7900 GT Owners read this / artifacting / lockups

[WildCard]

UPDATE: GeForce 7900 series heat issues.

After MUCH research, I've found that the 7900 GeForce series of video cards have a big problem with Heat on the early revisions. Once the card over heats, that's it, it will artifact and lockup under normal game conditions. I monitored my video card heat and it locks up every time right around 53 - 54 degrees, that is way under the default NVIDIA throttle back setting of 130 degrees.
I've got an RMA for mine since BFG comes with a lifetime warranty, in the mean time I've configured DDO to run at a slower engine speed (medium) via the troubleshooting option in DDO. Also I disabled antiailsing and antroscopic filtering via the NVIDIA configuration panel. This allows me to play the game without locking up.

I've noticed that MANY people experiencing artifacting on the DDO forums are running the 7900 series of cards. If you have a 7900 and experience artifacting, lockups, black flashing screen and / or reboots, this is more than likely the problem.

Before admitting this was a heat issue, I took the following steps:

1: Re-installed Windows XP
2: Clean old drivers out with "Driver Cleaner Pro"
3: Re-installed Direct-X
4: Un-install and re-install DDO.
5: Patch the DDO client software with 'map' and 'cell' .dat files.
6: Try 2 different versions of NVIDIA drivers. (84.21 and 91.31)
7: Swap out system RAM

I never overclocked my video card (or system), and was running the 7900 GT only for a few weeks, DDO is the only game I play.

Check out this thread on the NVIDIA forums: http://forums.NVIDIA.com/lofiversion/index.php?t17198.html

Hope this information helps anybody with a similar problem running the 7900 GT.

Wild-

[LordTalose717]

Hehe, yep. Nvidia is becoming natorious for overheating Video cards. Mine started to sour after a couple of months. Now I have the side of my PC off, and a box fan on it. Can't afford the downtime it would take to replace it, and I can't afford to outright replace it....Oh well.

[WildCard]

EVGA has a site up dedicated to this problem with the GeForce 7900 GT. See this link from EVGA's web site: http://www.evga.com/articles/317.asp

[Theftwind_Lafinathu]

Although I am not running the above cards I do have a suggestion. Consider looking into getting a "Slot" fan that you can mount into an open slot next to your video card (if one is available). Some models (just google computer slot fans) will direct airflow where you want/need it. Although they do increase case/fan noise to a degree it is better then the degrees an overheated card will produce.

[WildCard]

While that is a good suggestion for normal video card cooling Lafinathu, this is a problem with a VRM (Voltage regulator) soldered onto the card itself. Passive cooling is going to do nothing to prevent the problem from occurring on a card installed with an ill-spec'd VRM.

As far as I can determine this is effecting all "manufacturers" of the 7900 series of cards.

[Tiggs]

I am putting this as a sticky since there is great information in this thread :)

[Theftwind_Lafinathu]

While that is a good suggestion for normal video card cooling Lafinathu, this is a problem with a VRM (Voltage regulator) soldered onto the card itself. Passive cooling is going to do nothing to prevent the problem from occurring on a card installed with an ill-spec'd VRM.

As far as I can determine this is effecting all "manufacturers" of the 7900 series of cards.

In that case I will stay away from that card. Thanks for the info!

[Ken_Dorak]

Just to add, the artifacting/lockup problems aren't only happening to nVidia 7900 owners. I personally have a Radeon x800 XL and it's encountering the same problems, and after upgrading to the latest drivers, I'm now having loop errors.

Currently waiting on Connect3D tech support to tell me how to fix it.

[Theftwind_Lafinathu]

I experianced those symptoms just before my Radeon 9800 pro fried on me. I am now running an Nvidia GeForce FX 5700 with no trouble.

[Maileih]

So I'm wondering, since I have an NVidia 7900 GT that has run perfectly since beta, what is Turbine doing to help resolve the driver/heat issues with video cards since the last update. I had no problems what so ever until the last update came along. I cannot comprehend how this cannot be a partial problem with coding from the last update. What is Turbine doing to help this problem. I know that I have had to cut my graphics quality way down since the last update, and it is making the game much less enjoyable for me due to poor performance.

[WildCard]

So I'm wondering, since I have an NVidia 7900 GT that has run perfectly since beta, what is Turbine doing to help resolve the driver/heat issues with video cards since the last update. I had no problems what so ever until the last update came along. I cannot comprehend how this cannot be a partial problem with coding from the last update. What is Turbine doing to help this problem. I know that I have had to cut my graphics quality way down since the last update, and it is making the game much less enjoyable for me due to poor performance.

Well, there's the troubleshooting option they created to help determine IF we're having heat issues by slowing down the game engine, thus stressing the video card less, to determine if heat is the problem. This is not a software / turbine issue, it's a hardware / manufacturing issue with the GeForce 7900 series of cards.

This is quoted from EVGA's web site:

"EVGA has been working out the new SKUs to resolve the issues that some users are experiencing with artifacting during 3DMark06 and random games; we have been manufacturing new cards based on a new AVL list.

Here are the details on the new 7900 cards:

"New" AVL Memory (Approved Vendor List)
RoHS compliant
Test results are extremely positive"

If you are experiencing these problems and run a GeForce 7900 contact your card manufacturer for an RMA. My card was a BFG, which has a lifetime warranty, they issued me an RMA after only a few minutes talking to tech support and describing my problem. I am hoping that the replacement they ship has an updated spec on the VRM (voltage regulator) which seems to be the cause of the problem. I have seen many frustrated 7900 owners post of having to go through the RMA process multiple times before they got a card that did not exhibit the overheating problem.

[adrenax]

I cannot comprehend how this cannot be a partial problem with coding from the last update.

(ok, I'm biased. I program...)

The hardware was sold to be able to perform these functions. Why is it the programs fault for using the hardware as it claims it can be used?

If the video card manufacturers said it could be used in this mode at this rate for only _so_ long, then I'd agree Turbine isn't doing the right thing. Without such qualifiers on the video card - why can't it run flat out forever?

[Maileih]

While I agree in general with what you are saying, I think you are missing my point. It seems highly suspicious, that all of the sudden, out of no where, my NVidia 7900 series card starts having issues, apparently along with many other cards. While some, such as yourself, may see this as a simple hardware issue, I think there is a reasonable assumption that can be made. If my card and many other people's cards were working fine at high graphics settings prior to the update, and then, suddenly, they start having problems all at the same time, there must be something amiss. I do not blame Turbine completely for the problems, but is it not reasonable, given the multitude of problems that began occurring post patch, that the last update may have a part to play?

