[PowerColor X800 Pro] System crashes while playing games

killswitch83 · Post by **killswitch83** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 1:21 am

Well, back in the day I was really disgusted with the Catalyst drivers when they first came out.....but perhaps they've improved greatly from that, so I would be inclined to go with Pro, because I really don't know all that much about unlocking pipes on a card......I know you use Riva Tuner, and on top of that you're not always guaranteed to unlock all the pipes just due to manufacturing discrepencies, other than that, that's the extent of my pipe-unlocking knowledge, lol. It will be a good first step towards the 7800GTX, which I really want but can't quite reach right now. I need a good card solution to tide me over for awhile, after all, for the first little bit I plan on staying as close to stock with most all my components at first so I can break them in properly and also so I can do school work without having to be on egg-shells concerned about the stability. I dunno, maybe I'm trying to be way too safe with my theories towards my new system, lol

sbohdan · Post by **sbohdan** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 2:45 am

ok, if you need help with unlocking I can PM you wit the exact steps. if you don't want to do it then a 6800GS or the x800GTO is still a much better card even at default. these both OC a lot and are better value (and cost less too) then the pro you found. the pro isn't any good for the newest games anymore like fear, quake4 or even doom3. it would just struggle and you can't really improve it. of course you do as you wish. BTW: unlocking with riva tuner is for the NVIDIA like 6800 - the ATI cards need ATI tool or some ATI utility.

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 7:18 am

Lads......It's Stygmata who got the GTO....... (Antonik just hijacked his thread ;) )

Stygmata ----> IF you want to mod you GTO.. check if it has an additional power connector like the XTPE version does....B4 you think about modding....Check this guide out

Antonik --> let us know if Directx diagnostics, heat etc. helps!!!

killswitch83 · Post by **killswitch83** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 10:56 am

sbohdan wrote:ok, if you need help with unlocking I can PM you wit the exact steps. if you don't want to do it then a 6800GS or the x800GTO is still a much better card even at default. these both OC a lot and are better value (and cost less too) then the pro you found. the pro isn't any good for the newest games anymore like fear, quake4 or even doom3. it would just struggle and you can't really improve it. of course you do as you wish. BTW: unlocking with riva tuner is for the NVIDIA like 6800 - the ATI cards need ATI tool or some ATI utility.

d'oh!! yeah you're right.....I completely forgot about ATItool....was kinda tired when I wrote that last night and wasn't thinking right. I might have to look into the GTO then....one thing though, is there the same possibility with ATI as with Nvidia that some of the pipes won't unlock?

sbohdan · Post by **sbohdan** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 12:48 pm

yes but its rare. anyway, even if the pipes (only 4+ in GTO) won't unlock even then the GTO can be overclocked like hell. one of the best overclockers out there. with the 6800 series though, you have the option of raising the voltage through modifiing it's bios, which is a nice thing. with the extra juice OC's even more

in case of the GTO, I would try the pipes first if they unlock. if yes then the next step is to get the bios of the XT PE (preferably same company) and flash it on the card. that would identify the card as the xt pe from than on and would give it more voltage as well as OC to the XT PE default speeds.

killswitch83 · Post by **killswitch83** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 2:08 pm

damn, sounds sweet to me.......is the GTO the XTPE in disguise btw? because if it's stable with the XT PE OC, then it kinda tells me that products like that in the same line are based off the high-end model, just with the features locked. For some reason ATI is sounding better and better to me everyday, mainly due to the price and what you can do to em for the price......the GTX can wait, that GTO is sounding like a good way to go...thanks man

Kerii · Post by **Kerii** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 2:35 pm

The GTO^2 (with a R480/850XTPE core) by Sapphire (and ONLY Sapphire) is guaranteed (not officially of course) to unlock to 850XTPE. Plain GTOs from Connect 3D are more hit and miss from what I hear on other forums since it uses a R423 core and it only has 2.0ns memory compared to the GTO^2's 1.6ns memory.

Quite a steal if you can still find them in stock anywhere.
Who wouldn't want an X850XTPE for $200?

