Is my video card messed up?

[Weasel]

hi everybody,
(FYI, im not completly sure its the video card, just my own semi-educated guess)
i have had an ATI radeon 9200 for about 6 months (maybe?) and has worked fine till recently, now mostly when i play games it messes up:

call of duty - lags horribly bad and i get the blue screen
star wars galaxies patcher - when it starts analyzing the files it takes forever and usually get some error message and the patcher closes (no blue screen? w00t!)
star wars galaxies - if i get past the patcher i lag horribly, blue screen
unreal tournament 2004 - the objects on the maps disappear and reappear, when they dissappear i can only see the bare bones of the map (like the walls and holes in the walls) ( pic at http://tinypic.com/bc0f9 since i cant explain it that well, the dark spots on the ground are supposed to be pillars)

this started happening a few days ago, i have mcaffe, so that pretty much rules out a virus, i think my video card may have gotten too hot or somthing and burned out a circuit? i have a desk that restricts the CPU so it gets kind of hot down there, though i have a fairly good fan, i have a sneaky suspicion (sp?) that its too hot

any suggestions or help would be greatly appriciated
thank you

 

[Drastik]

Most of the problems with gfx cards are its driver. Maybe thats your problem, try rolling back if all fails.

 

[Praetor]

call of duty - lags horribly bad and I get the blue screen
star wars galaxies patcher - when it starts analyzing the files it takes forever and usually get some error message and the patcher closes (no blue screen? w00t!)
star wars galaxies - if I get past the patcher I lag horribly, blue screen
unreal tournament 2004 - the objects on the maps disappear and reappear, when they dissappear I can only see the bare bones of the map (like the walls and holes in the walls)

The majority of the problems can be classified into thre groups:
1. You have a non-gaming video card. Actually its more of business card. When you play "heavy" games, you'll notice lag and lower quality etc

2. Bad drivers. nuff said.

3. Other stuff. Sometimes there can be application and/or hardware conflicts etc

 

[Weasel]

i added a picture link to my post since im pretty sure i was doing a crappy job explaining the ut2004 problems...

it started messing up when i reinstalled star wars galaxies, before that it was running fine (i just now uninstalled swg to check if that was the problem but its still not working) the drivers i have had for the video card are the same for about a month and there are no updates for it on windowsupdate.com

Drastik you said i should rollback? what exaclty does that entail/what would it do to my computer? mind you, im no computer genius

Praetor, what video card do you suggest? ( on a budget >100 bucks ) i been looking at
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=14-164-021&DEPA=1
and its very pretty, would that be a gaming or a bussiness card? i heard ATI is a better gaming card then nVIDIA

thank you

 

[Drastik]

Rollback drivers means excatly what it says, really to put it simply is that u get to reverse your driver to the one you had before your current driver. It pretty simple to do and it solved my problem i had when my computer was freezing....
All u do is, right click desktop>properties>settings>advanced>adapter>properties>driver>rollbackdriver.

 

[Praetor]

Drastik you said I should rollback? what exaclty does that entail/what would it do to my computer? mind you, im no computer genius

Forget rollback... its less complicated to uninstall the old and install the new

For a $100 budget that would be the card for you.

i heard ATI is a better gaming card then nVIDIA

LOL i hear it from both sides all the time ... to be honest it doesnt really matter all that much

 

[Weasel]

rollback didnt work installed the newest driver from www.ati.com and its still messed up, is a new video card my last option? can ya'll think of anything else thats wrong? maybe i need to reformat? though i would LOVE to have a new 256mb video card, would rather have the money for more memory if my video card still works

 

[4W4K3]

rollback didnt work installed the newest driver from www.ati.com and its still messed up, is a new video card my last option? can ya'll think of anything else thats wrong? maybe i need to reformat? though i would LOVE to have a new 256mb video card, would rather have the money for more memory if my video card still works

i havent had driver probs with my 9200. it seriously is NOT a gaming card...i doubt its a surprise it wont run COD/SWG/UT2K4...i wouldn't expect it to. the card itself is only DX8.1, and has limited shader support...barelt runs splinter cell without overheating.