[Maileih]

I contacted BFG tech support who had me do a barrage of stress tests and other various tasks. BFG concluded there is no issue with my 256 Nvidia 7900 GT O/C. They advised that there is a known issue with the first series of 7900 GTX cards, but that those have been resolved and most have been RMA'd. The support specialist advised that most likely, this is an issue with Turbine coding and/or the NVidia 91.31 graphics driver. However, he stated that it is most likely not the graphics driver since I have been unable to reproduce the graphics artifacting in other games such as FEAR and Half-Life 2 or WoW. The stress tests only reaffirmed what he, the tech support specialist, advised. Take it for what it's worth......

[fallen_token]

hey just wanted too reply because i was having the same issue with mine. I also had to send it back but since i got the replacement and the ddo tech support had me change the widescreen to false instead of true havent really had any more problems with my 7900

[Iaas]

hmmm ive been having a problem where game just totally locks up, this could be the cause :(

[Slasher]

If your not turning the card in to get replaced by the Manufacture then rebuild it if you know how to and use high end thermal grease and a diffferent heat sink and fan if possible

Most of the time, when people have over heating problems with their high end video cards is cause of improper air flow of the case.

If your running a high end video card, dont be cheap, get a good Aluminum ventalation case with alteast 120MM front, 120MM back, and 90mm side. Its good to add a PCI exaust vent fan also if need, in most cases you wont need it.

I have built 64bit monsters for people using Asus 7900 GTX and they do not over heat. Many of my customers play DDO and EQ2

[Slasher]

As far as I can determine this is effecting all "manufacturers" of the 7900 series of cards.

This is not totally correct. I deal strickly with Asus cards on the high end level and have never had a customer complain about this with an Asus card. And yes, we have used the first batch released, and still no over heating problems.

[WildCard]

This is not totally correct. I deal strickly with Asus cards on the high end level and have never had a customer complain about this with an Asus card. And yes, we have used the first batch released, and still no over heating problems.

While that may be true in your experience, you'll find that ASUS users are effected as well. Do some research and read through a few forum threads with people experiencing this problem.

[Kingfish]

Well, not to single anyone poster out...

I had a Leadtek 7900GT cook out on me in the first 24 hours...newegg was good enough to refund my money and let me purchase a new evga card and have them pass through the mail...so i was only down two days.

The new card got a new Zalman fan and every surface i could stick one got a zalman aluminum heatsink, front and back!

Its in a case that I know has a negative pressure build (more fans drawing OUT than pulling in...and a LOT of them). My CPU at full load only jumps to about 42c and the mobo stays at about 30C. My NEW evga 7900GT card doesn't spike at all in heat...the highest I've seen it peak is 44C...idles about 39C.

Heat is the killer...and the tech folks I spoke to told me ONCE a card cooks, just ONE TIME, it will never be the same...AND...all cards that have the bad parts, WILL eventually cook out...you might have it 6 months and no problems but if it gets HOT, its TOAST. And there is no resurrection or raise dead for those cards...you gotta just RMA them and get a new one.

Here’s to keeping the heat out!

[Ken_Dorak]

After fighting with my card for the past week and a half, I finally got Connect 3D to give me an RMA after having ATI try and run all their tests and junk as well. However, Connect 3D was good about giving me the RMA and had no problems.

I've decided to drop some change and am adding the Corsair COOL Liquid Cooling System to my 'puter. I am also adding the waterblock for the GPU for this card, and am considering adding some heatsinks to the card as well. Anyone know if those Zalman heatsinks will fit with the COOL system installed?

[WildCard]

I spent a few minutes this morning just looking for ASUS users who've experienced these problems with the 7900 series. Look no further than Newegg's customer reviews:

Newegg ASUS 7900 customer reviews (http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustratingReview.asp?Item=N82E16814121002)

[Slasher]

While that may be true in your experience, you'll find that ASUS users are effected as well. Do some research and read through a few forum threads with people experiencing this problem.

Its part of my Job to do the research. You will find me "DigitalFruit" on their technical support forum. A huge percentage of these cases are caused by poor case ventalation and cooling and that are dust traps.

Not denying that the overheating issue doesnt exist, but it is not a major issue in the sense of it being passive related. Any mass produced product will have a percentage of defects in tis distribution.

As we have given some remedy above of rebuilding the card, cause as many people will see there is barely any thermal grease on the GPU. Break the components down, clean off the old cheap stuff and repaste with newer and better thermal grease such as Artic Silver.

Dust build is also another thing. If a case is not properly filtered or not filtered at all your going to get dust build on the heat sink fins within a short period of time. This is public enemy # 2 for overheating problems.

I would advise for those people, if you know, not think, that you can break down your card and apply the suggestion made on what to do you should get possitive results.

[Slasher]

I spent a few minutes this morning just looking for ASUS users who've experienced these problems with the 7900 series. Look no further than Newegg's customer reviews:

Now my point is this, 25% report overheating, out of this 25% 18% more than likely will be active problems that caused the overheating and not passive related to VC defectiveness.

The 23% reporting are more than likely rookies whom cannot diagnose the problem correctly to find the real cause.

[Slasher]

Heat is the killer...and the tech folks I spoke to told me ONCE a card cooks, just ONE TIME, it will never be the same...AND...all cards that have the bad parts, WILL eventually cook out...you might have it 6 months and no problems but if it gets HOT, its TOAST. And there is no resurrection or raise dead for those cards...you gotta just RMA them and get a new one.

Again, not completely true. If the GPU reaches a point called a "MELTDOWN" level then what you say is completely true. To know if your GPU is "cooked" you would have to remove the heatsink and fan. Clean completely off the thermal grease, look for a burn mark or boil on the GPU or around it. This is the technical way of knowing for sure if you fried your VC that still works.

[WildCard]

Removing the stock cooler that comes with your video card more than likely will VOID THE WARRANTY. I don't know each manufacturers policy on replacing or upgrading the factory cooler but BFG tech support told me that it would void the warranty, not something I am willing to risk on a $300.00 card.

[Slasher]

Removing the stock cooler that comes with your video card more than likely will VOID THE WARRANTY. I don't know each manufacturers policy on replacing or upgrading the factory cooler but BFG tech support told me that it would void the warranty, not something I am willing to risk on a $300.00 card.

