HRALP-Graphics Card Issue

[Kimmie]

Computer seems to explodes into pixels whenever anything graphically "intense" is being run. I usually have to reset a few times, restart it in safe mode, etc. to get it running properly again. Reinstalled graphics card, updated drivers, disabled graphics card, etc and nothing seems to fix it.

I'm assuming I need a new graphics card, but was wondering if anyone had some other suggestions....

Using a NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT.
Sometimes gives the error "Display driver has stopped responding and has recovered" before it proceeds to explode some more.

Some pretty pictures (that are way too big):

http://i54.tinypic.com/jzfbyu.jpg

http://i53.tinypic.com/2e31mr7.jpg

http://i52.tinypic.com/5wz3oh.jpg

http://i55.tinypic.com/oi7kpi.jpg

[xshayla701]

I'm a great model

[Ihealyou]

I like that you still have my picture as your desktop.


But you need a new graphics card

[Heebee]

But you need a new graphics card

This ^^

[Kimmie]

But you need a new graphics card

:(

[Kuriin]

Try baking the video card. Pre-heat to 400, put in for ~3-4 minutes. Take out. See if it works.


But yeah, you need a new card if the above won't work.

[Tokum-6n0m3]

I'm a great model

I agree, saying NSFW was brilliant even us people smart enough to know that wasn't gonna happen...........we still clicked to be safe o-O

I throw my cpu when it talks back to me......other then that Im lucky if I can turn it on and off o-O

[Kimmie]

Try baking the video card. Pre-heat to 400, put in for ~3-4 minutes. Take out. See if it works.

Next to the cookies?

[Kuriin]

Next to the cookies?

It's a proven method to work. It's not a permanent solution, though. Only lasts for about 2-4 months then it dies.

[Ihealyou]

Try baking the video card. Pre-heat to 400, put in for ~3-4 minutes. Take out. See if it works.


But yeah, you need a new card if the above won't work.

Should she grease the pan first?

[Trademaster]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kuriin View Post
Try baking the video card. Pre-heat to 400, put in for ~3-4 minutes. Take out. See if it works.


But yeah, you need a new card if the above won't work.

Should she grease the pan first?

It really depends on the card. Now old PCI cards they bake up real well with just a bit of gates spicy bbq sauce on the contacts, whereas AGP cards you want to coat the pan with a bit of butter (or use buttery Pam), and the PCIE cards, they're just fine all by themselves, no lube, no bbq sauce.

(Re OP: But yeah, I foresee a new card in your future)

[MiRo2]

New card most certainly. The baking might help, just be sure to follow the instructions on how to do it rather than just tossing it in for a few minutes. If the card isn't old and overused; than the problem was most likely caused by heat. Turn your AC up or find a more open place for your computer, should add to the lifetime of your next card.

[Kimmie]

http://i51.tinypic.com/fa7zes.png

[Trademaster]

Where's the BBQ sauce?

[Kimmie]

Where's the BBQ sauce?

I thought it might interfere with the flavor of the cookies. Can I just put it on afterwards?


Turn your AC up or find a more open place for your computer, should add to the lifetime of your next card.

My fish just died because my apartment is too cold. :(

[Trademaster]

My fish just died because my apartment is too cold. :(

Poor guy! Do you need a heater or something for your tank? Or are we talking itty bitty bowl with a betta? You need to take care of the fish. they will save your sanity.

[Kimmie]

Poor guy! Do you need a heater or something for your tank? Or are we talking itty bitty bowl with a betta? You need to take care of the fish. they will save your sanity.

He was a betta, but I had a classy little tank for him. Itty bitty bowls are terrible....
I wrapped the tank in my bathrobe and put an extra light on him since it was getting cold. It raised the temperature a little bit, but I guess it wasn't enough.

Now that he's gone forever, my roomies decide to turn on the heat :(

[Trademaster]

3 gallon tank, 10 gallon tank? get a little 50 watt heater or something.

you can freeze but never let your fish freeze. (or cook them, my cousin burnt his house down, boiled two fish tanks of poor innocent fish)

[Kimmie]

3 gallon tank, 10 gallon tank? get a little 50 watt heater or something.

you can freeze but never let your fish freeze. (or cook them, my cousin burnt his house down, boiled two fish tanks of poor innocent fish)

It's a baby-sized 1.5 gallon. The water temperature was back up to the mid 70s after I wrapped the tank and stayed there for a few days before he died... He had been looking pretty bad for a while though, so who knows.

