Some PC problem after reinstallation.

[lionsheart]

Hello guys,

Been out of this game for 4 months and I am trying to come back. long story short, I got a new video card since my old one got fried up by a power surge.

Now here's what I have:

Radeon 9250 video card, 256 mb
P4 1.5 G CPU
256 mb ram
300W power supply.

My problem is, whenever I log into the game my screen starts to "turn on and off". When the problem gets more serious my Screen would be off for like 70% of the time and I can hear the screen's clicking sound like it's switching different resolution constantly.

I have asked couple of ppl and I got completely different answers. Someone says my video card's clock speed is different from my mother board's one(my mother board is like 4-5 years old), someone says I need more power, someone says I need more ram >.> I just feel bad coz it sounds like my pc need a complete overhaul but the thing is it worked fine 4 months ago before I fried my old video card.

Any kind of advice is greatly appreciated. =)


P.s. Did they lowered the price of TOAU recently or it's still 29.99? I am about to get TOAU once my PC is fixed.

 

[Jesse]

My first question is, did you replace the fried video card with an exact model, or did you upgrade? Have you tried downloading drivers from ATI's website? Start with the newest one and work back a few to see if it fixes that way. I can't see how your power supply is not providing enough for that card unless it got fried in some way. I hope that helps.

Jesse

 

[Tagrineth]

I have asked couple of ppl and I got completely different answers. Someone says my video card's clock speed is different from my mother board's one(my mother board is like 4-5 years old), someone says I need more power, someone says I need more ram >.> I just feel bad coz it sounds like my pc need a complete overhaul but the thing is it worked fine 4 months ago before I fried my old video card.

Well, that clock speed thing is total bullshit, in any case.

I'd suggest going to ati.com and downloading the latest CATALYST driver version.

Alternatively, you could use Windower to avoid the resolution switching issues altogether.

 

[Acks]

Hmmm assuming you're not overclocking your computer in any way, I'd say you hava a few possibilities:
1) Drivers are out of date
2) Cable from card to monitor might be damaged (highly unlikely if it only happens during games though)
3) Video Card is not recieving enough power; 300W power supply is low.
4) Power Supply is owned

 

[Voltorb]

If you're still using the same old power supply, getting a new one might help. Your whole system might've been affected from the last surge and your power supply might've went with it. Whenever a computer is built often a Power Supply is overlooked and people look for just wattages of the power supply. When buying a new one the general rule is usually the heavier the better. Everything is connected to the Power Supply in your computer so never go cheap on it (PSU) either. If you don't know where to look try looking checking out this forum: http://hardforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=93.

They have a few stickies up on top including which power supply to avoid etc.

Ram could also be a factor as I recall my friend's game kept crashing due to faulty ram.

 

[Reality]

surprised nobody has mentioned this

it sounds like maybe a resolution is trying to be ran that your monitor can't support (i.e. a 17" screen trying to run 1600x1200), this would cause the screen to click off, as well as refresh rate being too high for that particular monitor

most generic 17" screens at 1280x____ (960 or 1024) cap out refresh at 60hz, if you try to force anything higher than that, the screen will click off