Jessica
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Post by Jessica on Oct 16, 2008 18:51:03 GMT
Hi! Do any of you know if the NVIDIA "Blue Screen of Death" issue with TS2 has been solved? My boyfriend is getting me a nice NVIDIA card as I type this, so I was wondering if I'm going to find any trouble. Thanks! EDIT: Got the card, but I'm still getting performance problems. Don't know what to do. I have a 512MB card and 2GB of ram now. I don't know why is the game still lagging so much.
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CharlieChomper
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Post by CharlieChomper on Oct 16, 2008 20:35:01 GMT
I know that they've released a new driver last month and I have it installed. However, I haven't been able to really test it out nor had time to, to verify whether or not it was fixed with that driver. That said, some people with the newer cards (mainly the series 8 and 9 cards) appear not to be having this problem. However, there are a few out there that still are.
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Jessica
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Post by Jessica on Oct 16, 2008 20:38:37 GMT
Thank you, CC! I hope I don't encounter problems. The card is a GeForce 9600 GT.
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CharlieChomper
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Post by CharlieChomper on Oct 16, 2008 20:51:23 GMT
You're very welcome.
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Lily
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Post by Lily on Oct 16, 2008 21:04:28 GMT
I have an NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GX2 and I haven't had any problems with it, but then again I haven't really played that much either. The sessions I've had with my game have been rather long though.
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Jessica
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Post by Jessica on Oct 16, 2008 23:12:02 GMT
Thank you both. I hope I'm as lucky as you, Lily!
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CharlieChomper
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Post by CharlieChomper on Oct 24, 2008 4:28:24 GMT
My apologies for not seeing your earlier edit. Jessica, could you post your full system specs? If need a walkthrough or help in looking that information up, please don't hesitate to ask. I'm sorry you're having to deal with this.
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Jessica
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Post by Jessica on Oct 24, 2008 5:29:32 GMT
Thank you so much, CC. Please don't apologize. Where can I look for the exact info you need? I'll post what I have found for now, please tell me if you need anything else. 3,20 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4 Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 Board: 4CoreDual-VSTA Bus Clock: 200 megahertz I have 2 hard disks, with about 60gbs still free to use. 2MB RAM Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT Thanks again.
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CharlieChomper
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Post by CharlieChomper on Oct 24, 2008 23:55:07 GMT
If you could get into the BIOS for a moment (when the computer boots up, you can enter it either when the first screen with the Energy Star-compliance logo appears, usually if you hit the delete key it will take you right into it--if this was a system built by certain companies where their logo may be present instead, hitting that key usually does that trick as well (very rarely these days, are you likely to run into asking for one of the "F" keys)), and go into "PC Health" and take a look at the voltage readings that should be listed there. It's not just the numbers I'm interested in, but in how "stable" those readings are and how much or whether or not they're fluctuating in some way.
Also, are the hard drive partitioned (ie does it contain more than one driver letter including or after C and potentially D as you have two hard drives?)? Or are they two massive partitions (ie C and D only)? Related to that, what is the breakdown per hard drive (ie you mention having 60GB free between the drives, but how much of that is on one drive and how much on the other?)?
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Jessica
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Post by Jessica on Oct 25, 2008 0:28:23 GMT
I'll get into the bios tomorrow, but I seem to recall that the amount of watts of the power supply was 300. I think it's a bit low for the graphics card, but I plan on upgrading it very soon since it's been giving me problems. I have C and D only, and they are two massive partitions. 74'5GB total on C:, only 2'5GB free (this is the one I use for "safekeeping" only, meaning that I don't install programs there and I only use it for data storage purposes), and 140GB total in D:, 56'3GB free. TS2 and most of my other applications are installed in this one. I reformatted the PC and the D: drive not so long ago, too, so my TS2 installation is still "fresh". Thank you very much, CC.
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CharlieChomper
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Post by CharlieChomper on Oct 25, 2008 2:05:51 GMT
Yikes! That is a bit low for a PSU in this day and age for a newer card running alongside everything else! It could explain what may be going on there, but it would still be useful to see the voltage readings when you get a chance to look that information up. Edited to add in an important missing word.
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Jessica
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Post by Jessica on Oct 25, 2008 12:11:51 GMT
I looked at the BIOS today, and found a section called "Hardware Health". I'm not sure if this is what you wanted... if it isn't please tell and I'll look again. It said all this: CPU TEMPERATURE: 65ºC/149ºF MIB TEMPERATURE: 33ºC /91ºF FAN SPEED 2982 CHASSIS FAN SPEED N/A (I think the following might be the info you need) Vcore: 1290V + 3.30V: 3.322V + 5.00V: 5.175V + 12.00V: 11935V These numbers changed slightly every couple of seconds. I hope this is what you were asking me for! I admit I'm a bit lost when it comes to hardware. Thank you so much, again.
