Severe video problems in Steam

New Member
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
Aug 21, 2004
Messages
1,738
Best answers
0
This is something that has been bothering me for a while now because I cannot play games properly.

When I am ingame the screen goes haywire and distorts to the point where everything is not reconizable. The only way to fix this is to restart but I am looking for a permanent solution.


Hell it even happens in HL model viewer!

My video card is an ATI ALL-IN-WONDER 9800 pro 128

Image to see how severe this is:

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/6484/distortsgt0.jpg

Please if anyone has any ideas I'd like to hear them!
 
New Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2006
Messages
980
Best answers
0
Location
Australia, NSW, Sydney
Wow >_> Does this happen all the time??
The only place that this error happens to me is when Im playing ESF and its loading a server.The hole thing goes Haywire and all I can see is the Box which loads up the server.Eventually i'll enter the server and it'll clear off.
You'd might try to re-install the game.Thats usually the best solution,if anything else,it'll have to go more "Tech"

-GuZzie
 
New Member
★ Black Lounger ★
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
Apr 23, 2003
Messages
3,913
Best answers
0
Location
Texas
if it does it in hlmv it REALLY sounds like your video card is acting up,

see if there are any newer drivers for it
 
Lost in space
Banned
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
Dec 21, 2003
Messages
3,608
Best answers
0
Give the latest drivers a whirl and possibly reinstall steam/hl + mods. In a worst case scenario your gfx card could be overheating, in which I would suggest to clean out the case fans in your system and the gfx card fan for dirt/dust (I just use toilet paper to be honest).

Does this only occur when playing steam based games?
 
New Member
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
Aug 21, 2004
Messages
1,738
Best answers
0
wow thanks for the fast replies!

Firstly, I do not believe that it is a over heating problem because I rip it up in 3d max all day with no problems. But when looking at the model/skin in HLMV it screws up.

It happens most frequently on steam games, it once happened to me in a game called Live for Speed so I think its safe to assume the problem is outside of steam, but still happens more frequently.

As for drivers, I believe I use the latest driver which is some catalyst one, I'll check more on that later.


All I have found relating to this problem is one other case with someone who has the same video card

"this card has not worked properly eversince I purchased it. I have tried using the customer non support from ATI, but get nothing but canned auto responses. the card fails all aspects of it's intented use, I can't get a dvd to play with out noise or distortions on the screen, all games i have tried that require direct 3d all have distorted/missing video/graphics. The same type of graphics/video problems also occur in the TV display, and in my boot up splash screen. I use to like ATI but they have really let me down now."

so yeah, keep it coming.
 
Lost in space
Banned
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
Dec 21, 2003
Messages
3,608
Best answers
0
It most likely sounds like a overheating issue, 3Dmark doesn't really reflect real world performance keep in mind however it's unusual as if this were such a case it may have crashed rather then pass and give you a score. To check temps, I'd download Rivatuner and also download ATI tool and run a artifact test.

If warranty is still valid on this card I'd suggest RMAing it.
 
New Member
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
Aug 21, 2004
Messages
1,738
Best answers
0
If i left this computer off over night (which I always do) and turned it on in the morning to play :insert game: it would still happen, how could it possibly overheat that fast? I just don't understand.

Anyway I got Cataylst 4.10 drivers installed, will check back again tomarrow.

thanks


Oh, and it is 3d max, not mark
 
Lost in space
Banned
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
Dec 21, 2003
Messages
3,608
Best answers
0
If i left this computer off over night (which I always do) and turned it on in the morning to play :insert game: it would still happen, how could it possibly overheat that fast? I just don't understand.

Anyway I got Cataylst 4.10 drivers installed, will check back again tomarrow.

thanks


Oh, and it is 3d max, not mark
Chip size, how much power the chip consumes and thermal conditions/compounds and fan speeds/airflow all play various factors in cooling and heat dissipation.
Oh, and it is 3d max, not mark
Ah, my mistake.
 
New Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2006
Messages
980
Best answers
0
Location
Australia, NSW, Sydney
Ohhh Alright Phonso,I found something that matched that pic you put up.Well what happened was I had lots of Web Browsing "windows" up...I was playing ESF then I quickly minimized it and went back into it.The result was a hazy screen like the one in that pic.I dont know,but take it itno account.

P.s I fixed it by exiting and re-opening. o_0

-GuZzie
 
Active Member
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
Nov 6, 2005
Messages
1,037
Best answers
0
When I bought my 9800 pro AIW I had the exact same problem. Everything looked like it overheated.
Turned out my PSU was not strong enough to support all parts of my pc properly. Now it runs smooth
 
Member
✔️ HL Verified
🚂 Steam Linked
Discord Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
347
Best answers
0
Location
South Australia
Try the Omega drivers!
Also try opening up your case, and blowing the dust in there...
It can build up rather fast!

http://forum.esforces.com/showthread.php?t=66901

And think back to when it started to happen, and if you did any changes to the computer during that time.
And to check if it is the card, Try and find a mate with a Radeon 9800 or better video card.
And to see if its a power problem, Unplug all CDROM drives etc, that you dont require and see if that changes anything.
 
New Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2006
Messages
515
Best answers
0
Had the same thing happening almost instantly when I played Guild Wars (also with a 9800Pro).. Tried everything, extra fans, better airflow, old drivers, new drivers, omega drivers, total dedusting of my hardware.. In the end I just bought a Geforce 7600 and that fixed it ;_;
 
New Member
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
Aug 21, 2004
Messages
1,738
Best answers
0
guess that means ill be getting a new video card for christmas :p

any suggestions for the 200$ range?
 
New Member
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
Aug 21, 2004
Messages
1,738
Best answers
0
heh, just played 20 mins in a game without the distort happening, maybe it had something to do with the new driver I downloaded. Or maybe i was just not playing long enough lol.

Keep you updated on the issue :)
 
Member
✔️ HL Verified
🚂 Steam Linked
Discord Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
347
Best answers
0
Location
South Australia
The best Graphics card is currently the Geforce 8 8800GTX I think, And Its not cheap, $1300 bucks down here in south australia,.
 
Lost in space
Banned
💻 Oldtimer
Joined
Dec 21, 2003
Messages
3,608
Best answers
0
The best Graphics card is currently the Geforce 8 8800GTX I think, And Its not cheap, $1300 bucks down here in south australia,.
My supplier currently lists a 8800GTX bundle along with a E6600 and a Asus P5N32-SLI Premium board for $1699 AUD and lists the sparkle 8800GTX itself for $869 AUD.

I still stand what I said earlier though, you'd be better off moving to a pci-express platform. Infact, I decided to take a look around newegg for some prices:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103533 - AMD Athlon64 3500+ 939 Retail $83.50

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131569 - ASUS A8N5X Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard Retail $72.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143054 - 3D Fuzion 3DFR76256GSE GeForce 7600GS 256MB GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $88.88

Total: $245.37

So for around $50~ more over what you are willing to spend on a new gfx card, you can move to a PCI-E based platform (assuming you carry over you current memory and hdd).
 
Member
✔️ HL Verified
🚂 Steam Linked
Discord Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
347
Best answers
0
Location
South Australia
"Point of View nVidia GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB PCI-Express Video Card with Dual DVI" - Its dropped somewhat to: $1,029. Thats from my local supplier. And whats 69 bucks converted into AU?
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top Bottom