Frustrating ATI Radeon problem

Aragorn · 30-10-2004, 14:33

Feel I need to get this off my chest, but not expecting any magic solutions.

Last week I put together my first home built PC - Antec case, ASUS NForce3 Mobo, A64 3000, 1 Gb Ram, ATI 9800 Pro, 160Gb SATA Maxtor, etc - and I was amazed how easy and quick it was - about 3 hours building (reading guides of the fly!).

Had to break off for a day and then loaded software - XP Pro loaded in under 25mins

. All working fine until I decided to try running a game to check out the 9800 Pro. Loaded the COD UO demo and complete garbage on the screen. Tried Rome TW demo and same problem plus card hung and recovered by VPU recovery.

Off to Rage3D forum and followed hints like changing AGP voltage, upgrade Mobo Bios, setting to 4x AGP - no differences.

This morning I try again. works OK for a couple of mins then locks up again. Beginning to smell a rat here! Tried unplugging non-essential devices in case PSU is wimpy - no change.

To cut the story short(ish) looking under the 9800 I noticed that the fan ain't running

. Tried various molexs in the case - no difference. Now assuming that the fan is duff and need to RMA.

To make matters worse Microdirect's returns line is shut at weekends so I can't get an RMA no and can't post it until Tuesday

(busy Monday) - so my nice new ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£700 PC is currently a big black paperweight.

Maybe I should've stuck with NVidia!

Bifta · 30-10-2004, 14:39

Obvious question, but the cable for the fan on the video card is plugged in to the small socket on the card itself right?

Aragorn · 30-10-2004, 14:49

Yes! Is the fan supposed to spin freely - ie it will not turn by hand!

30-10-2004, 14:54

That means the fan is totally buggered. ANY fan is supposed to spin freely, otherwise expect the system to overheat within minutes.

Aragorn · 30-10-2004, 15:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott

That means the fan is totally buggered. ANY fan is supposed to spin freely, otherwise expect the system to overheat within minutes.

Thats what I figured! Back to Microdirect and test their RMA process!!

Graham M · 30-10-2004, 15:13

Good luck with the RMA, let us know how it goes!

Aragorn · 30-10-2004, 17:56

Out of interest I did some digging into the 9800 Pro and think that mine has been misassembled (or similar).

I have attached a photo of my card.

There is a photo of another 9800 Pro on a review page :

It seems to me than the fan blades on mine are the opposite to the ones on the reviewers card! Of course mine may have a different fan motor, but looks odd though.

Any one else with an ATI manufactured 9800 Pro with fans facing the same as mine?

Halcyon · 30-10-2004, 18:29

Yeah you seeem to have a different fan than mine.
Good luuck in getting it sorted out.
Tell them about what you have noticed when you send back the RMA.

dilli-theclaw · 30-10-2004, 18:34

It's also completely different from mine, mine has copper heatsinks front and back on all the ram and gpu.... Any my fan lights up blue while it's running.

I think it's just different manufacturors fans. Still let us know how you get on.

keithwalton · 30-10-2004, 19:22

looks like they updated the fan for one that had less blades to it, as your's has 7 compared to the reviewer's 13 (both a strange number nevermind)
If you've purchased the board recently it is highly likely that it'll be a r360 based card (underclocked 9800xt) rather than the original r350 that was the 9800 series. It's also a smaller heatsink it would appear (why i dont know as they had issues with the reference cooler before). The fan should be able to spin with a little effort and have a distinct pulse like feel to it.
Out of interest is there a temperature read out in the driver control panel somewhere (indicative of a r360 base core).

If you happen to have a case fan to hand it maybe worth directing one directly at the card leaving a few cm's of clearence to see if that helps with its stability for now.

K

Aragorn · 30-10-2004, 20:19

When it was in the system I tried the ATITool from techPowerUp and that indicated the card doesn't have a temp monitor on board. Can't remember what speed core was reported. Anyway, the card is back in it's box waiting for an RMA form!

Halcyon · 30-10-2004, 23:32

Good luck. I hope it gets sorted out quickly for you.

Aragorn · 02-11-2004, 11:45

Update -

After about half a dozen attempts yesterday I finally got through to Cust Servs at MDirect after another 20 min 0870 hold (at work luckily).

Once through the lady was helpful and polite and I now have an RMA number, so off to the PO to send recorded delivery.

Aragorn · 08-11-2004, 15:58

Microdirect have just replied saying the fan is running normally and they can't find any fault - ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£11.75 to get your card back !!!!

I have replied asking why they think I would have sent it back if the b****y thing was working and to supply a digital photo of the card to verify they haven't changed the fan.

08-11-2004, 17:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aragorn

Microdirect have just replied saying the fan is running normally and they can't find any fault - ÃƒÆ’Ã†â€™ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…Â¡ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£11.75 to get your card back !!!!

I have replied asking why they think I would have sent it back if the b****y thing was working and to supply a digital photo of the card to verify they haven't changed the fan.

Well tell them that it keeps locking up your PC. Then they *SHOULD* run benchmarks on it or give it a diagnostic to verify there's a fault. If not, then it could be your motherboard or the memory.