Strange problem: My GF4200 works ok....

[3dfxzombie]

...but my Radeon9800 Pro doesn't. :-(

I'll explain:

Couple of months ago I bought a Radeon9800 Pro. Put a VGA silencer on it. Fantastic. Everything ok.
Occasionaly, while playing the Thief3 demo: Poof, suddenly, the computer instantly turned itself off. Just the power led stayed on. Only after disconnecting ALL power from the computer and turning it on again could I restart the computer.
At first I thought it was some mega-bug in thief3, but then it happened in the retail Beyond Good & Evil too! And one day, the computer turned itself off with a loud BANG!!! ( while playing BGE )
Opened the case...no fire & smoke. Turned it on again. Everything ok again.

A few days later, the big problem started. Every morning when I turned on the computer the screen didn't come on. Only after turning the computer off/on about 3 times, the screen started working. This only happened if the computer has been turned off for quite some time or if the powercabe has been unplugged/replugged.
Now, all this DOESN'T happen when I install the Geforce Ti 4200!!! Of course I thought the Radeon was broke. But I installed the thing in another machine with the same monitor and it worked fine!
I also tried another screen and I got the same problem, so the monitor was not guilty.
So then I thought, maybe that BANG was the powersupply exploding; I replaced it with a better model ( Tagan 380 )...... I STILL have to turn the %^%^%$ thing on 3 times every morning!.

What is wrong here??? I tried everything. Memory checks out fine with memtest. So the last suspect is the motherboard/AGP port....But why does the GF4200 work fine in it??? Or is the radeon9800pro broken in some subtle/evil way just to avoid eternal sleep in my drawer full of trash? Well, it didn't succeed because it's there now for the time being....>:-)

Help...!!!!

[LiquidX]

Make sure your mobo is at the latest. Also it maybe nvidia driver remnants. Use driver cleaner after uninstalling the nvidia drivers, reboot and try your 9800. Last resort; fresh install.

[3dfxzombie]

Make sure your mobo is at the latest. Also it maybe nvidia driver remnants. Use driver cleaner after uninstalling the nvidia drivers, reboot and try your 9800. Last resort; fresh install.

How can it be driver remnants if Windows hasn't even begun loading? For the same reason I don't think a fresh install will work.
As for the mobo-BIOS.... It DID work once in this configuration and now it doesn't. So I'm 95% sure it is a hardware problem. But which component?

[Cota]

the bang you heard could be a blown capacitor, either on the mobo or most probaly the video card. Check tha card for physical damage.

[3dfxzombie]

I see no damage inside the computer. Both the motherboard and the graphicscard. No capacitor-goo, no scorchmarks, no stink. Is it possible a blown capacitor still looks ok?

[CaptNKILL]

The 9800 Pro has a power connecter on it doesnt it? Did you make sure that was plugged in correctly? ANd that it isnt sharing the line with another fan\drive?

I really dont know what would cause things to happen differently from one AGP card to another.

Im puzzled.

[3dfxzombie]

Of course I did. The radeon 9800 won't let you start the computer when the power connector is not connected. And yes, I tried putting it on it's own powerline. No difference whatsoever.

I have tried three cards now: Geforce2MX, Geforce Ti4200 and Radeon 9800Pro. The radeon is the only card that uses so much power that it needs external power. It's also the only card with the problem, so I think of a power problem. But the PSU is not to blame, because I replaced it :lol2:

I suspect the motherboard, but the Vagp value ( agp voltage ) in my motherboard-utility (USDM) was good: 1.5V.
This is driving me crazy, because I can't return the card because I modded a Silencer on it. Wen I return the motherboard for testing they are gonna test it for days if not longer and all that time my computer will be a useless pile of metal. (help)

[BioHazZarD]

put back on the original cooler and take the card back, its obvious somethings wrong with it.

[3dfxzombie]

put back on the original cooler and take the card back, its obvious somethings wrong with it.

No. Why? Because:
1. It's not obvious; the card works ok in another computer.
2. The plastic pins of the original cooler are totally messed up. One look at the back of the card and they see I removed it.

If I go to the store two things can happen:
1. They put it in a testcomputer and they say it works fine: No replacement.
2. They see the squashed pins and say I modded it: No replacement.