Radeon 9600XT problem

Richard M · 09-04-2004, 01:20

Hi guys.

Apart from the fact that the 512MB of RAM I bought this afternoon causing Mozilla to crash every 2 minutes (and am posting this using IE -- which is a total nightmare! where's my tabs???), I also bought a rather nice ATI Radeon 9600XT today.

Currently, I've been running an NVidia GF4 MX440 which is on it's way out because it's two years old and the fan has failed.
I thought I'd treat myself to a nice new GFX card and went out and paid ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£115 for the 9600 which is a bargain in my book - DVI, VIVO, heatsinks on everything....

The problem is: when I put the card in, the monitor doesn't turn on... this motherboard has successfully booted before using a Radeon 9800 and works fine with my GF4 but whenever I put the 9600 in, it boots but the monitor doesn't turn on - does anybody have any idea what the hell is going on here?

Has the NVidia BIOS thing (which usually appears first, before the RAM check) got anything to do with it, is the card dead?

If any of you have had problems migrating from NVidia to ATI I'd like to hear from you...

Bifta · 09-04-2004, 01:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard M

Hi guys.

Apart from the fact that the 512MB of RAM I bought this afternoon causing Mozilla to crash every 2 minutes (and am posting this using IE -- which is a total nightmare! where's my tabs???), I also bought a rather nice ATI Radeon 9600XT today.

Currently, I've been running an NVidia GF4 MX440 which is on it's way out because it's two years old and the fan has failed.
I thought I'd treat myself to a nice new GFX card and went out and paid ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£115 for the 9600 which is a bargain in my book - DVI, VIVO, heatsinks on everything....

The problem is: when I put the card in, the monitor doesn't turn on... this motherboard has successfully booted before using a Radeon 9800 and works fine with my GF4 but whenever I put the 9600 in, it boots but the monitor doesn't turn on - does anybody have any idea what the hell is going on here?

Has the NVidia BIOS thing (which usually appears first, before the RAM check) got anything to do with it, is the card dead?

If any of you have had problems migrating from NVidia to ATI I'd like to hear from you...

What motherboard have you got? Chances are the card is shagged mind. I don't know if the 9600's need to be powered from the PSU, all the 9700's + do and the system will complain bitterly if you don't plug it in.

Richard M · 09-04-2004, 01:29

No power port here...I've checked everything.

Bifta · 09-04-2004, 01:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard M

No power port here...I've checked everything.

The only thing you can do really, is check it in another machine and/or get it RMA'd.

Richard M · 09-04-2004, 01:50

I'm going to take it over my friends house tomorrow.
He has a 9600 Pro so it should boot at least, if the card is OK.

If it doesn't boot then I'll get a replacement.
If it does boot then I guess I'll have to buy a new motherboard + DDR + CPU... kinda pointless because I'm buying a ultra spec system in a few days anyway but still... I need the extra PC to be able to play TV, DVDs and DX9 games when I feel the need to.

PS: The crashing problem is sorted!
All I had to do is take out a 128MB stick and leave the new 512MB in there - seems my (2 year old) mobo can't handle more than 512MB SDRAM!

Bifta · 09-04-2004, 02:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard M

I'm going to take it over my friends house tomorrow.
He has a 9600 Pro so it should boot at least, if the card is OK.

If it doesn't boot then I'll get a replacement.
If it does boot then I guess I'll have to buy a new motherboard + DDR + CPU... kinda pointless because I'm buying a ultra spec system in a few days anyway but still... I need the extra PC to be able to play TV, DVDs and DX9 games when I feel the need to.

PS: The crashing problem is sorted!
All I had to do is take out a 128MB stick and leave the new 512MB in there - seems my (2 year old) mobo can't handle more than 512MB SDRAM!

It could just be a mismatch with the older stick, only way to find out is to stick more in, bit of an expensive mistake if it does only support 512 though.

punky · 09-04-2004, 02:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bifta

It could just be a mismatch with the older stick, only way to find out is to stick more in, bit of an expensive mistake if it does only support 512 though.

I second that. Mixing RAM which is even closely related can cause tons of stability problems. Don't even think about mixing speeds. Some people have trouble mixing different sized RAM that is the same speed and manufacturer. With RAM it is always better to swap rather than add.

Richard M · 09-04-2004, 02:21

Well thankfully it's sorted now and is stable as Gordon Brown...so what are your views on the GFX card?

Bifta · 09-04-2004, 02:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard M

Well thankfully it's sorted now and is stable as Gordon Brown...so what are your views on the GFX card?

9600XT's are great cards for the money.

ZrByte · 09-04-2004, 02:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by punky

I second that. Mixing RAM which is even closely related can cause tons of stability problems. Don't even think about mixing speeds. Some people have trouble mixing different sized RAM that is the same speed and manufacturer. With RAM it is always better to swap rather than add.

I, erm, Third that

I think thats why it seems to be fashionable to max out your RAM to more than you will need when you buy a new computer at the moment.
Lets Face it RAM is pretty cheap these days, 512MB will be more than you will need in most cases, 1024MB if you do a lot of Video editing, graphic editing etc. Most people will build a new machine with this in mind and add as much RAM as possible. Normally by the time you need more RAM then you will probably be due to change out the motherboard aswel, wich often in the everchanging world of computers means you need a different type of RAM anyway. This in some cases is pointless (adding too much RAM) though it does improve stability in most cases as you dont have to worry about RAM mismatch later.
The only time I have ever added RAM to a machine was when I had my athlon t'bird (OR was it my K6-2? ), it was during that crazy RAM price incrase quite a few years back when 64MB PC100 was ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£200+ I allready had 64MB and needed another 64MB, luckily I found some cheap... well.... Cheapish (ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£150) so really couldnt afford to dump my old 64MB and buy a 128MB, luckily it worked out fine for me and my machine was pretty stable. Even still I tend to build all my curret machines with the most RAM I am likley to need right off the Bat, as said previously it saves any potential complications later on.

punky · 09-04-2004, 09:49

I've just bought a Radeon 9600se for budget computer i'm building, so I don't know yet but I shall soon. I hope I have made a wise leap from Geforces to Radeons. What does everyone reckon? I had it on good authority that this card was real nice, and it was cheap, which is nice.

I hope I made a good descision choosing a Radeon 96 over an GF5.

Richard M · 09-04-2004, 10:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bifta

9600XT's are great cards for the money.

I mean the RAM is sorted, not the GFX card...

EDIT: I just tried the card again, cleared the CMOS but it still won't boot/post - I just get a blank screen (no signal) and the HD LED is constantly on.
Not even the onboard graphics provide a signal when the card is in.
The GF4 works fine though...

EDIT 2: I've spoken to my mate who got the same problem when using a 9600 Pro, instead of flashing the bios which would fix it I'm just going to buy a new mobo, CPU and RAM instead because the mobo is 2 years old anyway.
This mobo with its SDRAM will come in useful as a general server/webserver/dev/P2P machine I think...