Correct it will void your warranty if " THEY FIND OUT ". Also, this is no different from changing Stock CPU coolers with other 3rd party products that also voids your warranty in which CPUs also cost $300-900 for the average enthusiast gamer.

To add more, I am sure everyone got the point when I said in my first post on this thread page 1 :


If your not turning the card in to get replaced by the Manufacture then rebuild it if you know how to and use high end thermal grease and a diffferent heat sink and fan if possible

[Nirvana]

sigh... im the new victim....

I can't even play ddo for 10mins now... :(

[WildCard]

RMA that sucker if you can. Mine came back a few days ago and has been running fine since I installed it. Course my original one ran fine for two weeks before it "blew".

:rolleyes:

If you can remember, take a picture or write down the revision numbers and codes on the bottom of your card before sending it off, you can compare then to the numbers on the new card to see if you got an updated build. I wish I remember to do this before I shipped mine.


Wild-

[Gradrock]

I run a BFG 6800, and have been plagued for about 2 weeks with the same problem. It's not just DDO that locks up, it the whole computer. Through troubleshooting I came to the same conclusion as the OP, video heat. Just letting you know its not just the 7xxx series of cards.

[Nirvana]

Hey guys,

If you lower the memory clock frequency, most of the problem gone (almost)

[Slasher]

If you lower the memory clock frequency, most of the problem gone (almost)

Very very very good point. Most gamers turn the clock up and forget about it. A reset back to default level should solve most of the problems also.

Please take in consideration also lack of power can also be an issue. If your running highend VCs PS modular support should be used.

[Nirvana]

ya, the memory on the card does not have heatsink. (interesting...)

The latest driver 91.36 has the Clock Frequency Setting to let you adjust the frequency. Remember to check the spec of the card before you do anything.
You can also install a heatsink for the memory to further reduce the problems.

Good luck and have fun in ddo :)


-Nirv

[Turambar]

One more data point here. I have two EVGA 7950 superclocked cards in SLI, and they are liquid cooled. With all the graphics settings maxed (including 2560x1600 screen res), my temps never go above 45C. No artifacting or freezing noted, frame rates in the 30-70 range.

Cooling does seem to be the key, as previous posters have pointed out.

Turambar ~ rank 49 paladin ~ Xoriat Server
Officer, House of Morrigan

[WildCard]

Updating the current saga, the RMA'd 7900 that BFG shipped to me has bit the dust, it died last night. I only got about two sessions out of this one before it went.

Prior to installing the new 7900 I purchased a slot fan cooler and installed it directly below my video card, which did little or nothing to resolve this problem. http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16835888112

Back to tech support I go.

[Slasher]

Prior to installing the new 7900 I purchased a slot fan cooler and installed it directly below my video card, which did little or nothing to resolve this problem. http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16835888112


....Its good to add a PCI exaust vent fan also if need, in most cases you wont need it.

The purpose of a PCI exaust fan it to reduce recycled heat build if the VC is boxed in by another PCI card that is below it.

I am starting to think however that your situation is passive related, perhaps not directly hardware related to the VC it self though after going through about three cards within a short period of time from what I understood from your posts.

Did you start fresh by reformatting your HD with a fresh reinstall of XP ? If not I would recommend doing this if its not going to be a hastle for you and make sure to install the latest drivers that just got released for Sept 2006.

Another thing, are you mismatching with your VC and your Chipset ? Meaning your running an Nvidia card but your Mobo Chipset is ATi, SIS etc and not Nvidia ?

[WildCard]

The purpose of a PCI exaust fan it to reduce recycled heat build if the VC is boxed in by another PCI card that is below it.

I have no other cards installed in my system. My case (http://www.aerocool.us/p-case/aeroengine2/aeroengine2.htm) has a 140mm front turbine style intake fan a 120mm rear exhaust fan, the PSU's (http://www.kingwin.com/pdut_detail.asp?CateID=2&ID=297) powerful 2 fan exhaust and now the dual fan video card cooler. Also the case is vented across the top and the sides the back and the front, the case temps are low, and the system is in an air conditioned room in the basement sitting on my desk.


I am starting to think however that your situation is passive related, perhaps not directly hardware related to the VC it self though after going through about three cards within a short period of time from what I understood from your posts.

Did you start fresh by reformatting your HD with a fresh reinstall of XP ? If not I would recommend doing this if its not going to be a hastle for you and make sure to install the latest drivers that just got released for Sept 2006.

This is the second 7900 I've had this problem with.

You can see the steps I followed in my 1st post in this thread.

Per the BFG tech support person, he suggested I say on the 84.21 Nvidia driver as the 91.31 drivers were still having problems. I'll ask them about the 91.47 (latest) driver.


Another thing, are you mismatching with your VC and your Chipset ? Meaning your running an Nvidia card but your Mobo Chipset is ATi, SIS etc and not Nvidia ?

My motherboard uses an Intel chipset, here is a link (http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?model=945P_Platinum&class=mb) to the board.

Another thing I'll add is the 7900 series of cards use a 90nm memory process, which allows the card to run significantly cooler and more power efficient than the 6 series of nvidia cards. I ran a 6600 at operating temperatures (GPU) 20 degrees Celsius higher than what the 7900 run as now. (compare the 7900 @ 43 - 54 vs. the 6600 @ 60 - 80)

So the same system with MORE cooling and a cooler running video card will be less apt to have temp problems, which I've never had until the 7900.

Wild-

[Slasher]

Ah I believe that you have a driver conflict between the Nvidia VC drivers and the Intel Chipset drivers causing your GPU proccess to run very high resulting in over heating.

Unfortunately MoBo manafactures do not stay up to date with the latest drivers released by GPU and chipset manufactures if you had already updated the latest driver from their website

Surprisingly I went directly back to Intel's website to look up the latest drivers and there is a newer one from the one provided by your Mobo manufacture :

http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts-df-external/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=N&ProductID=2115&DwnldID=11454&strOSs=44&OSFullName=Windows*%20XP%20Professional&lang=eng

Perhaps this will correct the conflict with the latest Nvidia VC drivers that is causing you GPU to burn out on your VCs

[WildCard]

Ah I believe that you have a driver conflict between the Nvidia VC drivers and the Intel Chipset drivers causing your GPU proccess to run very high resulting in over heating.

Slasher, I've been looking for hours for any site that details this driver conflict and been unable to find one. Could you provide a link possibly?
On Intel's site, at the link you provided, the release notes don't mention anything about the conflict or fix either...


