not so new boxer with a hardware (video card) issue.

[Spatch]

Hello All

I have been reading here for a while now and these boards were what convinced me to start multiboxing in the first place. Yay fun. Until recently its been all good but I’m starting to get some issues with my setup. I run a single computer with 5 accounts.

I’m currently running:
Asus P5K Motherboard
Intel Q6600 Processor
4Gig
XFX 8800 GT (Alpha dog Edition) – Default settings
500W Power Supply
Western Digital 500 Gig 7200 RPM
Antec Sonata III Quiet Case
Windows XP Pro
2 Dell 22' Monitors
Keyclone with Maximizer
- Max FPS capped at 30 for the window with focus and 15 for the rest

At the time the problem started I was running with mostly medium setting on all of the accounts. (I have since changed everything to their minimum setting and that has not fixed the problem but ill touch on that in my attempted but failed resolutions section)

This setup has handled everything I have thrown at it for the first 62 levels I’ve powered through. Recently after playing for extended periods Artifacts would start appearing on my screens and textures would either change to black or disappear entirely. I always quit prior to a complete lockup and would call it for the evening. After trying to fix this myself the artifacts appear constantly but to a much lesser degree, maybe one every ten or twelve seconds.

These issues have been becoming more frequent showing up after less and less time and are starting to hamper my play style. Here is what i have tried so far.

Attempted Solutions:

1) Downloading and installing the newest (non-beta) nvidia drivers off of their website.
2) Increased the size of the page file on my computer to double what it originally was
3) Downloaded Riva Tuner to check my fan speeds and temperatures. The card was running quite hot so I adjust the fan speeds. Currently running my setup under full wow load the temperature does not exceed 60 C.
4) Downloaded ATITool and ran a scan. The card was stable for an hour with no artifacts at a constant temp of 80 C. Since the card is stable at this temp I cant see why it would artiface at 60.
5) Changed all of the ingame settings to bare minimum and removing all special light or glow effects.


The problem is far less significant now but it is still there. Im wondering if my card overheated before I changed out the default fan settings and I cooked something. Im stuck here and not sure where to go.

From what I have read here this setup should be able to handle this without much trouble. Do you think I should RMA the card or is there something so blatantly odvious that im missing here.

Any help you could be provide would be super.

Thanks

[Freddie]

Recently after playing for extended periods...
I think that's your clue. Ask yourself, "What changes in a computer if I play for extended periods?" I can think of only two things. Temperatures rise and memory allocations change due to fragmentation and leaks. You can probably determine which it is by rebooting and continuing to play, because rebooting puts memory back in its original condition but it can't remove heat.

My guess is, the card is overheating. You say the card runs 60c at full load. I don't own an 8800GT (in fact I bought an 8800GTS instead precisely because of the heat issue) but I just googled "8800GT temperature" and read about 50 forum postings by owners of 8800GT's. Typical temps under load are 70-95 degrees. I didn't see anybody as low as you. So I'm wondering, maybe the card is giving you false readings and it's running much hotter. Or, like you said, maybe you burned it before you adjusted the fans.

In any case I'd RMA the card. If there's anything else here, I'm missing it too.

[Spatch]

Im using multiple software solutions to check the temperature of the card as well as the ambient temperature inside my case which is within the appropriate range with the 120mm Fans and coolers I have inplace. My "extended periods" are not overly long play session (usually about 3 hours). I also downloaded memtest and ran that on my system which passed with no errors. I said that the card runs at 60c at full WOW load. That means running all five clients. That is by no means that maximum for the card. Sorry I should have been more clear. When I run a full load test on my card at full load I usually get a temperature of 80c which is inline with the forums you found.

I would go the RMA route but I just tried to look up the process for xfx and their website is under construction pending an overhaul. Guess I have some more time to try and come up with a solution.

Looks like its back to the drawing board.

[Freddie]

You were clear about WoW load, I made a wrong assumption. I hear what you're saying about temps and tests. Still we're left with the question, "What changes in a computer over a three hour session?" Unless you can think of something else, we're left with the answer, "Temperatures and memory allocations." Heat has more than one effect, and there are two types of memory in the machine (video and system). I've read that heat can make cards shift in their slots. Did you try pulling the video card out and shoving it back in?

If it were me, I'd do the reboot test I mentioned. If a reboot makes the machine good for another three hours, then it's not heat. I would trust that test more than thermometers.

[Mystrana]

I have a similar problem i can run for 5-6 hours not a prob but once i enter IF or magor city i get the prob straight away, even if i have only been on for 1 or less hours
just upgrades from a 8600 gt to 8800 gts with latest drivers

only other thing that changed was mem i went from 2g to 4g (3.5g by xp)

i have Core2duo 2.1
4g kingston ram
aftermarket CPU fan hella nice (BlueOrb II)
2 160g SATA
1 80g Seagate
22" main LCD
19" Second LCD
550 watt PSU

i have 7 fans in the case its a thermaltake steel case
my cpu under full 4 instances of wow runs at 31 or 32 degrees cel
only get the Artifacts when i enter any magor city and a shut down of the WoW's and restart fixes that but i never get the artifacts when i solo play.

[Spatch]

Well here is the update.

I reseated the video card in case something had moved due to heat. I also cleaned out the inside of my case with a can of compressed air incase there was dust buildup somewhere. (there was not).

