Suspect graphics card is toast

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qraider

374 posts

Ultimate Geek

#57722 22-Feb-2010 23:55

Hi All,

I suspect my graphics card has gone toast :(

If I try to play any game the screen freezes and drops to what looks like 24 colours
I have to do a hard shut down to get out of the game.
On reboot there are green dotted lines or red squares & it wont boot normally.
If I leave it sitting off for a while I can boot to the desktop normally & do everything except game.

Based on that I'm thinking its time for a new card

The next question is ... what card?
I'm looking for something for gaming (UT3, Mass Effect2, Dragon Age, etc)

Cards on the list (512Mb - 896Mb ... or more)
- 9800GT
- GT240
- GTX260

Cost: $350'ish

Recommendations please!

Current Phone:
- Android: Samsung SM-G900F Galaxy S5 (XT)
- Win Phone 8: Samsung ATIV S (XT)

Current Tablet:

- Acer Iconia 7" Android Tablet

Twitter: qraider

Basekid

70 posts

Master Geek

#301294 23-Feb-2010 00:30

In my opinion, get a ATI card, they offer better bang for the buck. I have a 4870 and that runs all the games you mention at 1920x1080 on full settings.

qraider

374 posts

Ultimate Geek

#301297 23-Feb-2010 00:54

Thanks Base, I'll take a look at the ATI cards too

Current Phone:
- Android: Samsung SM-G900F Galaxy S5 (XT)
- Win Phone 8: Samsung ATIV S (XT)

Current Tablet:

- Acer Iconia 7" Android Tablet

Twitter: qraider

xpd

Geek @ Coastguard NZ
13765 posts

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#301315 23-Feb-2010 07:40

Yeah the ATI cards have a bit of kick to them at the moment compared to the Nvidia range.
What CPU are you running ?

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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Niel

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#301711 24-Feb-2010 06:05

With high end CAD graphics card Nvidia is far better than ATI, don;t know how it compares for low/mid end graphics cards.

The 9800 is a great card but be aware they are prone to overheating.

Skip cheap manufacturers like MSI. If you want a good quality card look for Gigabyte, Asus, etc. You pay perhaps $20 more, but you get a card designed by proper engineers.

You can never have enough Volvos!

qraider

374 posts

Ultimate Geek

#301764 24-Feb-2010 11:27

Thanks for the info guys.

The 9800 will be booted from the list then, heavy gaming graphics sounds like it may be too much for it

Current Phone:
- Android: Samsung SM-G900F Galaxy S5 (XT)
- Win Phone 8: Samsung ATIV S (XT)

Current Tablet:

- Acer Iconia 7" Android Tablet

Twitter: qraider

vinnieg

2260 posts

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#301802 24-Feb-2010 14:10

Whoops thought I replied to this but forgot to hit submit :S

You can get a ATI 5770 for about $299 :) that'd place all your games, has good power consumption ratings and is DX11 compatible...it's only a slight bit slower than the 4870 1GB in some games

I have moved across the ditch. Now residing in Melbourne as a VOIP/Video Technical Trainer/Engineer.

Ragnor

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#301828 24-Feb-2010 14:59

What resolution screen are you running, 1680x1050, 1920x1080 etc?