Legit Reviews

few days ago, I bought an ATI video card x1650 AGP 8x 512ddr2 and I have a problem:
Every time when I play a game that Crysis, Turok and other my monitor is turning off or my computer is restarting after 2-3-5-10 minutes in game. Usualy first is blocking the game, then my monitor is turning off, then i can hear sounds in game and every command works (shoot, walk, swim, jump) in game, but my monitor is off. I can solve that only restarting the computer.
I dont have any overclocks on my computer. Really i had before but i see, my problem is bigger, that i cant play games like World of warcraft and underground 2 ... Anyway, to play fine, i had to set minimum details on all games who don't require a higher system, and no overclocks. The turning off monitor problem i had already on my old video place Nvidia 6200, but there all works fine, only when i'm trying to set Frequency on monitor in game higher that 85Hz or resolution higher that 1600x1200 on 60Hz, or higher that 1024x768 on 85Hz. But in game i had no problems. Now i have and i must solve, i hope, someone had same problem and solved or know the situation, and comes with an answer

Motherboard: Epox EP-8k9A7I
Amd Athlon 1800+ (~1500) => 2600+ (~1900) with overclock
1.75Gb DDR1 PC3200 (not all), 400mhz
HDD 60gb
Video card ATI Radeon x1650 on AGP 8x.

what can be ? have someone an answer ? i'm waiting all sugestion, any kind is welcome

You should try using driver cleaner pro.

Uninstall your current ATI drivers, boot into safe mode in windows, run driver cleaner pro with all the ATI and Nvidia options selected, boot back into regular windows, then try the latest ATI drivers.

Dan

no,is not working in any things.. looking on over 500+ website, I found, finally, one answer... Can be from Source.. my source is 380W, but i don't think it work really at 380w, i guess is working lower. For 1.75Gb RAM (full 3 slots), Motherboard, HDD, coolers, DVD-rw, my video card, with cooling and other, i guess it's low. Then when i'm going on bigger games, which is requires more system, my video card is going to use more power.. More more and much more that can support and then is happening what's happen... Same when i have overclocks on processor, that crash is often, because it going to use more power...
i guess, this may be due?, any reasons ?....
every thing is welcome

what kind of psu is it?

i can't imagine your PSU is THAT bad, a 1650PRO is a pretty weak card, i'm personally surprised it'll even PLAY crysis at all(i have one as well for a htpc) in the "run" box, run "dxdiag", go to the "display1" tab, and run the "test direct3d" and/or "test directdraw" it's is a good possibility of driver problems, as i know that my 1650 PRO only can use about 4 driver packs from ATI to work at all, so you may have to search for a driver pack that works(go to "amd.com" -> "graphics drivers"-> go through the dropdown menus to select your card on the page, and it'll bring you to the newest downloads, you can select older downloads at the bottom of the page if needed)

so try using dxdiag, if it gives you a directx error when running a test, then it's a driver issue, if both tests run fine, then look to a hardware problem, and keep us posted on your findings

..All test in dxdiag was fine.
My computer PSU is 380w... i guess it can't work at max power, then is a problem...
I saw on other sites, a 450-500w psu is recommended for one of these video card, and a little same with my computer configuration..

i was talking about a brand/model numbers/ specifications...

i was running a 350W Antec, and it ran the 1650 overclocked, and CPU(athlon XP 2800 @ 2.2GHz) overclocked till it died, the PSU was never a problem(except when the leads got messed up and it shorted that time, but we don't talk about that)

Something that needs to be asked... what is your exact monitor? Model # is preferred... if it is LCD based then running it above 60Hz is your problem.

yup usually the monitor goin blank is from to higher refresh rate and or resolution trying to run a monitor at higher than speck can result in damage to the monitor if you running winxp take a look in the ccc somewhere in there is a setting for vsync control .. so if you use say 1024x768-32bpp and it can handle 85Hz set it to that in ccc