The artifacts are not very noticeable unless I go somewhere very busy but are certainly still present and restarting wow does not fix the issue as it exists from startup. The game is still playable but it irks me in just the right places to still be annoying every time I see it.

Once the xfx website comes back up ill look into their rma process, hopefully that will fix the issue since im left with quite a head scratcher. For fun tomorrow I may jack the settings back up just to see what happens since im planning on returning the card anyways.

Is this a common problem with people who run 5 accounts on 1 box?

[Codam]

Is this a common problem with people who run 5 accounts on 1 box?

I would be willing to bet that you would experience the same if you stressed the card by playing (solo) a more recent and more graphics-intensive game. The reason you dont get the artifacts when solo-playing WoW is that the card is not being stressed at all. There is in any case no logical reason why multiboxing would be the root of the problem.

My money is on defective memory on the card.

[Old Dirty Bathtub]

You might also try uninstalling your drivers, running a driver removal program (like Driver Cleaner Pro), and then reinstalling.

Also, it looks like the XFX model your using is factory overclocked; have you tried toning down the core/memory/shader speeds to see if this solves the problem? (Of course you'll probably want to RMA the card anyhow if this is the issue.)

[Havelcek]

I have to agree with the above posters that you are looking at a graphics card problem. When you have increasing graphical anomalies and they aren't fixed with a reboot, then I would definitely point to temperature. You should have no trouble running 5 clients on that machine with minimum graphic settings...I do it all day long with a 9800GTX and much higher settings. I would RMA the card.

[Ughmahedhurtz]

Out of curiosity, if you play for a while and start seeing artifacts, does a cold reboot at that time clear up the problem?

[Spatch]

Hello again.

Im at work so I cant actually change anything but when I get home I will try completely removing and reinstalling the driver from scratch as opposed to upgrading them. Thanks for the advice.

Cold reboots do not clear up the artifacts and clipping that I am seeing. They used to only happen under load but now have started being visible from startup. My previous attempts to fix the issue have resulted in the artifacting not being as noticible but it is still there. Hopefully they wont get progressivly worse.

I have not tried to underclock my card but that will be another option for me to try. It had not occured to me to underclock as that kind of goes against general convention. If this ends up fixing the problem ill live with it until I can get my hands on a quality card that runs well at stock or factory OC speeds. Personally I dont really think you should have to downgrade a product to make it stable but hey, thats what return policies are for.

The 500W PSU I am running is the one that came stock with the Antec sonata III case that I purchased. Its an EarthWatts 500 and could possibly be an issue. I read some reviews of the supply prior to purchasing the case as I wanted a good combo and the ones that I read said it was stable.

http://techaddicts.net/reviews/ant_ea500w/ant_ea500w.html
http://www.sysopt.com/features/cases/article.php/12024_3660031_4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371007

Im left wondering though is the 500W enough to power the computer im running. I had assumed that it would be enough, maybe I should try buying a higher capacity psu and see if that clears things up.

Thanks

PS - as another question to the community is there a large disparity between multiboxing in Vista vs XP? I was wondering about the Direct X 10 vs Direct X 9 plus it may have a slightly diffent setup and interaction with the hardware. I dont know now im just grasping at straws but if all else fails I may try that.

[Freddie]

Cold reboots do not clear up the artifacts and clipping that I am seeing.
That rules out memory fragmentation and leaks. Sure, try underclocking the card but if it's the card, sounds like it's so damaged at this point that underclocking may help but won't fix it. I think you're going to have to start replacing hardware until you find the culprit. I agree that the video card and PSU are the first things on the list. I take it you can't borrow them from another PC for testing. Antech's PSU's have a good reputation but any product can break or have manufacturing defects. If you need to buy a new PSU, Seasonic makes excellent ones.

[Ughmahedhurtz]

Ya know, if your heatsink is no longer attached properly or has an air bubble underneath it (I'm talking about the heatsink on your GPU chip(s)) then the GPU can overheat in a matter of seconds, which might explain artifacting. Same goes for the heatsink(s), if applicable, that go over your graphics card's RAM. Some cards are cheapie designs that have plastic captured-spring pins that are miserably under-strength in terms of keeping the heatsink secured. Combine that with the thermal "glue" they use for GPU/RAM heatsinks and you have a very problem-prone situation unless you're extremely careful in handling the card.

May be barking up the wrong tree here but in lieu of another explanation, this is possible.

[Freddie]

That's a good idea.

[Spatch]

After going back and forth with the xfx support team who asked me 4 times if I had reinstalled the video drivers in thier "recommended way" they finally agreed to give me an RMA code.

Ill be sending this thing off asap as I tested my system with a friends 8800 and there was no artifacting.

That kind of sealed it for me. Now its just a matter of having them test the card and getting it back in one peice.

Thanks to everyone who helped out, with all the advice I got my system has never been more up to date/clean. ;)

Thanks again

[Freddie]

I tested my system with a friends 8800 and there was no artifacting.
There ya go. :) Grats on the RMA and good luck with the new one.

[Ughmahedhurtz]

This is why I'm a big fan of EVGA brand cards. They've repeatedly shown to be very helpful when it comes to RMAs (though I'll admit I haven't had to make use of that process yet).

[Freddie]

I just bought an EVGA myself. They have a good reputation.