 

[Weasel]

wow.... not a gaming card? usually run everything at medium quality no lag... /drool i want that 256mb card... im gonna spaz over the graphics

 

[4W4K3]

wow.... not a gaming card? usually run everything at medium quality no lag... /drool i want that 256mb card... im gonna spaz over the graphics

i meant the 9200 is not a gaming card...i dont think they make a 256mb version. if they did it would be a waste...its too slow for that much memory.

 

[Weasel]

nah i understood yah was talkin about the video card i posted ealier ( http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=14-164-021&DEPA=1 )

hopin to get back on subject
do ya'll suggest a new video card? does it sound like thats whats messed up? and if so was it the heat that maybe fried something (so ill need an extra fan also?)

 

[ZER0X]

i meant the 9200 is not a gaming card...i dont think they make a 256mb version. if they did it would be a waste...its too slow for that much memory.

9200 is fine and yes they do make 256mb versions I have a Radeon 9200 64mb it plays heaps of games....but not up really high

 

[Weasel]

oh yah, i got the 9200 128mb right now, its the SE i beileve? its done me fine so far and to hear its no gaming card... i really want that radeon 9600 256mb now, just too see what a "real gaming card" plays like, birthdays on thursday so im hopin i get one of those checks from grandma/pa


god im a game junkie

 

[Praetor]

installed the newest driver from www.ati.com and its still messed up, is a new video card my last option?

Did you uninstall the old one first??

wow.... not a gaming card? usually run everything at medium quality no lag...

No it isnt. Medium doesnt qualify as gaming card (and medium at what resolution?)

i want that 256mb card... im gonna spaz over the graphics

The memory doesnt matter unless you're getting the top of the top you know

i dont think they make a 256mb version.

They do

if they did it would be a waste

And it is

too see what a "real gaming card" plays like,

The 9600 is a midrange card and will do alright but its rapidly becoming antiquated Wait for the 6600s and whatever start to get into the market

 

[Weasel]

yes i did uninstall the last driver before installing the new one praetor

i read up a bit on video cards and their speeds but didnt quite find anything on how much or what the extra MBs do on a video card, now im stuck between two video cards...

ATI Radeon 9800 PRO 128mb (159.00 dollars)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-131-279&depa=1

ATI Radeon 9600 256mb (95.00 dollars)
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=14-164-021&DEPA=1

from the reviews i have read a lot of a people like the 9800 PRO but is it worth the loss of 128mb and 65.00 dollars more in your opinion? And which do you think will run EQ2 best (thats what im reall worried about )

i ask a lot dont i? tell me if my insessent (sp?) questions are too much

 

[Drastik]

rollback didnt work installed the newest driver from www.ati.com and its still messed up, is a new video card my last option? can ya'll think of anything else thats wrong? maybe i need to reformat? though i would LOVE to have a new 256mb video card, would rather have the money for more memory if my video card still works

LOL, Just roll it back to the oldest driver.... thats why its called rollback, not to rollback then install it again....
why install the lastest drivers anyway? do you use the socalled new features? no. are the graphics performance any better? i doubt it.
Stick with your original one, because the newer ones cause hassle. you dont need them unless there required.

 

[Weasel]

well i dont think its the drivers cuz it started messing up outta no were, had been a month since i had installed the drivers, really started out of no were...

 

[4W4K3]

And it is

lol...i was trying to say it a bit nicer. but i guess it just must be said. 256mb 9200?!?! thats just sad...

 

[Weasel]

no no no lol i have a 9200 128mb... what i want is a 9600 256mb or a 9800 pro 128mb, trying to decide if the 9800 is worth the extra 65 dollars

 

[ZER0X]

Ah...well....the Radeon 9200 isn't a supperiour gaming card but atleast it can play games I'm not a huge Gaming person I just make games....as U can see in my sigy it's coming soon