I too had same kind of problems with 9800 pro.

My solution was quite "weird", IMO it doesn't make sense but...
I have AMD athlon XP 2400+, running at 15*133 mode. My radeon just kept crashing after 3-5minutes, so I took ATITOOL and started messing with core/mem settings. After a while I found out that it was mem settings that caused crashing, I could run 3dmaark2001 with <250MHz settings.
At first I changed CPU settings to 13*153, now I could do 3dmark2001 with mem settings 300.60.
Again, little more with 13*166 and tadaa! 3dmark2001 with default radeon settings.

Can't says that this is best solution but it worked for me. I haven't tested any games so far, but results are promising

For complete post, see http://forums.amdmb.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=302607

HI everybody , I had the same problem with my ati 9800pro 128 , this is what fixed it for me .
Go to
http://www.simplisoftware.com/Public/index.php?request=Downloa...iedAfsinst
and update the cd driver , the afs2k.sys one . after i did that it fixed all problems but one .
I went to play unreal tournament 2004 Demo and it starts to load with the logo on the desktop then it
just dissappears , can anyone help me with that?When i had my ti 4600 card in it never had any problems
with unreal 2004

If that fixes it for anyone else post back

hi man
I have a little problem with my asus radeon 9800 xt...
i know, it's a little problem, but if some one can help me i'll be VERY happy!!
my card work untill i set the core mhz to 480, and the ram to 405(X2)
but if i add also only 1 Mhz to the core clock or at the ram clock the system always crush...
Does somebody have any solutions??
thanks in advance...!
Ps i have the original heatsinker...

Hi all, I had just brought a Sapphire 9800XT Video Card out of my hard earn salary and most game just crash after ~1hr play (C&C: General, SW:KOTOR, Splinter Cell, etc). I tried the newest ATI Catalyst 4.3 and the crashing problem still continue.

Spec:
Intel Pentium 2.6 (533)
512 Kinston 3200 RAMS
* Gigabyte 8SG667 (which on support 1.5V Vedio card, is 9800XT a 1.5V card?)
On board Realtek 97 6 channels soundcard
Sapphire 9800XT

I plan to get the Venteck Tornato Case Cooler to see if the problem can be solved. I still think that is the heat problem. (I am not very familiar with computer system)

hey all

hope this help ya out. well i have radeon 9000 and just upgraded it to radeon 9800. i pug it in and went to test it out one a high grahic game (Unreal Tournament 2004 Demo). After about 7 minute my computer like freeze. i see a black screen and a loot sound. i try testing everything around. then i was wondering. maybe if i don't install the chipset that came with the mother board it might solve my problem. so i reformat my hard drive and the only hardward that i install was my graphic card (Radeon 9800) and sound card (Maya 5.1). Then i went and play Unreal Tournament and it ran great. no more loot sound and black screen.

motherboard::Elitegroup (ECS)
chipset:::::::::VIA PAXA00&8235
P4 2.8 Ghz
512 DDR RAM

ATI video cards are architectural marvels. They surpass NVIDIA any day. The most common problem though is software, not hardware. It's the gaming companies. Not the Video card maker. ATI is working hard to resolve these problems with constant new driver releases. Don’t blame ATI or even NVIDIA for these gaming company software problems.

Get a volt meter and check your power supply while benchmarking with Aquamark 3 and/or 3D Mark 03. Most likely it's a power problem. Video cards need a constant flow of power, if not, then games will freeze.

Hey, I had roughly what everyone is saying problem wise.. from what I've been hearing its a voltage thing between the 8x and 4x agp .. at 8x the system hangs in games, restarts computer and lines go all over the place among others, I was told to reduce the agp down to 4x in the bios and then in SMARTGART I set it to 4x ..

Now your thinkin god damnit.. that sucks.. but not really, the difference is only about 3% from 4x to 8x .. after I did all this I haven't had a damn crash since.. and now I'm confident to say that it wasn't me overclocking my cpu also

Now I'm over clockin this 9600xt that runs like a mean mofo now

Well, I've read this whole thread and there seems to be many problems. The major ones are the SmartDoctor crashes, the blank screen boots, and the blank screens while plating games. I fall into the latter category.

EVERY time I try and play a 3D intensive game I get booted out - and am presented with a lovely rendition of the mona liza naked (in the dark)! I cant do anything except turn it off/reset.

This seems rather unfortunate eh? More unfortunate is the fact that my mainboard is the same make as my graphics card! Both ASUS. I dont expect manufacturers to test their cards with EVERY combo on the market, but to test their kit with at least one of their own setups seems common sense!!!

I'm slightly peeved as you can tell. I spend £240 on a card, £100 on a mobo - and look where it gets me. The ability to use word!!! No games, No fun, no nothing!

I can also state for a fact that the problems I'm experiencing are not due to software, IRQ's, smart doctor, or whatever excuse the ATi technician from Taipai can think of. My PC crashes with or without smart doctor, fast write disabled, AGP 4x, or a designated IRQ.

These cards were built for extreme home use. This means home users who want to play graphic intensive games. Plug in, turn on, and play. They havnt got it right and are doing nothing to solve it.

I for one am one p**s3d off ATi customer.

