My System Config - P4 3 ghz(Prescott), Asus P4P800-VM, 512 mb ddr ram, VIP 300 watt psu. Windows XP Professional (SP1) My Gigabyte Radeon 9600 pro(128 mb) has started giving me problems(only recently). It had worked fine for 6 months(just switched from an Intel 865GBF to the asus mobo couple o' weeks back). I've wrecked my head & pulled my hair out in frustration over this & am really confused. I'll try & describe the problem(s) in a brief & precise manner(some may be slightly irrelevant in context of the actual problem): 1. Farcry hangs up after about 15 - 20 mins of play(culminating in "end task") 2. GTA SA runs real sluggish at high gfx detail(12-15 fps in game) Considering the specs I see no reason why this should happen. Then it would altogether crash(gta_sa.exe has caused illegal operation) Then again this one may be coz of a bad installation. 3. At times after booting up(post winxp loading screen) the screen would go blank. 4. Sometimes I'd get a blue screen(post winxp loading screen) with a "The driver for the display device was unable to complete a drawing operation" error. 5. Also sometime after the os loaded up a "gui" error from Microsoft(sorry but I really dont remember this one). On checking with microsoft.com - "Please check witht he device manufacturer for a driver update. Microsoft Windows detected a possible device failure" 6. I tried uninstalling the catalyst drivers. This time though nothing would happen until I increase the refresh rate beyond 60(default) hz. 7. I read up on the internet about this. Tried loads of things... BIOS tweaking, changing smartgart settings(fastwrites off,lowering to AGP 4X,disabling vpu recover,etc) None of which helped. 8. Tried Omega drivers(with fastwrites on). OS would load up...but if I ran anything grapchically intensive...the screen would be a mess of fuzzy lines. Also the refresh rate seemed to be 60 hz(altho it showed 75.) 9.Now there's another problem too. Seems a lil more "hardware". Symptoms: System crashes, restarts, hang ups, et all. Strangely...this doesn't seem to be happening when I keep the system(cabinet) in a horizontal sleeping position with side cases off. Keep it vertical again with cases on...reboot...boom! hangup! no display! Display wont show unless I take the card out & run off onboard. 10.Hmm...ok so the "driver_gfx_glitch_screen_mess" is gone now after reformatting my 2nd hdd & a fresh intsall of XP.(Using gigabyte drivers. no catalyst. Sleeping with cases off.) Farcry still crashes after 20 mins tho I can end it via task-manager. Keep it vertical(without rebooting)...everything works fine for about 1/2 an hour & boom! again! no display!. 11.Now I wont go into anymore details as of now. Really too confused to comprehend the entire thing! 12.My mind is playing on the following:- a.driver\version conflict? b.gfx card - mobo incompatibility? c.overheating? I dont have any fans installed as of now. My cabby is Intex. Problem is,altho the card fits in perfectly on the mobo, I cant fasten the screw on the cabby. Also, I have the euro version of the card(without fan) ->http://tw.giga-byte.com/VGA/Default.htm. I checked the temps(without the card on) with asus pc probe & speedfan: 1. CPU - 52 - 53C, Mobo - 38 - 39C(Idle) 2. CPU - 55 - 57C, Mobo - 43 - 44C(Surfing) 3. CPU - 65+(max 72C), Mobo - 51C(gaming) So what do you people suggest? A VGA cooler(Zalman)? A CPU cooler, a TAC - compliant cabby(Antec)? Also, consider it's a micro-atx mobo. So will the 3 PCI slots suffice?Also, which catalyst diver version runs most stable? PS:I'll try posting temps with the card on asap.

That card produces a lot of heat and, without a fan, it's posible it could be overheating with your new MOBO and its proximity to the CPU/HSF as well as other objects. Also, Microsoft has drivers for that card, have you tried those? And, how current is your MOBO BIOS version and are your MOBO drivers installed?

Your mobo temp certainly is high...not a problem but it's an indication of poor case cooling. Either that, or the temp sensor is in a bad location. Have you tested your RAM? http://www.memtest86.com/#download0 ASUS A7N8X-X Athlon XP 1800+ 8.5 x 200MHz 1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7 Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB WinME/WinXP Pro SP2

Thanks, for your replies people.Yup, I've tested my ram. It's perfectly fine(I'm using the pc just fine without the gfx card right now)Case cooling...hmm, fine I'll look into that. But that seems more "overall stability" to me than "the exact soln". What about the gfx card itself? A zalman cooling fan?

Umm...people, I really need help fast. Have to make a decision real soon.