Note: To ATi Users

[Dracon M'Alkir]

This is an unknown issue that has never been addressed from ATi and has plagued millions all over the globe.

If you own an ATi Radeon 9800 Pro, you might have already noticed this.

After 15 - 20 minutes of continuous strain on the video card such as playing games, the video card will reset and your system will crash.

ATi doesn't want to tell anybody crap, but the ATi Radeon 9800 Pro demands more power than default BIOS settings.

Simply reboot your computer, go into BIOS, and set the AGP Voltage to 1.7V.

This should solve all of your problems and stop thousands of hours of frustration.

Regards,
DarkLegacy

 

[SuAside]

riiiiiiiiiight

*cough*

you do know that thats why a 9800pro has an external molex right?

 

[Murdoch]

riiiiiiiiiight

*cough*

you do know that thats why a 9800pro has an external molex right?

What the fuck is a molex? On of those power doodads going from the board to the power supply?

 

[Ratty Sr.]

The card does have an external molex, but it draws power from the AGP slot as well. But I never noticed this issue on my 9800 Pro (though I did have problems with crashes, caused by overheating - damn ATI and Sapphire and their cheapskateness when it comes to proper cooling), so I think this is just an unsubstantiated rumor and frankly, I doubt it's correct.

 

[Ashmo]

One of the solutions for that issue is, according to an ATI FAQ, using an external power supply for the screen instead of plugging it into the computer's power unit.

That didn't do jack.

Actually the problem didn't entirely disappear until I installed Windows XP Pro twice over my existing copy of Windows 98 and installed DirectX before installing the graphics driver.

The crashing-problem disappeared then. No more lock-ups and no mor crashes to desktop via VPU Recover with rendering getting set to software rendering in every second case which would lock up the game and force you to reboot your computer.

Now the only problem that exists is the "I can't hear you" attitude of some programs on launch. Luckily the only game affected by that right now seems to be Doom 3, but I've got yet to search for an update or patch if they have released one yet.

 

[SuAside]

What the fuck is a molex? On of those power doodads going from the board to the power supply?

yes one of those 4 pin power connectors (2 powerlines & 2 grounds)

The card does have an external molex, but it draws power from the AGP slot as well.

i know... but thats auxiliary powersupply. a little voltage increase in the auxiliary power won't fix any stability issues.

 

[KillaKilla]

I didn't install my video card properly, and now it's unstable. By running the card at higher voltages than it is made to withstand, I made it even less stable, after damaging the core. ATi, being a no-name company, didn't tell anyone that their cards are not made to run at voltages that they are not made for. Thus, ATi is to blame for my ignorance/stupidity.

Sorry dark, but I get incredibly tired of people who don't plug the power into a piece of electronics and get angry when it doesn't work properly.
If you did indeed install it properly, then you have my apologies.
BTW:
The molex connection is the kind that goes into floppy, CD, hard disk, and DVD drives. That suggestion about using extra power from outside the case was not stated by ATi anywhere. On the video card, there is a power connector on the end of the card facing the front of the case. You have to plug this in.

 

[MadDog]

This problem isn't just for the 9800. Some 9600s have the same problem (and they do not have the molex connector). There's a ton of fixes that work for different people. Some are not as lucky, and they have to replace their card to fix the problem.