9600 Pro help :p

[Inioch]

Here's the deal. My dads computer started artifacting when turned on cold. Green dots, stripes, blackouts the works. If you reboot the computer everythning works out just fine, no glitches. Worked on the same setup for years.

Specs:
Epox EP-8K5A2
Athlon XP 1800+ "Palomino"
Radeon 9600 Pro
738MB DDR 333
Codegen 350W Psu

The gpu fan is running normally on both occasions and everything seems to be ok otherwise.

I checked HWMonitor and what struck me as odd is the 3.3V:

Could it be the PSU? I don't have a spare one to try at the moment.

I'm planning on getting a replacement GPU for him as cheap as possible, have my eye on a x850 Pro.

Advice is appreciated.

 

[Melcar]

Yeah, that 3.3V line looks bad. Software often misreads sensors though. What does the BIOS read? Can you check it yourself with a voltmeter? Another thing that could be wrong is the memory on the card itself. The vRAM chips are generally not cooled with the stock heatsink and it's not uncommon for the vRAM to just go bad after a while (happened to me already on several old ATI cards). You could try reducing the vRAM frequency with overclocking tools and see if that helps.

 

[Inioch]

Yeah, that 3.3V line looks bad. Software often misreads sensors though. What does the BIOS read? Can you check it yourself with a voltmeter? Another thing that could be wrong is the memory on the card itself. The vRAM chips are generally not cooled with the stock heatsink and it's not uncommon for the vRAM to just go bad after a while (happened to me already on several old ATI cards). You could try reducing the vRAM frequency with overclocking tools and see if that helps.

Should have mentioned it, BIOS reads the same. I thought about the rams too, but then why would it only do it cold?

I'll have to try some tools, can't remember what programs worked for those

 

[Melcar]

ATITool works fine on those cards.

 

[Inioch]

Changing the clocks did nothing. No matter what I set them, under or over, it still shows the same artifacts. When powering on, the gpu fan makes quite a raccet, so at least it's going to tap out soon.

I've got some lines in the water for a x850 Pro to replace it, but we'll see.

I think I'll have to pull apart another computer just to test if that's the cause.

 

[afw]

Try another VGA card if you have one to see whether the culprit is really the PSU ...

 

[Inioch]

Try another VGA card if you have one to see whether the culprit is really the PSU ...

Don't have one, that's the problem. I've gotten rid of all the socket A/AGP stuff besides this one comp.

 

[Black Panther]

Here's the deal. My dads computer started artifacting when turned on cold. Green dots, stripes, blackouts the works. If you reboot the computer everythning works out just fine, no glitches. Worked on the same setup for years.

Specs:
Epox EP-8K5A2
Athlon XP 1800+ "Palomino"
Radeon 9600 Pro
738MB DDR 333
Codegen 350W Psu

The gpu fan is running normally on both occasions and everything seems to be ok otherwise.

I checked HWMonitor and what struck me as odd is the 3.3V:

http://img.techpowerup.org/100122/Screen.jpg

Could it be the PSU? I don't have a spare one to try at the moment.

I'm planning on getting a replacement GPU for him as cheap as possible, have my eye on a x850 Pro.

Advice is appreciated.

I don't think it's the PSU.

I got 2 similar pc's (both with a 1800+) which concurrently do the same thing as you described and I haven't found a rational solution yet.
One of them is my 7 year old daughter's 'gaming' pc.
Changing gpu's doesn't solve the issue. What 'cures' it is taking out the graphics card and reinserting it. I know it doesn't sound like a good solution, but it works in my case. Keeps the pc running well for a good month or two. Then when it happens again I just rinse and repeat.

 

[afw]

Don't have one, that's the problem. I've gotten rid of all the socket A/AGP stuff besides this one comp.

hmm ....only option is to check the VGA on another PC ,,,, and your +5V readings are out of specs/range as well ...
Normal ratings should be +/- 5% (4.75V - 5.25V)

 

[Inioch]

hmm ....only option is to check the VGA on another PC ,,,, and your +5V readings are out of specs/range as well ...
Normal ratings should be +/- 5% (4.75V - 5.25V)

Yeah I know, the Codegen PSU is truly horrible. I'll have to see who is the OEM.

Panther: Thanks a lot, I'll have to try that.

 

[erocker]

I wouldn't trust CPUID HW Monitor at all. Look in your bios if possible for voltage readings. That being said that PSU is crap and should be taken out of your machine immediately.

 

[Inioch]

I wouldn't trust CPUID HW Monitor at all. Look in your bios if possible for voltage readings. That being said that PSU is crap and should be taken out of your machine immediately.

Bios gives roughly the same numbers. I know the PSU is crap, it seems I'll have to convince my dad to just get a new one. I have no idea how it has survived this long.

I don't think it's the PSU.

I got 2 similar pc's (both with a 1800+) which concurrently do the same thing as you described and I haven't found a rational solution yet.
One of them is my 7 year old daughter's 'gaming' pc.
Changing gpu's doesn't solve the issue. What 'cures' it is taking out the graphics card and reinserting it. I know it doesn't sound like a good solution, but it works in my case. Keeps the pc running well for a good month or two. Then when it happens again I just rinse and repeat.

That did it! Thanks a lot! Now I have to make a few cold boot runs to see that it really is gone for now.