Several Graphics Card Problems

[BuddyLee]

I'll start off by giving my system specs. I'm having a problem with my Radeon Sapphire X800 PCI-Express video card. You can see the card by going here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102465).

AMD 3500+ Processor
1028 3200+ (I think) DDR Ram
Sapphire X800 PCI-E Video Card
Seagate 7200+ 80 Gig Hard Drive

Tell me if you need more and please be specific with what you need to know.

OK, there are several problems I've been having with this. First, the very popular VPU Recovery error is constant. I went to the ATI site and it gave me a bunch of BIOS settings to put in, but I couldn't even find any of them in the BIOS menu. Next, Knight Online World (3d MMORPG) crashes about 85% of the time immediately when I start it. This is with the newest Catalyst drivers. When I downgrade my drivers to 5.6, the drivers preceeding the newest Catalyst drivers, I don't crash immediately when starting, but I do still get the VPU recovery error constantly. Next, in Counter-Strike, I also have a lot of serious video lag issues. At first it runs great, but about 20-30 minutes into the game, the game does one of two things: 1- it either crashes my system and forces a restart, or 2- I begin to freeze for 2 seconds every 5 steps.

So, that's the problem. It's incredibly annoying and frustrating. Anyone think they have a fix? :)

[krocodile]

I'll start off by giving my system specs. I'm having a problem with my Radeon Sapphire X800 PCI-Express video card. You can see the card by going here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102465).

AMD 3500+ Processor
1028 3200+ (I think) DDR Ram
Sapphire X800 PCI-E Video Card
Seagate 7200+ 80 Gig Hard Drive

Tell me if you need more and please be specific with what you need to know.

OK, there are several problems I've been having with this. First, the very popular VPU Recovery error is constant. I went to the ATI site and it gave me a bunch of BIOS settings to put in, but I couldn't even find any of them in the BIOS menu. Next, Knight Online World (3d MMORPG) crashes about 85% of the time immediately when I start it. This is with the newest Catalyst drivers. When I downgrade my drivers to 5.6, the drivers preceeding the newest Catalyst drivers, I don't crash immediately when starting, but I do still get the VPU recovery error constantly. Next, in Counter-Strike, I also have a lot of serious video lag issues. At first it runs great, but about 20-30 minutes into the game, the game does one of two things: 1- it either crashes my system and forces a restart, or 2- I begin to freeze for 2 seconds every 5 steps.

So, that's the problem. It's incredibly annoying and frustrating. Anyone think they have a fix? :)

Hmm.... I'm sorry that nobody has replied to your post. I can only think of a few things since VPU recovery's are misleading at times. I have seen VPU recovery's happen when its WASN'T the video card's fault. In this case, it turned out to be the motherboard, go figure. I guess a few important things to consider:
1. Power supply issues. The X800 series require quite a bit from your PS. I recommend possibly a 450 or 500W to be safe. I have a 510W and everything is good for me with an X800XTPE
2. Memory issues. Download MEMTEST and check your memory to make sure it's not causing any errors. www.memtest86.com
3. Clean driver install. This doesn't mean just using ADD/REMOVE to remove the driver. Use programs like DRIVERCLEANER to help. www.drivercleaner.net

If you have a generic 3D card lying around, or maybe get one for $60, replace it and test it to make sure it's not really your video card that's an issue.