So my graphics card is quite old, and I have been running into problems in TF2 that I think (correct me if I am wrong) are symptoms of a dying card. The first issue is that about once a day my video will cut to black and windows will play the "DOO doo" chime as if I had unplugged an external device. Not a problem though, it does its "doo DOO" chime and I'm all good after a few seconds.
In the past couple of days however, I have started freezing in game for extended periods. I will lock up, but can still look around with my mouse, and after about 4 or 5 seconds I will resume normally (usually dead). I've also noticed a lot of minimal stuttering that accompanies this. On a rare occasion I will time out of TF2 after only a few seconds of being frozen, but I will not drop mumble or internet connectivity. This happens more frequently the more I play, so much so that it was happening every 30 seconds or so tonight.
Edit: I forgot to mention that if I die during a freeze, upon respawning shutter doors leaving spawn artifact very badly and tear across the screen like I just won freecell. Thats the only major graphical bug I've seen. Also, the invisible player bug happens pretty frequently after these freezes.
Am I right in thinking this is a video card gone wrong? If so, I would love a recommendation on an affordable replacement that will let me keep absolute minimum 120+ frames. My PC is pretty out dated and I haven't shopped for parts since I built it, so any help is appreciated.
Here are my specs:
Windows 7 64Bit
Gigabyte EP45-UD3R mobo
Intel Core Duo E8400 @3.0GHZ
4 GB RAM
Gigabyte GeForcee 9800GTX
I'm currently running all of the FPS improvements to maintain frame rates for a 120hz, so having pretty graphics is a non issue. All I want is consistent performance.
Thanks for any help you can offer.
So my graphics card is quite old, and I have been running into problems in TF2 that I think (correct me if I am wrong) are symptoms of a dying card. The first issue is that about once a day my video will cut to black and windows will play the "DOO doo" chime as if I had unplugged an external device. Not a problem though, it does its "doo DOO" chime and I'm all good after a few seconds.
In the past couple of days however, I have started freezing in game for extended periods. I will lock up, but can still look around with my mouse, and after about 4 or 5 seconds I will resume normally (usually dead). I've also noticed a lot of minimal stuttering that accompanies this. On a rare occasion I will time out of TF2 after only a few seconds of being frozen, but I will not drop mumble or internet connectivity. This happens more frequently the more I play, so much so that it was happening every 30 seconds or so tonight.
[b]Edit[/b]: I forgot to mention that if I die during a freeze, upon respawning shutter doors leaving spawn artifact very badly and tear across the screen like I just won freecell. Thats the only major graphical bug I've seen. Also, the invisible player bug happens pretty frequently after these freezes.
Am I right in thinking this is a video card gone wrong? If so, I would love a recommendation on an affordable replacement that will let me keep absolute minimum 120+ frames. My PC is pretty out dated and I haven't shopped for parts since I built it, so any help is appreciated.
Here are my specs:
Windows 7 64Bit
Gigabyte EP45-UD3R mobo
Intel Core Duo E8400 @3.0GHZ
4 GB RAM
[b]Gigabyte GeForcee 9800GTX[/b]
I'm currently running all of the FPS improvements to maintain frame rates for a 120hz, so having pretty graphics is a non issue. All I want is consistent performance.
Thanks for any help you can offer.
Your graphics card has nothing to do with TF2. It's definitely something else.
Your graphics card has nothing to do with TF2. It's definitely something else.
The first part sounds like a video card issue.
The second part sounds like an internet issue. If you're using wi-fi, try to use ethernet if at all possible.
The first part sounds like a video card issue.
The second part sounds like an internet issue. If you're using wi-fi, try to use ethernet if at all possible.
I guess it's possible my internet is just acting up. I've just never encountered anything like this before. I'm connecting via cable and always have, and have been using the same service provider in the same location for a few months with nothing even close to this.
I guess it's possible my internet is just acting up. I've just never encountered anything like this before. I'm connecting via cable and always have, and have been using the same service provider in the same location for a few months with nothing even close to this.
Even though that GPU is pretty old now, it still shouldn't have a problem running TF2(especially with a gfx config). To go along with that, generally TF2 is CPU limited so I kind of doubt it's the capability of your GPU that's the problem. From what you described it almost sounds like something in your computer(either CPU or GPU) is overheating(albeit with some funky symptoms) so before you even look at new parts try giving your PC a good cleaning.
Now for the whole black screen issue, have you updated your Nvidia drivers recently? It sounds like Windows is recycling the video driver causing that black screen and device disconnected/connected sounds.
Even though that GPU is pretty old now, it still shouldn't have a problem running TF2(especially with a gfx config). To go along with that, generally TF2 is CPU limited so I kind of doubt it's the capability of your GPU that's the problem. From what you described it almost sounds like something in your computer(either CPU or GPU) is overheating(albeit with some funky symptoms) so before you even look at new parts try giving your PC a good cleaning.
Now for the whole black screen issue, have you updated your Nvidia drivers recently? It sounds like Windows is recycling the video driver causing that black screen and device disconnected/connected sounds.
GeknaiirYour graphics card has nothing to do with TF2. It's definitely something else.
is that supposed to be comically bad advice.
[quote=Geknaiir]Your graphics card has nothing to do with TF2. It's definitely something else.[/quote]
is that supposed to be comically bad advice.
Sounds like something is overheating, might be the video card. Does your motherboard have an onboad card to try? Or can you borrow another one to test?
I would first update your sound and video card drivers.
Sounds like something is overheating, might be the video card. Does your motherboard have an onboad card to try? Or can you borrow another one to test?
I would first update your sound and video card drivers.
I'll definitely clean it out to see that helps, but I've never had an overheating issue before. I have my drivers rolled back to 306.97 using dx8. I rolled them back tonight after using the latest version, issue persists in both cases. My CPU is at about 55º C when I just recreated the issue in a pub.
I'll definitely clean it out to see that helps, but I've never had an overheating issue before. I have my drivers rolled back to 306.97 using dx8. I rolled them back tonight after using the latest version, issue persists in both cases. My CPU is at about 55º C when I just recreated the issue in a pub.
It's probably the old video card taking a lot less heat to push it over the edge. That's if it's the video card, only way to know is test without it.
It's probably the old video card taking a lot less heat to push it over the edge. That's if it's the video card, only way to know is test without it.
Jesus Christ, a 9800gtx? That was my old card YEARS ago. The fan on it died and I was overheating. I didn't experience what you are, and you may not have a heat issue. It's hard to say for sure. If you want to, you can get an aftermarket cooler for the 9800 really cheap. That's what I did and I ran cooler than ever.
Jesus Christ, a 9800gtx? That was my old card YEARS ago. The fan on it died and I was overheating. I didn't experience what you are, and you may not have a heat issue. It's hard to say for sure. If you want to, you can get an aftermarket cooler for the 9800 really cheap. That's what I did and I ran cooler than ever.
That doo doo sound is the usb sound, and then you were having mouse problems? Might be some mouse driver issue I think.
That doo doo sound is the usb sound, and then you were having mouse problems? Might be some mouse driver issue I think.