From Wikipedia's GeForce 7 series section:


GeForce 7900 GT
This video card was released on 9 March 2006. Like the 7900 GTX, it is a revised version of the G70 GPU(G71) that is produced at 90 nm. It too offers all the features of the 7800 series as well as an attractive performance-to-price ratio.

Featuring 24 pixel pipelines, it is actually faster than the 256 MiB version of the GeForce 7800 GTX, yet has an MSRP of $299 USD (for the base clockrate). The overclocked versions are priced up to $349 USD.

Shortly after the initial launch of the 7900GT CO/KO/Superclock series, a trend of hardware instability became more and more prevalent. Some symptoms of the unusually large number of defective cards include: artifacting while rendering graphics in graphics benchmarks such as 3DMark03, 3DMark05, 3DMark06 and Aquamark3, artifacting while playing games, BSODs (Blue Screen of Death), total system restarts, and blinking screen.

A large batch of the 7900 GT XX (note: XX may signify CO/KO/SC variants of the 7900 GT) are believed to have defective and/or malfunctioning memory modules, thus causing instability and ultimately, total card failure. Another proposed cause of large-scale instability among the 7900 GT XX include undervolting from the factory. That is, the 7900 GT XX run at a 1.2 volt GPU core voltage, while their higher end relatives, the 7900 GTX, have 1.4 volt GPU voltages, thus permitting higher clock frequencies (GPU/RAM). The 1.2 core volt coupled with factory clocks of up to 520/770 (1540 effective) may suggest that the core voltage is simply too low to allow for higher clock speeds. Another point to note is that the 7900 GT XX and the 7900 GTX are both based around the exact same core, featuring a 90nm process, allowing for a smaller die size and fewer total transistors within the core itself; it now becomes apparent that the 7900 GT XX are actually meant to run at 1.4 volts, much like the 7900 GTX, but are factory undervolted to 1.2 volts.


Here's the link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_7_Series) to the site.

[WildCard]

This article on [H]enthusiast sheds a lot of light on the problem with the 7900 series cards...

http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTA2OSwyLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==


Here is the thread where I found that link, it has 12 pages of 7900 users all complaining about the same thing...

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1059136

[Slasher]

Ok I was close enough. It has been noted as "bugginess in the drivers" which IMO can cause conflicts with other driver functions. Please do keep in mind drivers do not work independantly.

The link I sent to you updates the PCI core driver(s) related to your 945 express chipset family.

My suggestion is this: When you get your next VC, uninstall the graphics drivers from the previous installation. Update your Chipset drivers with the link I posted for you directly from Intel. Then go directly to Nvidia's website and install the Graphic Driver version 91.47.

Other than this it has been clearified as alluded to from the begining that it is not a hardware defective issue :


We spoke with Scott Herkelman over at BFGTech.........................He also went on to say that, “almost all the cards we get back work.”..............

http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTA2OSwyLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==


Now here is the problem I have with the author of the link you post. Scott Herkelman indirectly says nothing about the VC being bad but only defectivness in the drivers.

Joe Darwin , Info Update 5/30/06, states :


EVGA’s 7900GT Series total RMA rate is from 0.04% to 1.9% per different SKU’s (which includes cards that had no problems found)

These elite proffesionals indirectly point out the defectiveness is a software issue and not a hardware one. The author of the web page keeps on ranting about Bad VCs when their sources indirect refer to the opposite.

One thing that I never do is mismatch system Mobo chipset and VC GPUs. I always match them Nvidia with Nvidia , ATI with ATI. Thus is to avoid future problems IMO, this is perhaps is why we never experience the problems people have with the 7900 series GPUs overheating.

Other than this keep us updated with the next VC you get.

[Ilan_Throne]

so when are the new updates coming out becuase i have tried everything and I can't seem to get it to work it will do it all the time with ddo and sometimes with fear combat also i have found that even with all the extra heatsink and better thermal grease that it will still do the same thing so i called and emailed turbine staff and bfg tech's that gave me rma for vga card so if it does same thing it is the vc becuase the vc on my is saying that it is getting 8.19 when it should be 12 or something also i got an email back and they said that turbine is coming up with new updates to fix problem for geforce7900 series users now i would like to know if this is true or not becuase i don't want to rma get another one and end up with same problem becuase it was ddo's fault...:mad: :confused: :eek:

[WildCard]

... also i got an email back and they said that turbine is coming up with new updates to fix problem for geforce7900 series users now i would like to know if this is true or not becuase i don't want to rma get another one and end up with same problem becuase it was ddo's fault...:mad: :confused: :eek:

Who emailed you and said that Turbine is coming up with new updates for the 7900 series card?

If you have an email with any information from either BFG or Turbine about the 7900 card can you copy it to this thread?

[Ilan_Throne]

Yeah sure...it isn't much but this is what BFG Tech is telling me from a nasty e-mail i sent them on there pos 7900GT card:mad: ...

"Unfortuanetly in the latest update to D&D Online they caused a lot of
stability issues with nVidia GPUs. No good fix for this has been found yet,
but should be addressed in their next update."


Thank you,
Matt M
BFG Support

so yeah i deleted the other one two days ago tried to retreave it but i sent something back and this is what i got back...hope it is better than nothing...:p

[WildCard]

Yeah sure...it isn't much but this is what BFG Tech is telling me from a nasty e-mail i sent them on there pos 7900GT card:mad: ...

"Unfortuanetly in the latest update to D&D Online they caused a lot of
stability issues with nVidia GPUs. No good fix for this has been found yet,
but should be addressed in their next update."


Thank you,
Matt M
BFG Support

...

Any way a Yellow Name could comment on this?

[Azilon]

Im currently running 2 EvGA 7900GT KO's in SLI with their stock coolers and i have no issues with DDO, or any other game for that fact. I think its already been stated before but if you go ANY name brand Nvidida card manufacturer and look at the forums for thier 7900's you will see hundreds of posts of cards artifacting, not working ect. The old 7900's like mine had serious chipset Issues and their were alot of RMA's. In no way shape or form should DDO cuase issues with your card. Now heating can be an issue and i dont know the layout of your case but mine has 1 120mm intake and 2 120mm exhaust in the back and my video cards dont seem to have any conflict. Personily i think BFG is trying to hide its flaws. If you RMA they should send you a new revised card which everyone else is putting out now and alot less epople are having issues. But theres always the chance of a bad card or another RMA. My best friend had to RMA 3 of his 7900's just to get a working pair.

