Graphic card dying I think-help

[HEMISENT]

I've got four 1 inch wide purple colored vertical stripes running across the entire screen, mostly when I bring it out of standby mode. After they clear up the text looks all faded and intermittent. I plugged in a different monitor to test and they went away for awhile-now they're back. I'm thinking my graphic card is on the way out.

I've got a radeon 9800 (4 years old)and it's worked great up until 48 hours ago - any recommendations that are SHIII friendly? I know these are updated constantly so I didn't even bother searching for past posts.

[stabiz]

Ouch, that seems bad. Check the card itself, and see if its covered with dust, it may be a heat problem. If so, spray it with canned air, or vacuum carefully with a vaccumer that has a plastic end. (remove from computer first)

[irish1958]

Hemisent, Same thing happened to me with a 9200 Ati radeon; it was fried and I have to replace it (I replaced it with a 9800 Ati.) Try cleaning it with compressed air and hope. A 9800 replacement should be cheap if you can find one.

[Boris]

Overheating usually results in artefacts in the form of blinking and flashing triangles. I hate to say it, but I think that card is on its last leg.

[Corrupt_File]

Try omega drivers, they fixed my ati related problems...
http://www.omegadrivers.net/

[HEMISENT]

Thanks guys-I'm starting with updating the drivers. So far it looks like that did the trick-the test will be how it looks after a few hours.

[GT182]

HEMISENT, if you do need a new card check here as they hve some very good prices for nVidia and ATI....

https://www.ewiz.com/query.php?categry=67&s=AGP&Go+Search%21.x=32&Go+Search%21.y=8

A friend of mine just bought a Sapphire ATI Radeon X1650 Pro 256mb and likes it alot. This could be a good one too with a faster clock speed... Sapphirre ATI Radeon X1650Pro 512mb.

[HEMISENT]

HEMISENT, if you do need a new card check here as they hve some very good prices for nVidia and ATI....

https://www.ewiz.com/query.php?categry=67&s=AGP&Go+Search%21.x=32&Go+Search%21.y=8

A friend of mine just bought a Sapphire ATI Radeon X1650 Pro 256mb and likes it alot. This could be a good one too with a faster clock speed...
Sapphirre ATI Radeon X1650Pro 512mb.

Thanks GT, I thought the problem was solved but a couple hours late the lines jumped up yelling "Wer're baaaack"

If I have to replace it I want to spend the money and do it right.

[Moog]

Weird, there are some bad 9800Pro waves around the world this week...

...I have the same card, same age, and last week it started glitching just like yours did. I spent two days trying everything from tweaking the drivers and mobo bios to taking the whole computer apart and cleaning/dusting. The lines disappeared for a few minutes but then came back, worse then ever! That's not weird in itself, but when I posted the problem on my IL-2 squadron's forum, another fella said his 9800Pro had done the exact same thing at almost the exact same moment!

Built-in redundancy? Just after the warranty lapsed? Or a good excuse to do a full upgrade in time for DX10 / Vista / SHIV? ;)

My heart goes out to you HEMISENT, I haven't been able to play anything for a week and I'm starting to go a bit mad!! I've been keeping an eye in local papers and on trade websites for a cheap old replacement card but so far nothing's really jumped out. I hope you're back up and running soon!

[GT182]

HEMISENT, no matter what the eWiz site has good prices. Or check PriceWatch.com, which is also good as it will take you to the lowest price they can get for you. I've bought thru both sites and found really good deals.

Not to bad mouth the 9800s, but they are kinda out of date tho very good..... just like my GF 5600Ultra 256 card was.

[DeerHunter UK]

HEMISENT, I'm in exactly the same boat (no pun intended) as you and Moog. My Radeon 9700 Pro did exactly the same thing 2 weeks ago. I tried everything to fix it from checking and cleaning for dust to updating motherboard drivers etc.
Nothing worked so in the end I had to buy a new graphics card (X850 Pro). I was lucky enough to buy it 2nd hand from a squadron mate but it had never been used. :up:
I'd suggest buying the X1950 Pro 512MB (if you're after a superfast AGP card), they're available relatively cheaply considering how fast they are. I've seen 1 for £150 (about $275 US) which is cheap here.
Good luck in whichever route you decide to take.

[Deep-Six]

You three have not tried everything. Have you tried to install the card into another working computer?

That is to check to see if it is the card, or the mb itself is bad.

Would not hurt to check.