I agree with Kougar and Athlonite..especially if its on an LCD..I do think that PSU of yours is a bit sheisty too(regardless IF it can power it) having just enough or too little power won't do too good really..may not do bad but I would try to upgrade that lil guy to at least 500w..that's just me tho..having too much is better than having too little IMO....especially if you're going to overclock

he doesn't need a 500W PSU for that system.

well, looking on PSU i found some note on it :
380w on the bottom and 400w on the left i see....
Model: KOB AP4400XA
ATX Switching Power Supply..
on +3.3V I have 28 A, on +5V - 40A and on +12V - 17A (+3.3V and+5V - 220W and +12V - 204W)
Mercury Empowering your PC...
and a lot of other data, that's the main..

2... my monitor is 'Ultra' not LCD, 17"
3... i'm using on 60hz because i can't modify my monitor frequence with this video card, dont know why, but doesn't matter how much i'll set, that's never change. and resolution on 1024x760 in windows, and pretty in game
4... i'm running on Windows XP sp2
5... yes i'm using overclocks only when it is possible (like the old video card, didn't make problems, and on processor and Video card i had...now i don't have on anyone of these)
6... i have one compatible video driver(from the original CD), because the last one, installed is running on 640x480 resolution, and color quality on 4bit(low) and i can't change that... also ATI center is not responding ... well isn't there anymore
7... my computer is clean inside, there is not a problem, and my video card is new... about one week.

waiting suggestions

skierkid450 wrote:he doesn't need a 500W PSU for that system.

ahh but you never discussed what messed up that psu of yours either ..I don't know much about psu's other than what i've gone through..all i meant was that 380 watts for card that recommends 450-500 for the whole system with the card is sheisty to me..regardless of whether or not it can be powered with less..not all 350-400 watt psus are made the same(or even like your old one)..was just suggested to help him considering the refresh issue seems to have been resolved..

okay, it was a user error, i plugged a floppy drive in with one pin offset, so it flamed out THAT cable, and scorched a couple others-leading to the main connector having a poor connection, so i just straightened the plugs back- I STILL use the PSU with a Sapphire x1650 PRO 512MB AGP, a PC CHIPS socket A motherboard, with an Athlon XP @ 1.8GHz, and 1GB DDR400 RAM with two optical drives and an 80GB HDD,

i have an idea, take a picture of this label on your PSU(make sure you can read the label in the picture), and post it as an attachment:


just noticed you actually posted your specs, and by that, it says yours has more Amps on the 5v AND 12v rails

inspectahACE

yeah but thats an antec PSU, good quality, not "mercury?" psu

lol..I meant no disrespect skierkid..I did mention i didn't know much about power supplies..the little I do know(and ask about) comes from you guys, yourself included. far as I knew your power supply was dead(since you said it shorted)..unknown brand = unknown quality IMO..never heard of Mercury and that's why I suggested new psu.Heck if yours does fine id tell him to buy same model and brand..I meant no disrespect

well, i did one photo, it don't have high quality, also i have to translate what's write if you can't understand





+3.3V - 28 A
+5V - 40A
+12V - 17A
Frequency 60HZ-50HZ (is too far to be in picture..)

(the second picture cannot be seen complete on forum, don't know why, also you can try link of the first..)

ok the difference between a good quality PSU like antec and a kumquwat2000 brand like mercury is performance quality psu's have better spec'd parts in them where as kumquwat2000's have lowest quality parts and don't perform aswell as a lesser spec'd quality psu the lower the quality the worse the fluctuations in the rails
ie: good quality may have a varience of 1~5% on the +12V, +5V, +3.3V rails where lower quality may have a varience of 1~20% on the same rails that poor a performance will lead to problems with your hardware taking a dump when it has to work hard

Sounds like an unstable video card.
It could be overheating, or just simply busted.

Insufficient power/12V amperage would cause an immediate reset as the overcurrent protection in the PSU activates and shuts down the PSU, not just loosing the picture.