[Ilan_Throne]

I really think that BFG is trying to point the finger at someone else kindof thing and they are blaming ddo becuase I said the problem is when i ever play ddo...but yeah i just rma'd mine and i hopefully will get a better shot second time through....omg i hope i never have to keep on rma'ing them back for like 3-4 times :eek: but yeah i have alot of fans in my case two big intakes one big out take another intake in a 5.25" bay and a fox2 evercool pci outtake on the pci slot so yeah i have them running really high and everything dropped from with just 3 fans like by 20 degreees!!! i also got a psu that has two 120mm fans on it so yeah everything in there is good it might be alittle loud but i rather have loud than have everything catch on fire:eek: :D

[Ken_Dorak]

Well, my RMA went good and sent my card in ... just waiting to get the replacement to put it back together with additional case fans and my liquid cooling system.

Then, perhaps, after almost a month of being unable to play DDO, I can rejoin my fellow Aundair amigos and contibute to groups again without disappearing shortly after joining due to the crashing problems.

[DJNsomniac]

when it "crashes" your system does it lock the computer up and then give a loud continious static sounding beep? cause my 6800GT has been doing that as of late.

[Ilan_Throne]

finally i found a member that is from my area see i go to sac state and i live in vacaville, ca close to uc davis....:D so yeah i have had the same problem it is usally your video card will end up stop run erroring windows out with an infinte loop where it gets locked up blue screens or your monitor will turn off for no reason then say no signal while the tower is still running then u start getting your motherboard to beep at u alot...that is what was happening with my bfg 7900gt oc, or i get a blue screen...i have prime95 torture tested everything except vga card everything passes fine without catching on fire:eek:....soooooo i think that yes it is a vga card problem...so yeah i think that your vga card DJNsomniac is a problem with either the heat toasted it and it isn't running good or something wrong with vc now what does all your voltage run at and also it just doesn't mean it is your vga card it could be anything that is malfuctioning such as mem. so if i where u run a prime95 torture test..you can find torture test on the 3rd or 4th top tab and then run it it will take like 12 hours if it passes the blended one then everything is fine and vga card is ****ed up...if it blue screens then something wrong with either the cpu motherboard or mem....now if it fatal errors before it can finish then u are ****ed becuase that means that it could be anything in there that isn't working right or not connected right:confused: :( ...so yeah do that and u will be amazed at u find your mem is ****ed up or that your motherboard is messing up....:cool:

[Kelwind]

I presume there are so many ASUS customer that have purchased an EN7900 GT and have experiemented several problems with this hardware like system-crashes or several kind of graphical artifacts when running games or Benchmarking tools. After a little of internet research I found strong evidences that several customers of ASUS, XFX, eVGA or BFG are being affected by the same kind of trouble when using their brand new 7900 GT ( OC and no OC versions) gaphic card. After a lot of reading, I can finally conclude that every point at some kind of hardware default in the PCB design (prolly a bad voltage chip regulator), and depends on good luck that your 7900 GT doesn´t fail.
I guess the main guilty at this issue is nVidia for a bad reference design of the PCB, but the company that should regain the customer confidence is the one that mount the nVidia GPU on the PCB and sell it. So till nVidia and assemblers clarify the situation, there are companies like eVGA that are offering a full warranty on it defective product, replacing it for a brand new revision of the 7900GT card tested by them, and assuring it would be work OK this time. eVGA directly send the new card to the affected customer, and once the customer receive it, he/she has to send back the faulty card. This way the RMA is managed directly with the assembler company avoiding long waits of a RMA through the shop.

Here comes my idea:

It would be great that any customer with any problem detected on a ASUS 7900 GT /GTX or whatever, that haven´t RMA it yet, or even had RMA this product one or several times (several people had to RMA this hardware many times), please reply this thread exposing the case. This way we can get a real vision at the situation of this problem. this way we can even elaborate a legal writing asking an excepcional customer support by ASUS demanding a quick RMA managing as the othes assembler offer. I demand a sincere ASUS reponse and a quick solution (we don´t want waiting for 3 weeks in a RMA via Shop, remainining all this time witout graphic card on our system). From the mails I exchanged with the ASUS customer support department, I guess they are hiding this problem it to save the company name, and doing this, they are touching a fraud issue, as IMHO nVidia is doing not admitting the massive 7900GT series failure.

Feel free to copy and post this thread to every related forum you usually visit, even the corresponding assembler customer support

[Gunric]

DJNsomniac - I have the same exact problem. Artifacting and then a looped crash that sometimes resolves itself, only to be followed by another looped crash. I am running a dual 7900GS set up.

IMO this is either DDO or forcewear drivers 91.47. As a control I was running a 6800GT on a previous nvidia driver. I then received my DDO update and the artifacting started (IT NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE THE SEPT DDO UPDATE). then I upgraded it to the new Nvidia driver, and still saw the artifacting.

Either Nvidia or DDO (who ever trully owns it) needs to fix it and stop blaming the users on the HW configs. Many of the users are far more technically savy then you can imagine.

[WildCard]

Just wanted to drop another update here, I received my 3rd RMA'd 7900 GT from BFG a few weeks ago and it artifacted after about 4 hours of use. This is with the game engine turned down to "medium" under the troubleshooting tab. The card that I received was thoroughly tested by senior BFG tech support, apparently they stressed tested the card with FEAR and Call of Duty for 8 hours before sending it out to me. I am waiting on my 4th RMA to come in, should be any day now. I am kind of resolved that this is going to continue forever as BFG has no policy in place for me to upgrade or downgrade my card through support. I've even purchased BFG heat sinks for the next card that they send me, but I doubt it will make a difference... All the while my backup GeForce 6600 has been running fine.

One of my RL friends who also plays DDO, and is in my guild, just had her 7900 GT artifact last night. Her card is a PNY. She got a lot more time out of hers than I did; I believe it ran for a few months before failing.

I'll update this thread again when I have any other information.

Wild-

[Mattus]

I just set up my new computer build and yesterday my 7900GT went crazy.
I was able to max out all the setting and play DDO for about 10 hours. Then something went haywire. Now when I log in, even at the lowest graphical settings, the screen blinks about every 20 seconds, like it is changing the refresh rate or something. I watched the GPU temp as I turned up the settings, I was able to play with just a few white lines on the screen and the GPU temp stayed between 55 and 60 degrees Celsius. Again, blinking about every 20 seconds constantly. I went all the way to Very High setting with no crash. Then when I changed the resolution, from (i think) 640x480 to 1024x768 the game and computer froze. Had to hard reboot.