GUYS GUYS GUYS, read the article above about the power supply. I for one also found out it wasnt the card, or my mobo. I used to have a Gforce 4 Ti 4600 and an antec 300 watt power supply. Then i got a sapphire radeon 9800 pro. Yep, lock ups after a few seconds or minutes. Tried everything, then i swapped out my power supply for a 360 watt chieftech. PRESTO, problem solved. this one could handle the hunger of the radeon without the voltage becoming unstable. Also i have the suspicion that as power supplies age, their power output becomes unstable. This antec 300W had been running for nearly two years non-stop, with 4 harddisks running also.
Just remember the cards with an additional molex connector really do crave a lot of power, and it has to be STABLE power. So it's definately worth a try before you start ripping apart your system or formatting your harddisk.

Yes, I agree with Paul Freedman 100%. You can pick up a nice 480W Thermaltake power supply for about $75us or 98cad. That's cheap and powerful for a 480W. More than what you need.

I'd agree with you guys - it sounds like a viable explanation. HOWEVER... I'm running a brand new Q-Tec 400W PSU. I've disconnected everything - I only have 1 HDD, The Mobo, 2 fans, and the 9800 running. The 9800 has its own 'stem'. It still hangs.

Oh poo - I've just taken a step backwards here... My PC with the 9800 is now refusing to go into windows...

bum

Well, my main 9800 pc is back online! I've looked through a few websites and this isnt an isolated problem. Loads of people have issues ranging from overheating to voltage problems.

I decided to run a few tests. I found out that by upping the voltage to 1.7v i solved some problems. It doesnt hang during farcry anymore! YAY!!!

I got the best 3dmark03 score of 5785 using AGP8x, Fast Write On, 1.7vAGP, and standard clock speeds (I dont like risking cards...).

The machine still crashes if I run smart doctor with voltage monitoring on.

Anybody that has craching and/or freezing while playing heavy intence games or something with an ATI Radeon. You need a better power supply. It has been confirmed. If your ATI has an attachment for an extra power connector, then you need at least 450W and up.

Nvidia's NV40 mimics a 16x1-pipeline architecture with just eight pipelines. Can you believe these guys!!!

s**t. If ATI used NVIDIA's meathod to determine pipelines, then ATI would have 20 pipelines with there R420. Honestly, I really thought NVIDIA would come out with a true 16x1-pipeline architecture design. I never thought a company can do such a fooling paper launch. Well, except for Intel and there Pentium series.

ATI is still coming out with there 12-pipeline architecture with no bulls**t attached.

http://theinquirer.net/?article=14878

That cant be true - please post a link as to where you found this information. If it is true, how do you explain 9800PRO/XT's running on shuttles - which have 220W PSU's?

I have a 400W Q-Tec Gold PSU. I tried it running nothing but the AGP card (Asus 9800PRO 256mb), the mainboard, one hdd, and the cpu fan. The games still crashed. Another point I'd like to make is that if this '450W PSU' info is incorrect - what happens to the people who replace perfectly good PSU's? Will they be able to claim some sort of compensation due to misinformation? I doubt it...

Rant over

Lack of power supply seems to be the number one cause for games freezing and crashing. I found this out in many ATI video card problem forums. Better be safe with more power.
Plus many problems people are having is not there Radeon, but there system configuration. I.e. ram timings, ram no good, monitor not plugged in all the way, overlapping drivers, and many more.

Shuttles are designed differently from the average computer, so I can't answer your question about the 220W.

I think that SuperXP is actually an ATi PR man/woman! Just a thought - but you seem sure that you have correct info (but have yet not posted a link to your source), that the cards are fine - its the power supply's, and that post about nVidia's paper launch (comparing it to ATi's specs)!!!

It makes me wonder if you work for the (ATi) man...

Besides, a 400W PSU could easily power any ATi card if the machine contained the basics (1 HDD, 1CDROM, Mainboard and fan)

That my friend is FACT

The 400W PSU, yes it is a fact. But many people have 3 to 8 case fans which need power. Anyway, I'll give you a link which explains about NVIDIA's paper launch of there 16 pipeline videocard.

Nvidia's NV40 mimics a 16x1-pipeline architecture with just eight pipelines
Exclusive: Vertex Shader 3.0 workaround
By Fuad Abazovic: Monday 22 March 2004, 12:54

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=14878

Oh, and I'll look for those ATI Forum sites. I don't store them on my computer you know!

I just did an little experiment yesterday. I unplugged all four pins power connections to all fans (4 case fans + 1 PCI slot fan + HDD mounted fan), the CDROM and the CD-Writer, leaving only 1 power cable straight to the main HDD and 1 straight to the 9800XT alone (My 400W Omni PSU only has 2 four pins power cables). I put my household fan next to it to make sure no over-heated. With that setup, I can run games (UT2004) for more than 1 hour which usually hang-up after 30 mins.

When I connected all the fans and CDROMs again (with the household fans still turn on), the game just hang after ~ 30 mins. I just had the feeling that the card required a power connection alone for itself, and a lot more stable power.

I will do a longer testing this afternoon and hopefully I can solve my hang-up problem. I will tell you my result if it truly work. I am now planning to buy the Antech 480W PSU. I know everyone's problem may be different, but people with hang-up program may try that to see if it were to be the PSU.

I've just registered to this site to let you all know i have found a solution!!!
Same ols SH** as all you. Changed irq's and drivers and fastwrite 8xagp etc.....
I decided to change from dual channel memory to single channel (lost about 50 marks in 3dmark2003) and have been running farcry for 5 hours solid with no problems. Also just tried Call of Duty and no problems there.. Shame i have to resort to this but heyho...


Asus 9800xt
Gigabyte 655fx ultra Motherboard
Zalman400wPSU
1024mb RAM pc3200 (2 sticks 512mb)
Pentium 4 3.0c
Soundblaster Audigy LS (CRAP!!)

3DMARK2003 Score 6650