Please help at wits end

[malfury]

So here is the problem when i play world of warcraft i can play for less than 5 minutes and it just stops and it is just a bunch lines or little diamond shaped pieces and am at a loss as to why i have tried just about every thing so if you could help it would be greatly appreciated. here are the details i got to see if i could run wow/


so first off about my system:
CPU
AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4600+ 2.40 GHz
System RAM
You Have: 1022.5 MB
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (Build 2600)
Video Card
NVIDIA GeForce 7500 LE (GeForce 7500 LE)
Video ram: 512.0 MB
Video Card 3D Acceleration: Required - Yes
Video HW Transform & Lighting: Required - Yes ,
Vertex Shader Ver.: Required - 3.0
Pixel Shader Ver.: Required -3.0
Video Card Driver Version (DirectX)
Your driver version number is: 6.14.10.9371
DirectX Version
9.0c
Sound Card
Realtek High Definition Audio
Sound Card Driver Version
Your driver version number is: 5.10.0.5229 .
Free Disk Space
245.4 GB
monitor 21" hp

[Tanitha]

It certainly looks as if you are good on the specifications. :grin:

When you see the lines and diamond shaped pieces what can you still do with the system? For example:

is it possible for you to Alt-Tab out to another application
Does numlock / key indicators still work on the keyboard
If you press Alt-F4 does it exit out of World of Warcraft and return you to the desktop


That type of thing.

[AaManiac]

Current/Forceware drivers for your video card.... would be the first thing... get your drivers going and let us know how that works....

-Maniac

[malfury]

no i can't do anything with the computer, after a while the computer restarts and i am running the most current drivers to date. Would it matter if i was running it off of a usb 2.0 portable hard drive?

[Tanitha]

Opinion: The latest drivers are not always the best and should generally be done only if there is a clear reason to do. A clear reason being an improvement in the driver architecture that will increase your performance or a bug fix that could have affected you.

That said, I'm kinda feeling the same as AaManiac. That has the sound of a driver related problem, but you have indicated you are running the latest versions all round. Have you considered taking a step back for one or two driver revisions to see if that helps resolve the issue?

Also, I am assuming you have checked all the appropriate temperatures and that it is not a heat related lockup.

Edit:
USB related problems is a bit outside my experience, but if you suspect it might be the cause; isn't it possible to shift it to a local HDD and try that again?

[malfury]

how do i check temps? i have put a large box fan to blow on to the computer but it did not seem to help. also how do i get a couple drivers back because i can't roll back my drivers. on a final note my computer is an hp if that helps.

[Tanitha]

Your system should have come with an application that allows you to monitor the temperatures. Alternatively, I believe some video card driver packages include a tool to monitor their temperatures or allows you to monitor it via the Properties Page. (Right click desktop, properties, etc.)

If it's an HP - I'm not too sure. I normally keep each driver revision I've downloaded to ensure that I can step back. With name brands like HP / Dell / etc. though they tend to have specific driver packages that you need to install on the system.

Not too sure, sorry.

[malfury]

i checked with nvidia control panel and it says the gpu is 70 f. so i there a way i can get that cooler with out opening the case or is that a reasonable temp.

[malfury]

if it helps i am running it on the lowest settings and it does this in battle for middle earth 2

[Clavina]

If you are really lucky then this is just down to the drivers. Unfortunately though in my experience this type of fault is down to a dodgy graphics card.
Do you have an old video card you can try in the machine? Or maybe a friend who can lend you their video card to test in the system?

How old is your computer? It looks fairly new so I'm assuming it is still under warranty. If your system was pre-built and bought as a package (eg Dell, HP, Compaq etc) then I would recommend calling their technical support lines to get the system serviced. If you have had the machine custom built I would recommend getting back to whoever built it or contact the manufacturer of the video card directly for support.

[Zachariah]

I'm a PC techie for a living and I agree with the above - check your graphics card for faults to start with. If it has a fan, make sure it's spinning properly and if it needs a secondary power cable (shouldn't think so for that model) make sure it's plugged in.

It is almost certainly not going to be driver-related. I doubt it is anything to do with any software. Prepare yourself for some RMA fun!

[Kalos]

Visable diamond shapes is a physical hardware problem, either a damaged or an overheating graphics card.

[malfury]

so i have figured it out the graphics card is overheating and i looked inside the case and all it has is a little dinky heatsink. what can i do to get the temps way down?

[AaManiac]

Water-cooling or better fan for our GPU. better fan for you Proc... better fans on your case would all be good upgrades

-Maniac

[Kalos]

I'd buy a new graphics card to be honest. Nvidia don't actually designate any perticular chip as a "7500", so it's probably a third party named graphics card using a 7200/7300 chip from Nvidia, making it a fairly weak card in it's era. due to the apparent mish-mash of marketing terms with actual hardware, I'd doubt it's actually a fairly good or stable card from a reliable name brand. Who is the producer? Nvidia just make the chips for the graphics card. XFX, BFG, Gainward tend to be reliable. However, "Dabsvalue special edition" is not a good name brand at all, meaning they bashed it together out of the cheapest components around to lower costs and be able to charge bargin prices without losing money.

It happens a suprisingly significant number of times. Most of the FX series, dispite having a DirectX 9 API, had several components of a DirectX 8 origin, even some 7s in the case of the 5500, jammed into them by the manufacturers who had purchased the chips for thier product. A Gainward FX could get as a much as 35% advantage over an XFX for instance, on the same basis chip. One of the major reasons why the 6000 series flew past them, by then Nvidia had recognised the issue, and proper architectures for the whole cards as opposed to simple provision of the chips was established. That doesn't mean some less reputable companies won't introduce cheap older substitutes under a varied name.

Not all graphics cards with the same name are equal. The choice of manufacturer provides a great source of difference. I wouldn't buy from ASUS, thier motherboards are great, but they aren't famed for thier graphics division other than "Affordable".