Oblivion also has issues, but is not anywhere near as touchy as DDO.

My System:
E6300
Gigabyte GA-965P-S3
MSI 7900GT 256MB (Dying?)
1GB DDR2 800
SB Audigy 2Z
Antec True2 Power 550W
Antec SLK-3000 Case

[studentx]

While that is a good suggestion for normal video card cooling Lafinathu, this is a problem with a VRM (Voltage regulator) soldered onto the card itself. Passive cooling is going to do nothing to prevent the problem from occurring on a card installed with an ill-spec'd VRM.

As far as I can determine this is effecting all "manufacturers" of the 7900 series of cards.

Bingo I had been trying to warn folks with vid problems for sometime. Problem seems to be exacerbated for Dual CPUs, burn out in as little as 6hrs. Either suck it up and volt mod or wait until Nvidia releases a gen that corrects the problem. ....You'd think they would have recalled them all but seems tech companies like to release shoddy work and let their customers be frustrated.

[studentx]

I must be blind I don't see a sticky for this thread!!!:confused:

[Kaimana]

I just got off the phone with the company that sold me their gaming system. It would appear that this game is notintended for NVIDIA cards. Is this the case? I hope not, since I had this PC built exclusively for DDO, and heard that this system would be ideal for this game...

[GreatCzarsGhost]

As we have given some remedy above of rebuilding the card, cause as many people will see there is barely any thermal grease on the GPU. Break the components down, clean off the old cheap stuff and repaste with newer and better thermal grease such as Arctic Silver.

Umm.. doesn't this violate the warranty???

[Artificial]

(ok, I'm biased. I program...)

The hardware was sold to be able to perform these functions. Why is it the programs fault for using the hardware as it claims it can be used?

If the video card manufacturers said it could be used in this mode at this rate for only _so_ long, then I'd agree Turbine isn't doing the right thing. Without such qualifiers on the video card - why can't it run flat out forever?

Nothing lasts forever. I build computers and from my experience with all Nvidia cards in the 6000 series and up. To protect your investment I would really consider buying a simple after market cooling fan. Most of the fans that come on say the 6800 series cards are pretty lame. Also, they've tended to not last very long before becoming clogged with computer belly button lint. Might I suggest an Arctic Cooling Silencer. They're pretty cheap and they fit on alot of the new and slightly dusty GPUs.

But really, anyone that is going to spend more than 100 bux on a video card should really spend that extra 20-30 bux for a cooling fan. It really has lengthened the life of alot of my clients video cards and has stopped a ton of headache on my end.

[Brutilizer]

Am not a PC person, but bought a decent one to play video games on. I have the 7900 GT and I am having all the said issues.

The machine is new and passes all the tests the PC maker has given it. They even replaced the card and it is still happening. I am at a complete loss here, is DDO just unplayable?

Is there laymans manual on how I can solve this issue?

[shiffd]

I see a connection, finally to an issue I 've seen often. My PC locks too! you are not alone. In fact there are hundred of us, maybe EVERY DDO customer except the guys who build computers for a living!

I have a ati mobility radeon 9700 . I've never heard of this being a bad video card, is it? worked good on all my other games. Worked great on Warhammer and they seem to have pretty badass graphics.

So the moral of the story is that you ahve to build computers for living and have an endless supply of cash to play DDO without worry, especially if you are interested in higher graphics settings.

Next time I am in DDO I am gonna turn all of my graphics down as low as possible I hope to god it helps.

I have a little fan that I put next to my computer and I have it on high just blowing across it to keep it cool. I vaccum it often and use a duster to try and clean it.

I have an idea for amateurs who don't want to take too much apart, have little cash but some space in their house, Take the metal casing off of your PC (if you can), expose all the goodies inside, like the graphix card. Cover teh whole thing in a dust net or some kind of screen. Get a really highpowered fan, just a regular fan (like for cooling a house) or a vacuum cleaner. Put the fan on top of your PC so that it is constantly being bombarded with wind (you could like mount a vacuum clearner next to your video card and turn it on full power, so it just constantly sucks a violent stream of wind across the **** thing).

If my house was larger than a lunch pale and I didn't have children I would take my PC apart and connnect it to about 5 vacuum cleaners, then send a letter to DDO 'overheat this B*&^#' with a picture of my invention.

For now I'm just gonna turn down all the settings and hope to got it works.

They should just make PCs so there is a way to hook a really large (maybe noisy) industrial fan to it. I think that would solve the problem. I got kids though so I can't have computer parts laying around while i invent the ghetto rig cooling system for my PC. Its just nuts to think of putting all these little fans and cooling systems inside your PC, I'm not a friggin computer scientest, I am a regular dude. Wat they heck i'm gonna go buy some silver Giiggl goo and 500 dollars in computer parts to rebuild my video card? Say what? For a game? Ok just frustrated here.

[Zakaria_Tyme]

While I agree in general with what you are saying, I think you are missing my point. It seems highly suspicious, that all of the sudden, out of no where, my NVidia 7900 series card starts having issues, apparently along with many other cards. While some, such as yourself, may see this as a simple hardware issue, I think there is a reasonable assumption that can be made. If my card and many other people's cards were working fine at high graphics settings prior to the update, and then, suddenly, they start having problems all at the same time, there must be something amiss. I do not blame Turbine completely for the problems, but is it not reasonable, given the multitude of problems that began occurring post patch, that the last update may have a part to play?

It would seem that this very well may be the case as my card just started doing the exact same thing right after the update as well.I know that it is overheating because i can smell it,just seems strange that it only happens now and just after the update....this seems to be serious enough for turbine to investigate and let us all know the results.
Zakaria Tyme(Just Paladins):eek:

[Kaimana]

I had to RMA my entire 64 bit gaming rig, they added a sweet new mb and new Nvidia 7900GTX (the 7900GT OC burned completely, and damaged the original MB)

So I try DDO agai, same thing, I'll never use the 7900 series of cards on DDO again.

This first issue happened right after the first module patch this summer.

[Vidrak]

As others have stated, it isn't just a 7900 thing. I have a 7800 and have the same problems. eVGA said it was a heat issue and to either RMA or look for a 3rd party cooler. I was wanting to get some better cooling for my box anyways, so I got new case fans, a new CPU fan and a 3rd party GPU cooler.

I managed to drop my card from 90+C to around 78C under full load and running for a while (this is case closed up and everything). So I still have to resort to going back to the case open with a 10" fan right on the card. It is very annoying, and I might contact eVGA again about this problem, as it is just screwed up that the card with a cooler 2-3x better than the stock STILL overheats.

