Gfx card overheating?

MOH

Just got a new Radeon X1650XT (this one) for my Dell 4700.

Installed Stalker, started playing it. Game kept bombing every 5 minutes, presumed it was the game. Updated the Catalyst drivers, still kept happening, although now I was getting the ATI equivalent of a general protection fault - a popup telling me my gfx card wasn't responding to signals and was being reset. After three of these, I'd get another message saying some settings were changing and I'd have to reboot.

Tried CS: Source, same thing happened after five minutes. So it wasn't a Stalker issue.

I got some new memory recently, so tried various combinations of different chips in different slots, also removed the modem which was in the slot right below the gfx card, left the side off the case, tried again.

Player Stalker for over an hour no problems. Put side of case back on, crash after 10 minutes.

All of which would lead me to believe the card's overheating. The ATI console showed it's temp at 56 when it crashed. It was running fine at 53 or so.

So a couple of questions:
- am I right in think it looks like overheating?
- is there a problem with the card? Should it's fan not be taking care of this?
- is there a possibility it's a PSU issue? Although I've nothing much else in the machine - DVD drive, 3GB memory, network card and the gfx card is about it.
- is there anything else I can do/test?

I've 14 days cooling off (no pun intended) so can always send it back if it comes to it.

I'm fairly much a noob when it comes to things like this so any suggestions welcome.

8T8

It could certainly be a possibility from the looks of it.

Run the case test again & use 3DMark running in a loop to see if it crashes, if the crash is repeatable more than once under the same conditions then I would go with heat build-up as the probable cause.

Also the PSU in the 4700 is a 305W model which may or may not be a factor but it is on the low side, 350W or 400W would be a more reasonable.

If it is an airflow problem try removing the expansion plate covers beneath the graphics card so there is air flow through those slots with the case closed.

Also your RAM config is unusual 3GB is that 2x1GB & 2x512MB or some other config ?

Not sure about the temps given, that is odd looks more like the idle temp, try taking the temp when a game is running in the background.

MOH

Came with 1GB (2 x 512), just added another 2 x 1GB to it a few weeks ago.

I'll try 3DMark and try to check the temp with something running.

Thanks for the tip on removing the slot covers too.

edit: NB forgot to mention, getting some odd noises through my earpieces since I installed the card.
Installed a new DVD burner at the same time and had the front panel off, so not 100% sure if I did something to the fron headphone jack, or if it's related to the card problem.

8T8

Could be EM interference from the new components - in other words cheap parts used by Dell not containing the interference that electronic devices emit.

If there is a bios update for the 4700 on Dell's site I would try flashing that as well.

MOH

Checked and I have the latest BIOS. Switched to using the rear headphone port and that solved the noise problem.
Ran Stalker with the case off for a few hours last night, no problems, so reckons it was definitely an overheating problem. Will try your suggestion tonight of opening the remaining expansion slots.

Thanks for the help!

Anti

You could always update your cooling too. You can add case fans that push and pull more air into the case. or something better at cooling the graphics card like this:
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=308300