the dust out. then gently spray ur card. i think it should be fine. ati usually has good vga cooling

[interpim]

if your case itself has any kind of heat issues then no matter what you have on your card it will never get below the ambient temp in the case... Best bet is to get the coolest air as quick as possible across the heatsinks. You may also want to invest in a cooler for your Mobo chips.

[DragonMaster]

I had similar problems, sometimes it was the automatic backup feature of WinXP, sometimes heat (When the X2 3800+ on the computer I'm talking about goes over 53*C it slows down to 800MHz and crashes after a while), or the drivers.

[werty316]

I had similar problems, sometimes it was the automatic backup feature of WinXP, sometimes heat (When the X2 3800+ on the computer I'm talking about goes over 53*C it slows down to 800MHz and crashes after a while), or the drivers.
Alot of GPUs and CPUs "throttle" down their clockspeed so not to fry the chip. 53c is pretty toasty for a X2.

[DragonMaster]

53c is pretty toasty for a X2.

Oh, that's why it can't go over 2100MHz stable! I often read that this temp is "normal".

Uses stock cooler (It still was the crappy old one w/o heatpipes in February), and Antec Sonata II case with TriCool fan at mid setting...

[Kougar]

53c for a 2.1ghz X2 is way to high, and not having the newer heatpipe stock cooler is a big reason... You'll definitely get farther with an aftermarket cooler on that chip. ;)

[DragonMaster]

But I'd like to keep the AMD warranty for a while...

We're getting quite OT...

[Assassin]

Yeah defintely seems like a driver problem/heat problem, i had a problem like that with my old fx5500 (dont laugh too hard) I turned up the af and At the begining of an 3d app it would freeze up and go down to like 5 fps then it'd go back up... but thats just because my fx5500 sucked. Btw i'm running a evga 6800xt and no matter what my clocks are it runs around 57-60c :shock: but never gives me a problem with those temps... maybe ATI cards dont like high temps.