Computer companies need to get a hold on the heat issue, just building a computer these days is easily 10 times harder than it was 5 years ago. There are so many problems with timing and heat, it is rediculous. I will probably look at buying a new card here soon, because honestly, it isn't even worth fussing with. When the DirectX10 cards roll out, I will be hoping on that bandwagon most likely.

I need to read more of the thread, but has anyone had any luck with the RMA'd card? Is it cooler and run with less artifacting? Thanks!

[Turambar]

I just got off the phone with the company that sold me their gaming system. It would appear that this game is notintended for NVIDIA cards. Is this the case? I hope not, since I had this PC built exclusively for DDO, and heard that this system would be ideal for this game...

Well, I can tell you it's definitely not the case, and from my point of view, the 7900 series *IS* ideal for DDO. I can see from this thread many folks are having issues with the 7900 / DDO combo, but I bet there's a lot more folks--I'm one--who don't have any issues with it and thus don't post here. :)

I've got two eVGA 7950GTX's in SLI, liquid cooled. DDO runs like a dream at 2560x1600 and all max settings, with the GPU temp rock steady at 45C. FPS from 40-80. It's been that way since launch.

Not trying to rub salt in anyone's wound--just a note of caution lest we all assume that "no one with a 7900 series can run DDO" or "the card isn't meant to run DDO well."

Turambar ~ rank 59 paladin ~ Xoriat Server
Officer, House of Morrigan

[WildCard]

I've got two eVGA 7950GTX's in SLI, liquid cooled...

Not trying to rub salt in anyone's wound--just a note of caution lest we all assume that "no one with a 7900 series can run DDO" or "the card isn't meant to run DDO well."


The EVGA's heat sink on the 7950 card covers not only the GPU but also the memory, unlike the 7900.

This thread is specifically about the 7900 GT, not the 7950 or later series which are not the same card.

Wild-

[Turambar]

The EVGA's heat sink on the 7950 card covers not only the GPU but also the memory, unlike the 7900.

This thread is specifically about the 7900 GT, not the 7950 or later series which are not the same card.

Wild-

Ahh, ok--can't speak to the issue then. I had thought the 7950 was eVGA's superclocked version of the 7900.

Tura

[smithers]

OK, so I bought a laptop from Dell earlier this year. My first mobile gaming rig, and I maxxed out the specs (2 gigs RAM, 7900GT, dual core, etc..)

Up until the last update, it played DDO beautifully at 1920X1600 with nearly maxxed out settings (I don't need AA at that resolution, and one or two others are disabled simplyl cause I didn't perceive the difference)

Anyways, since the last update I get serious artifacting (esp outdoors and in Marketplace) and hard game crashes every couple hours. From reading this thread I understand the 7900GT has serious heat issues, and if this was a desktop system I'd be returning the card. Not sure what my options are with Dell at this point, esp as I don't want to give up my system for weeks while it gets serviced/swapped out whatever....

However, even if this is an NVIDIA problem, I do agree with the posters who pointed out that they had no problems before the last DDO update. I will check out the testing tool mentioned, and strongly encourage Turbine to do what they can to support the large user base that owns this popular (but possibly defective) piece of hardware. It seems Turbine made an engine enhancement that should not have caused problems, but it did. Even if NVIDIA is responsible, Turbine has more ability at this point to help out its customers who love the game but are suddenly having serious problems playing.

Here's an example of one thing they could do: change the behavior of UMD-required items, which now un-equip every time you log (or crash) Since "logging" in the MMO has no significance, there is no reason why this should happen. (Having to re-equip after resting would make more sense, if they felt the need to do something similar) I mention this issue since last time my game crashed, I happened to be standing in lava - no problem with my warforged-only greater fire cloak on. However, when I logged back in I immediately died, since my restricted gear had all popped off. I find this behavior especially annoying since the gear still shows on my toon (I once took my pally all the way through BAM naked on accident, since he looked like he was wearing his FP) Anyways, I know this would seem to be unrelated, but in fact having gear pop off every time I crash is about as painful as the crash itself, so this is a small change Turbine could make to show good faith toward their customers struggling with this issue.

[thatguy]

I am nearly ready to buy a 7900 GT. Are these cars still buggy? I don't want to waste a whole bunch of money if they still cause system crashes.

[WildCard]

I am nearly ready to buy a 7900 GT. Are these cars still buggy? I don't want to waste a whole bunch of money if they still cause system crashes.

You'd be much safer buying a 7950.

[thatguy]

You'd be much safer buying a 7950.

I actually went with the 7900GS, so far so good. I have a fan blowing on it so it has been good so far. I can play DDO with all the settings on high or very high and still get frame rates well over 100.

[brickwall]

personaly im nuts about cooling and id recommened out right replaceing the fan and or heatsink to something larger! never a bad idea. there are some card that come stock with no fan @_@ get 1 on there asap most fans mount right to the heatsink with ease.

[The_Rev09]

So I've just now fried my third 6800 GT with the latest update. After huge updates, it runs for about 5 minutes, then siezes up and upon reboot, there's artifacting right at the BIOS. LeadTek was great about the first one, I got the RMA within a week. The second one took almost 2 months because they've closed their office in the US, so it came all the way from freakin' Asia. Now just a few weeks later, the third one went up the proverbial creek about 5 minutes after the latest update. I don't know if I want to bother waiting another 2 months, and if I do, do I want to risk blowing it after the next DDO update?

***, mate? :mad:

If this was purely a heat issue, how is it that this never happened with Half-Life 2 or Doom 3? Riddle me that, Batman....

[Losttsol]

I don't think DDO updates would fry your video card. You might have some voltage problems. That is a very strange dilemma. I would try a different card if possible. I think you could put a 7600GT AGP in your rig. I've got one (PCI E) and I run this game with everything on high at 1280x1024 res.

Edit: I put a good overclock on my card, but you don't have to for this game.

Edit: Thought 6800 was an AGP card, but I see now you can get it in PCI E. Don't know which you have.

[The_Rev09]

AGP, and I admit that I've thought perhaps there was a mobo problem, or something else, because it does seem very odd! Three times, though, the card has fried not 5 minutes into DDO after a major update.

Weird, man!

I've got my old 9700 Pro that does ok, so I put that in while I wait for a new card.

