Display just quits randomly...Follow

and is quite annoying. System Specs:

AMD Athlon 64 3700+
ASUS A8V Motherboard
Radeon 9800 Pro
512 MB PC3200 RAM

So I just bought the motherboard and processor, installed them, flashed the most current BIOS on the mobo etc. Then I installed a fresh copy of Windows XP with SP2, downloaded all updates, etc. Installed the motherboard drivers etc. Then installed Catalyst drivers for the 9800, also the most current downloaded from the internet. Finally installed FFXI, downloaded all updates, etc.

Now, I'll be playing (no windower or anything), and all of a sudden my monitor will go black, display the No Signal warning, then go to standby. Moving the mouse, tapping on the KB, nothing brings the display back. Tried unplugging the monitor from the computer and plugging back in, also tried powering it off and back on, no luck. Strange thing is the sound from the game also stops playing on my speakers.

I have to power the computer off by holding down the powerswitch, turn it back on, and then log back in to FFXI (while getting the usual messages about using a proper shutdown). Kinda irritating. Any thoughts or things I can check for? I should have checked for device conflict because I'm sure someone will ask but I forgot where you see that >.<

Edited, Thu Sep 15 11:41:26 2005 by Wintaru

How old is the monitor? Check the video cord (not card) for any crimps and pinches. If the wire is stretched, or pulled tightly to allow the monitor to be in the place you want it, try moving it. Check the connecters at the end of that same wire. Are there any pins missing or bent? Is your video card seated securely to the case? Check those conductors too. Any missing? Are they clean?

I am actually wondering. Just in case, how bad would it be to play FFXI without the sound.

I do so because I hate their music and sound effects and prefer to turn on Metalstorm.ee...

And I've been at it like this for ~3-4 months, so for me it's perfectly fine...not that I had a problem with the card or the sound.

So in any case, if nothing else workds, you can try disabling sound in the FFXI config...

Strangly enough, I like the music and sound effects However if I must I suppose I could find something else to listen to while playing.



I have a 80mm fan on the side of the case, and a 120mm fan on the back. I was going to get another 120mm for the front, that might help.



It's kind of sporadic, for example yesterday it happened 4 times, the day before, once maybe. Today not at all yet, very strange. This case has a meter on the front with a thermal probe that I have in the heatsink, I haven't noticed any spikes in temp on the CPU, maybe I'll move the probe over to the graphics card to see if there is a difference.



The one that came with the case, 450w and it's Raidmax is all I know. From what I read, it sounds like some people who overclock were having issues with it but I don't have anything like that on my system (too scared to try it) so I don't know if that would be the same issue. I could order another supply I suppose, what kind of wattage do I look for?



Yup, downloaded of their site. I need to check the supported drivers on the FFXI site though, I believe they only go up to 5.3 so maybe I'll try rolling back to those and see if the issue still comes up.

I found the post that said how to check for device conflicts, under Accessories, System Tools, System Info. Here's what's there:

 
I/O Port 0x00000000-0x00000CF7	PCI bus 
I/O Port 0x00000000-0x00000CF7	Direct memory access controller 
	 
I/O Port 0x000003C0-0x000003DF	VIA CPU to AGP2.0/AGP3.0 Controller 
I/O Port 0x000003C0-0x000003DF	RADEON 9800 PRO 
	 
IRQ 21	VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller 
IRQ 21	VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller 
IRQ 21	VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller 
IRQ 21	VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller 
IRQ 21	VIA USB Enhanced Host Controller 
	 
Memory Address 0xE8000000-0xFAFFFFFF	VIA CPU to AGP2.0/AGP3.0 Controller 
Memory Address 0xE8000000-0xFAFFFFFF	RADEON 9800 PRO 
	 
I/O Port 0x0000E000-0x0000EFFF	VIA CPU to AGP2.0/AGP3.0 Controller 
I/O Port 0x0000E000-0x0000EFFF	RADEON 9800 PRO 
	 
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF	PCI bus 
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF	VIA CPU to AGP2.0/AGP3.0 Controller 
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF	RADEON 9800 PRO 
	 
I/O Port 0x000003B0-0x000003BB	VIA CPU to AGP2.0/AGP3.0 Controller 
I/O Port 0x000003B0-0x000003BB	RADEON 9800 PRO

I'm not sure what I'm looking for here though, anyone else know what this means? I see my fx card mentioned a lot, could that be the issue?

Edited, Fri Sep 16 07:25:11 2005 by Wintaru

Brand new case, power supply came with it. I'll try a few different power connectors, right now I have it plugged in to the first one on the cord (the thought was the closer to the supply, the better chance for accurate voltage).

Temp of the CPU at idle is 30 celcius, and under load (running FFXI) it goes up to 37 celcius. The probe is in between the fins of the heatsink and it stays under 90 degrees (Fahrenheit I believe). The fan on the heatsink runs at more than 3000 rpm, which is where it should be, I'll check the fan on the card tonight.

I'll tinker with it tonight and see if changing the connector helps at all. Didn't die on me at all this morning, so erratic.

What should the voltage be on the graphics card? I was going to set up the software to monitor voltages tonight, maybe I can find something there too.

Edited, Fri Sep 16 09:26:48 2005 by Wintaru

Hmmm...when I was watching the voltages I KNOW the 12v rail wasn't hitting 12, it was under 12. I can't remember what it was at exactly though, I'll look again tonight.

Looks like I'll be calling NewEgg for a refund, if this is what the problem is. Very unhappy with this case at the moment.

No that's not really out of the ordinary, It's probably more important that your readings aren't fluctuating very much when you start to stress your system. Give that a check when you're playing games if you can.

Beyond testing temperatures (do you have one for the Radeon?) and watching your voltage lines there's no concrete way to isolate the issue without starting to rip parts out of the machine. PSU/Graphics card/Motherboard until you locate which component is causing the issue.

If you're not liking the case start with that =).

Edited, Mon Sep 19 12:33:49 2005 by blowfin

I'd nearly put money on it being a problem with the power supply.

But there's also the chance that the board has an incompatibility with the card.

Those are by far the most likely two issues seeing as your card worked fine in your old system.

Thanks wintaru, I was wondering when that was going to tick over.

/cheer

Don't think so, your Hypertransport bus should be set at 200 by deafult.

That's weird, try turning those things back to default and seeing what happens. You're losing performance by having the multiplier set low on the HTT (4x200 as opposed to 5x200), I think that's what you've done yeah?

You should be able to isolate the issue, probably a good idea seeing as each of those will be detrimental to your performance. See if you can get away with only one of those changes.

That avatar is triggering my epilepsy ^^.