i am using an ati radeon 9800 pro 128 meg, asus motherboard, 3.2 HT p4, 1 gig ram,

i have managed to fry my graphics card(i accidentally reversed the current on a molex connector, its a long story)

anyway, my pc barely runs now. it seems to be heat issues. it runs fine on startup, but if i turn up the resolution or try to play a video, it crashes. i havent tried a game, but im sure id get the same problem. then, when i restart, it begins to load windows, but crashes before even giving me the welcome screen(i think because it bumps up the res at that point). after that, it will only run in safe mode, with a 640 resolution, and crashes if i try to play video. i opened up the case, the fan on the card seems to be working fine. the BACK of the card was warm to the touch, 2 minutes after crashing. my case temp was at 80 degrees today but underneath the fan the air was hot. when i let the pc rest and cool down for an hour, windows boots up as normal, but once again crashes when i up the res or try to play video. i have reinstalled windows, everything remains the same.

i am thinking (hopeing really) that my graphics cards bios got fried, and when it tries to do hi res it malfunctions and overheats.

any thoughts/advice would be apreciated.

rma? Im assuming the plastic molex thing on the card is burnt or a little brown from this, you COULD replace it with a normal one and try to RMA it, or send it in how it is now. Id go for an RMA.

BTW, welcome to pcapex.com

as far as i can see there is no visible damage.
i did a jonny english cable sleeving mod, and along with the sleeving i got some ez-grip molex connectors(forget the brand). when i went to plug em in, they wouldnt fit into the slot on my card. by now it was 3 am with class at 8, so i quickly swapped it back to a normal molex. plugged my pc in the next day, it went nuts, after some fiddling with the different connectors i narowed it down to the connector i switched back, and thats when i noticed id put the wires in reverse order.

a new thought: maybe it overheated when i first turned my pc on and got heat damage?

Give an RMA a shot. Will probably work out. Post your results with the RMA here:

http://forums.pcapex.com/showthread.php?t=26316

i am in israel right now, so RMA is a last ditch option. if i dont get an answer in a couple of days, i am going to buy a new card (so i dont have to wait 3 months) and send this one in.

you tried reinstalling drivers? or flashing the BIOS? i know it osunds dumb, but i thought i fried my FX 5600 and got the same symptoms, but they all cleared up after i reinstalled drivers.

Quote: Originally Posted by floatingtrem you tried reinstalling drivers? or flashing the BIOS? i know it osunds dumb, but i thought i fried my FX 5600 and got the same symptoms, but they all cleared up after i reinstalled drivers.

reinstalling the drivers i have, i in fact reinstalled xp. flashing the bios i have not, and any thoughts on how would be greatly apreciated.
in case it matters, i have a saphire brand card.

Quote: Originally Posted by Mister Glass reinstalling the drivers i have, i in fact reinstalled xp. flashing the bios i have not, and any thoughts on how would be greatly apreciated. in case it matters, i have a saphire brand card.

Here is a guide for flashing the 9800pro bios, read it carefully and follow it to a "T"...It is a few pages in so just foward till you find the section on Flashing the 9800pro BIOS
http://www.rojakpot.com/default.aspx...var1=92&var2=0
Good luck, and next time you'll make sure the wires are correct, I bet...

Quote: Originally Posted by ZENNZZO Here is a guide for flashing the 9800pro bios, read it carefully and follow it to a "T"...It is a few pages in so just foward till you find the section on Flashing the 9800pro BIOS http://www.rojakpot.com/default.aspx...var1=92&var2=0 Good luck, and next time you'll make sure the wires are correct, I bet...

thanks, next time i think ill goto sleep by 2.

Quote: Originally Posted by Mister Glass thanks, next time i think ill goto sleep by 2.

seems to be a guide for flashing the 256meg model. i have the 128.
also, where would i obtain a copy of the bios?

looking at the page you posted, i have narrowed it down to one of these three:
Radeon 9800 Pro with R350 core
Radeon 9800 Pro with R360 core, Samsung memory, 9800 Pro PCB
Radeon 9800 Pro with R360 core, Hynix memory, 9800 Pro PCB

unfortunately, i cannot identify which of these three i have, because the pictures are all identical(in fact, its the same jpg for all three). any advice on determining which i have? and still, where do i find a suitable bios?

Quote: Originally Posted by Mister Glass looking at the page you posted, i have narrowed it down to one of these three: Radeon 9800 Pro with R350 core Radeon 9800 Pro with R360 core, Samsung memory, 9800 Pro PCB Radeon 9800 Pro with R360 core, Hynix memory, 9800 Pro PCB unfortunately, i cannot identify which of these three i have, because the pictures are all identical(in fact, its the same jpg for all three). any advice on determining which i have? and still, where do i find a suitable bios?

ro figure out what ram you've got, just look at it. on the card. (the large black squares) they should say either hynix or samsung. as for the core, that where things get more tricky. you've got to take off the HSF (which i found difficult to do withough destroying the plastic tabs on my MSI card with stock ati cooling) and then you need to clean off the silicon crap they use with rubbing alchohol and a Q-tip. then you just take alook at the core and it'll tell ha right there. but that would be riskay business on a card you still have the option of RMAing

well, i picked one of the hynix bioses i found and flashed it, with no noticable effects. guess ill have to buy a new card and send this one in for RMA (being in israel, sending it in for rma would tkae 2 months and cost me 50$ in taxes, but im lucky in that my bro is coming to visit next week, so he can bring up my new card.)

thanks for all your help!

There is alot of un-moddable 9800Pro's, apperently the ones with the little heatsinks on them cant be modded(the one I have) ones with the slower hynix memory cant be moded with the "true" 9800XT bios.(again the one I have). I got it clocked 420/350(max for my mem) with the stock cooler, not bad i guess.

Quote: Originally Posted by TYCOON There is alot of un-moddable 9800Pro's, apperently the ones with the little heatsinks on them cant be modded(the one I have) ones with the slower hynix memory cant be moded with the "true" 9800XT bios.(again the one I have). I got it clocked 420/350(max for my mem) with the stock cooler, not bad i guess.

I have a cheapo Saphire 128mb 9800pro I got from the egg for 199.00
It's the one that has H/S's on the power regulators
and it has Hynix BGA ram...

I flashed to the 9800XT BIOS from Gigabyte for their 9800XT...

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I got some of my "info" off that rojakpot site, could you link me for that bios? My mem can only go 350 so I need a modded 9800XT bios, I screwewd 1 card allready becuase of this...so I really want to make sure this one is the right one, plus I want to back up my old one.

Edit : my 9800pro cooler is lapped with AS5

i got the 200$ card off newegg as well, thats the one i fried.

now im probably going for the 256 model, which is 190$ on newegg

Quote: Originally Posted by Mister Glass i got the 200$ card off newegg as well, thats the one i fried. now im probably going for the 256 model, which is 190$ on newegg

That's probably a non-pro, don't get it, the extra memory does not compensate
for the major core capability losses, real 256MB 9800 Pro's are ~$250.

its listed on newegg as pro, and im pretty sure its that one featured in the rojakpot article.
Update: i just checked, and its the one labeled as not a true pro. so what card should i get? i cant spend more than 225, and ive almost decided to get a crap card and wait till i leave israel to get a good one.

Quote: Originally Posted by Mister Glass its listed on newegg as pro, and im pretty sure its that one featured in the rojakpot article.

Got a link? I've never seen a new & fully functional 256MB 9800 Pro for under $250.