[vomitsoul]

I am experiencing similar issues but with the XFX 7600 GT card. I think the card is amazing however, DDO does not seems to function very well with the card. More often than not my screen will go black and finally pop back up with a blue screen and error message pertaining to the nv4_disp file. At first I figured ok, it has to be the driver, so I updated the drivers to no avail, perhaps it was a setting in the bios, after a few tweeks the game ran fine within a few days DDO started right back up to it's old tricks. I thought the card was overheating but it's core temp is at 45-48 degrees, nothing I did worked. I even contacted the vendor, RMA'd it back and they tested the card, which it passed all tests with flying colors so it was shipped back to me. I updated my OS with all patches etc., I uninstalled and reinstalled XP, reapplied SP2, uninstalled and reinstalled DDO and nothing worked!!! This only seems to happen while running DDO!! I don't know what else to try!! I was going out of my find trying to think of what the problem can be but after reading this post, I am thinking it's DDO! I love the game and will do what I can with in reason to be able to play it but **** enough is enough!!! Does anyone have the 7600 GT and if so are you experiencing the same issues?

[Silver_Squirrel]

I actually went with the 7900GS, so far so good. I have a fan blowing on it so it has been good so far. I can play DDO with all the settings on high or very high and still get frame rates well over 100.


Well, I have the 7900 GS (nvidia) and seem to be having the problems described in this thread. Although it did finally stopped blue screening, I'm still having what I think is called artifacting, but since I'm not sure what that is, can't say for sure. What I can say is when I play DDO I get some funky video display when i'm in a corner (get some lines and flashing, can't hardly see the screen), also get just black (partly) sometimes. I ran the temp monitor on my card and the normal op is at 49deg C, but jumps up to 63 during game play. Is my card fried? Or what? I'm running this on a Dell XPS 600. Any help would be great!

[brodie]

I have an ATI FireGL V7200 with the same problems. Its not the hardware!

Hey turbine can you play your games looking thru a kaleidoscope

heres a pic
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x220/brodie_2337/tempest-video.jpg

and heres my thread.

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=117037

[xman26]

While that is a good suggestion for normal video card cooling Lafinathu, this is a problem with a VRM (Voltage regulator) soldered onto the card itself. Passive cooling is going to do nothing to prevent the problem from occurring on a card installed with an ill-spec'd VRM.

As far as I can determine this is effecting all "manufacturers" of the 7900 series of cards.

Thats funny, the machine I'm on now had a 7900GSOC(GT-GTX clocks) in it and I played on it for a while and never had an issue. and this is a dell box.

[xman26]

I am experiencing similar issues but with the XFX 7600 GT card. I think the card is amazing however, DDO does not seems to function very well with the card. More often than not my screen will go black and finally pop back up with a blue screen and error message pertaining to the nv4_disp file. At first I figured ok, it has to be the driver, so I updated the drivers to no avail, perhaps it was a setting in the bios, after a few tweeks the game ran fine within a few days DDO started right back up to it's old tricks. I thought the card was overheating but it's core temp is at 45-48 degrees, nothing I did worked. I even contacted the vendor, RMA'd it back and they tested the card, which it passed all tests with flying colors so it was shipped back to me. I updated my OS with all patches etc., I uninstalled and reinstalled XP, reapplied SP2, uninstalled and reinstalled DDO and nothing worked!!! This only seems to happen while running DDO!! I don't know what else to try!! I was going out of my find trying to think of what the problem can be but after reading this post, I am thinking it's DDO! I love the game and will do what I can with in reason to be able to play it but **** enough is enough!!! Does anyone have the 7600 GT and if so are you experiencing the same issues?

Try a different driver. Nvidia has newer drivers out for XP and the 7 and 6 series.

[xman26]

The EVGA's heat sink on the 7950 card covers not only the GPU but also the memory, unlike the 7900.

This thread is specifically about the 7900 GT, not the 7950 or later series which are not the same card.

Wild-

Hate to break it to you, but the chip on the GS, GT, GTX and 7950s are all the same chip.

[Reisei]

i have experienced artifacting sinec beta i guess i just got used to it i play with low texture quality but everything else is on very low except object and landscape draw distance which are on the highest setting
im using a geforce 6600 GT i also get artifacting in other games with the excpetion of guildwars strangely....

[Wulf_Ratbane]

Well, add me to the list of people who can't play DDO since Mod5.

My Nvidia 6800 died (apparently, due to DDO, though I did not know this at the time) so I figured I'd upgrade to a brand new EVGA Nvida 8600GTS.

The card idles around 60C. There's plenty of ventilation and fans. Heat sink and two 4" fans on the CPU. 4" fan for the case. Two fans on the power supply. Heat sink and fan on the GPU itself, and for good measure I added a fan venting out over the PCIX slots.

When I start up DDO, the temp skyrockets to 85, 90, and I have seen it as hight as 95C! That's friggin crazy.

After speaking with EVGA, he tells me that that is definitely not normal. I'm sending that card back and getting a replacement, and I'm also getting a new 6800 as it is also still under warranty from Dell, but if DDO won't run as smooth on the 6800 as it did before, I think we can say with certainty that it is MOD 5 that has done this. (And it was Mod5 that likely killed my 6800 in the first place...)

To add a little more fuel to the fire, I also used to regularly run DDO on my laptop for hours at a time with no problem. Since as of yesterday I had no graphics card in my desktop, I figured I would get my fix playin on the old laptop.

After about 30 minutes of play, the laptop said NO MAS and just powered down completely. It was SCORCHING HOT. That has never been an issue before.

There is definitely an issue since MOD5.

[Plutocracy]

Thank God, I thought I was the only one. I have Geforce 6600+, ive been playing DDO since it first came out with zero problems. Since the last update, my system locks up all the time and I need to reboot, especially in public areas. Less problematic inside a quest. Its made the game practically unplayable for me.

It is absolutely significant that so many people have similar problems as of last update. I hope I haven't fried my card, but things still seem ok when not in DDO at least.

[jeffdnd]

I also have a new computer with a 8600GTS. I'm not quite sure what the temperature is, or even if that's causing the issues because what's happening to me is the graphics go bad (anything from colors being dark for certain objects, to what I can only describe as a mess on my screen), and/or the game freezes up for a couple of minutes.

It's not connection issues because my 4 year old laptop can and still does run the game just fine. And the game never has caused my computer to overheat or shutdown, in fact if I go into my Graphics options and just change from 'High' to 'Very High' or any setting to any other one and that seems to fix it.

Maybe this is a different problem that I'm having but I haven't found anywhere better to post it.