[Kuriin]

http://i51.tinypic.com/fa7zes.png

Looks good. Just don't forget about it in the oven.

[nalkin]

http://i51.tinypic.com/fa7zes.png

It doesn't hurt to clean your pans after you use them bro. You have a enough residue on there to bake another cookie.

[Rejuvenation]

The idea behind baking the card is to get the solder to reset. This is assuming that the card has been heating up enough during daily use to eventually melt away a connection.

This really isn't a great idea, if you were going to try this, you should use a heat gun to properly heat the solder up, but then you can do even more damage unless you sufficiently isolate the issue to a small area on the board.

Personally I bet it is a video memory issue, in which case the card is pretty much FUBAR.

[Prefader]

I have seen this exact thing many times. It's a bad capacitor. You can probably even see it, if you look closely at the board. One (or more) of the caps will be "swollen". You can repair this with an el cheap-o soldering iron and a $5 (or less) replacement cap.

[guineapig]

Those cookies do not look edible. Also it looks like they are topped with ground beef flakes and sausage.

I am skeptical...

[fishingme]

lol, id be sooooo worried about blowing the capacitors by tossing it in the oven. pop pop pop pop pop pop!

[Prefader]

Yeah . . . that baking idea seems like a bad one.

[Wizerud]

Well you did say "anything graphically intense" so you're probably still ok playing EQ :p

[Kimmie]

Well you did say "anything graphically intense" so you're probably still ok playing EQ :p

That's why I put "intense" in quotation marks. EQ crashes after 8 minutes or so explodes the computer as well, which is kind of sad...:(

[Wizerud]

Do you have any apps that measure whether your videocard is overheating? And I don't mean by putting it in the oven.

[toddfx]

I have seen this exact thing many times. It's a bad capacitor. You can probably even see it, if you look closely at the board. One (or more) of the caps will be "swollen". You can repair this with an el cheap-o soldering iron and a $5 (or less) replacement cap.

Yeah I've lost two cards to popped caps. They physically ripped open and had brown dust coming out. The cards were not old but they were cheaper. It's true that the computer was kept in an area with poor airflow and high dust accumulation. In one case, the on-board fan failed due to dust cloggage, which then overheated the board and popped the cap.

The cards would operate intermittently but had graphic issues very similar to these.

[Aasimon]

You run the risk of the GPU falling off the board if you try to reflow the solder with the ASIC pointed downwards.

However, looking at the PCB design, I can tell this is an NVIDIA card. Judging by the power connectors, a GTX 8800, maybe even a GTX 260 or 275. These cards are notorious for their failure rates after about 2-3 years, because the temperature fluctuations of regular use end up causing the solder connections on the bottom of the GPU to crack.

Baking these is totally viable: http://tech.icrontic.com/articles/dead-8800-gtx-scienced-to-undeath-by-oven-mad-owner/

[Kimmie]

You run the risk of the GPU falling off the board if you try to reflow the solder with the ASIC pointed downwards.

However, looking at the PCB design, I can tell this is an NVIDIA card. Judging by the power connectors, a GTX 8800, maybe even a GTX 260 or 275. These cards are notorious for their failure rates after about 2-3 years, because the temperature fluctuations of regular use end up causing the solder connections on the bottom of the GPU to crack.

Baking these is totally viable: http://tech.icrontic.com/articles/dead-8800-gtx-scienced-to-undeath-by-oven-mad-owner/

Although that sounded very snazzy and impressive, it wasn't a picture of my real card... I stole it offline.
That being said, I think I'm going to hold off on baking (except for the cookies) until I have someone nearby who knows what they're doing or until I have a backup card. I'd rather have a computer that can just do the basics than one that can't do shit. It'll just suck not being able to use any games in the meantime.
Thanks everyone for the help though. I appreciate it!

[xshayla701]

It'll just suck not being able to use any games in the meantime.

I MISS YOU IRL :(