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JOTAS
Eager Tradesman
Joined: 31 May 2003
Posts: 38
Location: Cwmbran. WALES |
At the moment i have radeon 9800 pro. Even though i have the latest drives i am having problems with the latest games for example wow, boiling point,sudeki ect ect. in that the games stop and start and sometimes restart's my computer. Question, which is the best radeon or nvidia for game playing.More advice, I thought the problem might be my sound card, i have a c-media 18738 with the latest drivers could this be the problem. My knowledge
of computer's is limited. I would be grateful for any help. Thanks |
Fri May 20, 2005 12:17 pm |
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Gorath
Mostly Harmless
Joined: 03 Sep 2001
Posts: 6327
Location: NRW, Germany |
The graphics card is still fast enough. No need to change it this year. 
Your description makes me think you have a hardware problem. Random freezes and restarts could indicate a heat problem.
A simple -but somewhat unreliable- test: Open your case to increase air circulation. If the problems are solved or take longer to appear then you have a heat problem.
Sound chip: C-Media sucks. I donīt know how good it sounds, but Iīm sure it makes more trouble than an onboard RealTek Chip & ALC 650 AC97 sound combo (mediocre to good sound, high compatibility) or Creative Audigy 2 (very good sound, a few issues sometimes due to traditionally bad drivers).
_Quality_ is only important if your speakers are good enough to hear the difference!
_________________
Webmaster GothicDot |
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Fri May 20, 2005 1:02 pm |
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Silvayn
Village Dweller
Joined: 30 Jan 2003
Posts: 24
Location: Slovakia |
I'd stick to the gfx card you got, especially if you have AGP motherboard. Wait, and once you feel that your CPU needs upgrading as well, then get a new gfx card (PCI Express). Although there are AGP versions of newer cards, it seems like a waste to me - in your case.
As the penguin above said, it's more likely a software/compatibility problem (theoretically high temperature/low voltage problem). Also things running in background can slow your computer down. A bloated antivirus, loads of spyware, some p2p programs, etc... |
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Fri May 20, 2005 1:19 pm |
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JOTAS
Eager Tradesman
Joined: 31 May 2003
Posts: 38
Location: Cwmbran. WALES |
Thanks for the fast reply. you have saved me from buying a new graphic card thanks for that. i will buy new sound card. advice on that. if it is heat problem how do i solve problem. thanks again for your help |
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Fri May 20, 2005 1:38 pm |
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Silvayn
Village Dweller
Joined: 30 Jan 2003
Posts: 24
Location: Slovakia |
Sound Card
SoundBlaster is the obvious choice. SB Audigy 2 ZS is relatively cheap and still the latest, although Audigy 4 is ready. And it has THX certification, a plus for gamer. SB Audigy (the first) is still a viable choice, it supports 5+1 speaker configs. Even some older SB Live models support that.
As for the heat, as Gorath said earlier, open up your case (turn of the computer before it, to be sure  ). Also, you most likely have a program that monitors the temperature of your card - see what temperatures it got and ask (maybe somewhere on a more HW oriented forum) if those temps are ok. See how it raises after playing a game. And that monitoring program (which I assume you have, but you probably never installed it) can also adjust the gfx card fan according to its temperature. So it will make it rotate faster while you play graphic intensive games.
While opening your case, try to find out how strong your PSU (power supply unit) is - how many watts can it supply. Then visit this voltage-computing site http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/, fill it with your specs and see if you have a PSU than can handle the load. And while you are looking into opened computer, see how badly is the CPU fan covered with dust... also check if the fans are rotating once you turn the computer back on (happened to me once - my CPU fan stopped working and my games crashed after maybe 30mins of playing). |
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Fri May 20, 2005 5:25 pm |
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xSamhainx
Paws of Doom
Joined: 11 Sep 2002
Posts: 2192
Location: San Diego |
To me it sounds like a heat or power problem.
How will you know? What should you do?
HEAT-
You can just take the most easiest and direct measure and assume somethings wrong heatwise, and install a fan or two. It's a fairly cheap thing, and quite frankly, you really never can have too much ventilation in a pc. I have fun putting in fans and tweaking the case, but that's just me. If you have a pc with a fairly thin wall on the casing, its a snap to put a hole or two in it, throw a couple fans on there blowing directly on your card and processor. The whole thing could literally cost you under 20-30 bucks, depending on the fan(s). They dont really suck on your power supply, but that card sure does, so I would at least make sure Im running a 300+ watt power supply.
Inadequate Power-
It all depends on everything you got running on your pc. If you have printer/scanner, this, that, and the other thing, you could not have the right amount of juice and your pc just cant hack it. In this day and age, and with that card, 300+ watt power supply at the least.
One more thing, make sure you have the power cord running directly to the card hooked up, and that it's secure!
_________________
Then away out in the woods I heard that kind of a sound that a ghost makes when it wants to tell about something that's on its mind and can't make itself understood, and so can't rest easy in its grave, and has to go about that way every night grieving.-Mark Twain |
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Fri May 20, 2005 7:55 pm |
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JOTAS
Eager Tradesman
Joined: 31 May 2003
Posts: 38
Location: Cwmbran. WALES |
Thanks for all the help and advice, it looks like a heat problem. thanks again |
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Sun May 22, 2005 9:12 am |
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Gorath
Mostly Harmless
Joined: 03 Sep 2001
Posts: 6327
Location: NRW, Germany |
Good. Heat problems are usually eay to solve. Now you only have to find out where exactly the heat problem is. Or just throw a bunch of fans after it and hope itīs solved. 
_________________
Webmaster GothicDot |
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Sun May 22, 2005 11:18 am |
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