Time for a new video card?

[killercow]

I bought my GeForce3 off ebay in ....... before January. It was bought used and has signs of a heatsink replacement and poor glueing. I have noticed lines going across the screen. Actually not like a line but waves of the same color and wneh I click on a window and close it the space behind the window is scattered until you bring another window ever it and it is restored to the original background. Is this time for a video card Upgrade? If so are the GeForce 4's still worth it or should I cut some more lawns and get an FX5900 or 9800 Pro?

[Budfred]

Do you have another monitor you can try with the same card? I would do that if you can, but it does sound like you got a piece of junk. I hope it didn't take too many lawns to buy it...;)

[killercow]

Yes, I tried it on 2 other monitors with the same stuff. I doubt it could be a faulty 2 week old dell LCD.:cool: I'd really like the FX ... Better start putting out advertisements.

[killercow]

Also can a Sapphire RADEON 9800 ATLANTIS 128MB DDR AGP8X TVO/DVI (OEM) work on my nVidia Nforce2 chipset mobo? Found the card for $280 Here (http://www.allstarshop.com/shop/product.asp?pid=7433&sid=14XFGNFV3E108KDRUS5CTE07A2386TT1#)

[saphalline]

Yes that will work on your mobo, and yes that is a very good video card. Nice price, too. The vendor is also highly rated on Reseller Ratings, so unless someone else has a problem, I would recommend that you get that card.

[drewbob]

Also if you fear that your Geforce3 is overheating, you might try installing a new heatsink yourself or custom mounting a case fan to blow directly across the card. I read that if you stick your video card in the freezer for a while, then the glued on heatsink will pop right off.

[saphalline]

Sshhh! Quiet, drewbob! I was going to sucker killercow out of that 'broken' GF3! :p

Yes, that is definitely something to try. For very little, you can grab yourself a Thermaltake Crystal Orb (HSF unit designed for video cards) and attach it to your GF3. Along with some Arctic Silver, that would probably clear up any heat problems.

At the very least you'd know if it was overheating or just a bad video card.

That freezer trick is a bit risky, but no one's been able to find a safe & reliable way to get that darn glue off, so whatever. Powerful chemicals work... :p

[drewbob]

On a couple different machines using Voodoo 3 3000's that I worked on, the heatsinks were running red hot and I did not like it. I got a couple pieces of light weight tin (I actually cut up the cover of an old power supply I think), bent them at right angles, screwed them in, and installed an 80mm fan in the bottom of the tower to blow right across the video card. It was my three dollar fix:D

[killercow]

Sshhh! Quiet, drewbob! I was going to sucker killercow out of that 'broken' GF3!
LoL, I know it's not a heating problem. It's running quire cool. I was going to get a new gcard anyways. I also just realized that the Radeon 9800 isn't the pro ... is there any reason why I sould get/not get the pro. besides price, this one looks nice though.
are the GeForce 4's still worth it or should I cut some more lawns and get an FX5900 or 9800 Pro?

[drewbob]

The pro is a little faster and costs more. The 9800 should still be a performance monster, so I wouldn't worry about not getting the pro.

[saphalline]

I agree. Those cards have muscle to spare, and it's not unheard of to do a nice overclock of a non-Pro to make it to Pro speeds! :D It can be a bit tricky and maybe you don't want to do it anyway, but I still say the non-Pro's are the best bargain. They're always only slightly slower.