Edit: And just realized the link already got posted, lol. So this post be worthless.

killswitch83 · Post by **killswitch83** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 2:53 pm

not necessarily.....it's definitely good info....I like Sapphire cards, as I've had several experiences with them in building systems for people, and they've been damn reliable (haven't heard one customer complaint, lol)....good to know that the GTO2 Sapphires have reliable pipe unlocking. Ok, so it's definitely settled then: for right now, until money dictates otherwise, the GTO will be the way to go for me

Antonik · Post by **Antonik** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 3:50 pm

i did the directx diagnostics and everythings fine, cant tell the temps since atitool shows is as 0 degrees ( sadly its always been like this) plus its a his x800xl which comes with an artic cooler, Ill try cleaning the case and making sure the fans are spinning though. Thanks for all the input.

killswitch83 · Post by **killswitch83** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 3:56 pm

you could always get a thermal monitor for your 5.25" bay and use the temp probe on the GPU to find out temps......I know it sounds like a waste of money for just the GPU, but personally I'm willing to do what is needed to keep track of temps. Upkeep of your system through cleaning is very important, but I don't think it will change much....could just be a cheap video card (never heard of the brand you're using, I personally would have went with a Sapphire, good quality cards IMHO, used several in customer units as I've stated above, and they've been happy)....just something to consider I guess

Antonik · Post by **Antonik** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 6:11 pm

Maybe so, but it looks great Pictures
And i belive Biohazard has the same one as me.

killswitch83 · Post by **killswitch83** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 7:02 pm

oh yeah, I won't deny the sexiness of it, but I guess I'm too performance-oriented, lol.....if they can put out some decent cards, then I would give them a more thorough glance, but I don't them well, and haven't really heard many people talk about em, but research is always a good thing I believe.

sbohdan · Post by **sbohdan** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 11:18 pm

actually HIS is more popular in europe and is considered there to be pretty good. as for the temp probe - I got my little display with the probe for like $5 on sale, so it isn't much of an investment

and if you overclock your card (like me

) than it's a must to have unless the card has a built in one.

as for the GTO2 - it's true that only the GTO2 is guaranteed to flash to the x850XT PE but that doesn't mean other GTO's can't do that. the reason why I included customer feedback on that GTO (newegg link) is to show that that particular card can do it as well. of course if you can find any GTO2s from saphire than go for it but its hard to find any on sale anymore.

killswitch83 · Post by **killswitch83** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 11:31 pm

It's $239 at Newegg

And they have it in stock, hehehheh!!!

Perfect, now if I can save up, it'll be a good thing to grab up......of course, I got a feeling it may drop again the closer it gets to Christmas....hell, it might even do so Friday (one can only hope!)

One thing though (and just so I get it straight), you're saying the GTO can do the same thing correct, but just not guaranteed? I see a Sapphire on Newegg where the high-end one is $40 cheaper than the GTO2

sbohdan · Post by **sbohdan** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 11:49 pm

thats why I gave you the link for the GTO from connect3d because it costs $60 less and the user reviews say it can be opened too. it got an average 5star user rating so I don't think you could go wrong with that

the heat sink is also copper not aluminum and the whole thing looks to be good quality. for $179

don't be lazy Paul and read up

killswitch83 · Post by **killswitch83** » Mon Nov 21, 2005 12:06 am

hate to sound like the village drunken idiot, but where is the link to the connect3d card? I must be overlooking something here, lol. I tell you, I think it's pretty damn amazing how you can do so much just by knowing the GPU used on a card

sbohdan · Post by **sbohdan** » Mon Nov 21, 2005 12:21 am

it is on the previous page of this thread. but here you go again:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814142052

it took me some work to dig up those links and then you won't even read them

maybe this time

BTW: I just passed the 300 posts which is like being totally passive compared to you LOL

killswitch83 · Post by **killswitch83** » Mon Nov 21, 2005 12:27 am

lol, actually it wasn't on the page for some reason, looked all over for it....but anyways, yeah you're right, there's a lot of them saying the same thing, how they can get it to X850XT speeds.....for $179?!?!?!? Now that's value!

Always willing to give it a try....hell, if nothing else and for some weird reason it doesn't want to unlock all the pipes, it'll OC and I can get a decent clock rate out of it.....well worth the money. So OK, I guess that's the next thing on my list to buy, right after the case, which btw will be the Sonata II

edit: Newegg's out, for now.....hopefully that'll change when I get the money

Antonik · Post by **Antonik** » Tue Nov 22, 2005 4:34 pm

would this be able to pick up the temp?
http://www.svc.com/lhd-v04-uk-19.html

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Tue Nov 22, 2005 5:05 pm

Antonik wrote:would this be able to pick up the temp?
http://www.svc.com/lhd-v04-uk-19.html

Make sure not to put the probe directly on the chip! The cooler needs good contact with the chip.
I don't trust temp readings from fan controllers etc. I have a CoolerMaster Aerogate III.. every probe has a different reading and some off by ~10C!! But I only have experience with this one!

Your cards temps are always 0 because only the XT version has temp monitoring.

Have you tried simply re-seating the card? Just take it out and put it back in! If you can, check if nothing is inside your AGP slot (dust etc.)

Antonik -> what PSU are you using? and have you connected all power leads to the DFI board?

Also have you tried cat-uninstaller?
Unistall your ati drivers again...sigh...i know!..the run cat-uninstaller to make sure all ati drivers are gone....and reinstall