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CharlieChomper
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Post by CharlieChomper on Oct 26, 2008 0:59:01 GMT
Hardware Health would be the same as PC Health, so that would be the correct spot. When you say the numbers changed, did they change a great deal or just a digit or two during those few minutes? From further investigating the matter, it may be your power supply that's the problem as it isn't providing enough power to the video card (and possibly other hardware) and is very much woefully under-powered for what you have (not just in terms of the video card requirements, but also for the overall system combined with that). The card, itself, largely seems to require a minimium power supply of 400-450watts, but in combination with the other hardware (in particular, the other major power-hungry component, the processor/CPU) and the two hard drives along with everything else, I'd probably recommend looking into something probably in the 500+-600watt range (but before looking into a new power supply, it isn't entirely the overall "size" or number of watts on it as it is how "stable" or "cleanly" it runs as well as what the amp and voltage readings it actually provides are, as it's possible to even have a 600watt power supply but still have it underpower the components it should be providing more to as a common mistake people make is in just looking at the total wattage and not realizing that different components actually are fed by different voltage "rails" (it's like this with all hardware actually), and while some hardware may be more "forgiving" or "tolerant" than others, it's never a good idea to take chances with unstable versus stable voltages as it can actually lead to some very serious problems down the line (such as literally killing hardware). I suppose you can sort of think of it a bit like someone holding their hands around someone else's throat and literally strangling them. It's a rather morbid analogy, I'll admit, but it's the best way I can think of to describe what happens to hardware that isn't being properly fed (in contrast, overloading can be just as bad--and is another example of how dangerous unstable feeds can be, but in the opposite way--as it would be more like one massive blunt strike to kill it, along with other hardware). In terms of the "paying more for 'better' power supplies" or that somehow only "cheap" power supplies can be dangerous, this isn't as true as it once was. It's more a question of avoiding the so-called "no name" companies out there and looking into the actual specs of the power supply beyond what the sticker says, if that makes any sense. It's, without question, the most important component to a computer--even more so than the motherboard. Edit because I forgot to ask this earlier: when you plugged the new video card in, was the cable coming directly from the power supply, itself, or was it attached to another device and then plugged into the card? The reason I ask is that this can also contribute toward or create some of the problems you're describing as well (as video cards are notoriously cranky about this).
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Jessica
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Post by Jessica on Oct 26, 2008 1:48:40 GMT
Thank you very much for the explanation and recommendations. I was thinking of getting a 500watt one, should I then look for one on the 550-600 range to be safe? I hope that the one I buy is a good one! Do you think, then, that my problem could be caused by the power supply after all? The numbers didn't change much and they often went back to their original form, they changed about 20-30 I think. My boyfriend was the one the plugged the video card, and he told me that it is connected to the pc via a "Y" shaped device. He said that the instruction manual adviced otherwise, but that I would be able to plug it in directly when I get the new power supply. Thank you SO much for all your help, CC.
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CharlieChomper
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Post by CharlieChomper on Oct 26, 2008 2:20:33 GMT
Typically, with cables from power supplies where video cards are concerned, they should always go directly from power supply to video card--no relying upon cable extensions or cables that go from one device to another as that can lead to these types of problems as well. Video cards are notoriously fussy on this issue.
If he plugged it in through what sounds like an extender or a secondary cable or a connector that's physically attached directly from another, that may also be contributing toward your problem and if possible (as I know how filled up a system can get or how it's sometimes a struggle to find a cable that's close and otherwise unoccupied to attempt this), try and see if there's any improvement if you try and plug in a cable more directly.
As to power supplies, I would probably recommend going into the 550-600watt range as the minimum specs I've seen for that card are calling upon 450watts from some manufacturers (with others, they seem to provide a more "conservative" 400watts requirement), but between two hard drives and your processor, along with other devices, and the demand they produce when running resource-intense tasks such as gaming, you don't want to risk pushing things.
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Jessica
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Post by Jessica on Oct 26, 2008 2:47:13 GMT
I'll keep that in mind, thank you very much. He said that I didn't have any cables left to plug it in directly, so he had to use the connector. Sounds like I'll have to wait for the new power supply then. Thank you again and again, CC. I'll keep you updated on things.
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CharlieChomper
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Post by CharlieChomper on Oct 27, 2008 1:18:30 GMT
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Jessica
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Post by Jessica on Oct 27, 2008 13:11:01 GMT
Yes, that's what my boyfriend said as well, that assembling a computer is like doing a big puzzle. He says mine is especially messy. Thank you so SO much for all the help and the good wishes. Like I said, I'll keep you updated.
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Jessica
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Post by Jessica on Nov 7, 2008 21:37:17 GMT
Yay! Got my brand new power supply today. It's a 550watts one. Now I just have to wait for my uncle to come home one day and assemble it for me.
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CharlieChomper
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Post by CharlieChomper on Nov 7, 2008 21:41:36 GMT
Congratulations! What make is it, if you don't mind my asking?
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