The nvidia 7600GT: I'm looking for some specific info from other users

[frogbeastegg]

I know there are quite a few other people with one here. I want to see if some of my problems are suffered by others; I want to see if there's some chance I have a faulty card.

Problem 1: The card is hyper sensitive about the cable connecting it to the monitor. It has to be plugged in precisely so or there's no picture. It being a fraction of a degree out up, down, left or right means no picture. That is not an exaggeration; it truly is that fussy. NB: the cable can be plugged in properly and well, and there's still no picture. This is the same cable and monitor I used on my old Radeon 9800 pro, and it still works without issue on that card.

Problem 2: I can't play films, movies, clips, videos, unless they are in flash. My PC plunges into 100% CPU usage and grinds to such a halt I have to reboot it because I can't even close the window. It does not matter what player I use. I'll repeat that: it does not matter what player I use, or what codecs. It always does the same.

Problem 3: It doesn't perform as well as other people indicate. Whereas others say they are playing new games on high settings, I'm having to turn them down. The games detect to high settings, and then run badly until I turn them down to mid-level settings, sometimes remaining jerky. I haven't found a setting where neverwinter nights 2 will run smoothly, though it detects the highest settings for me.

I've tried many different sets of drivers, new and old.


Anyone had similar problems?

[Husar]

Have you tried a different card in the same system? If that works, it's definitely something wrong with the card. If you can't try that, my guess is on the graphicscard being faulty, but that is just what I gather from your post, especially from the cable issue.

[Beirut]

I, of course, recommended the 7800GS. But no one listen to me... :disappointed:

The cable issue means it's a physical problem; bent pins, something along that line. Could be a sign that the card has other physical problems as well.

BKS has a 7600, methinks, maybe he can chip in with his performance specs.

[frogbeastegg]

Yes, my old radeon 9800 pro 128 was in this system for more than a year. It went in again for a day while I tested something a month or so back. No trouble at all. I was very pleased with that card ... and less pleased that my 7600GT doesn't feel like any real upgrade from it.

Beirut, I so very nearly went for the 7800GS, but the fact the 7600GT was £80 cheaper and supposed to be virtually identical swayed me. I kind of wish I'd not been swayed.

Yes, BKS is one of the other 7600GT users here. He's the only one I recall the name of :shame:

[sapi]

Definitely sounds like faulty hardware to me...

[Lucjan]

I've got the GS, so I won't be much help in regards to the gt, but what you're describing does sound like a faulty piece of hardware.

[Spino]

It sounds like you're suffering from two separate problems.

Clearly your video card sounds like it's DVI/VGA connector or the associated circuitry is faulty. Don't fuss around with it, immediately send/bring it back for a refund or exchange. Would you keep a brand new car if you had to keep the windshield in place with duct tape?

As to your unusual CPU usage I am inclined to think it is software, not hardware related. There might be some residual files or registry entries left over from your ATI drivers which are causing the video playback issues. There is an excellent freeware app called 'Drivercleaner' which totally cleanses your system of unwanted driver files. You may also want to consider reinstalling DX9c as well as downloading the latest video related chipset drivers for your motherboard.

Anyway try using the Drivercleaner method first...

http://www.drivercleaner.net/index.php

Wow, Drivercleaner is no longer free?!? Oh well. It's only $10 though. You may want to do a Google search for freeware alternatives, I'm sure someone out there came up with a similar solution.

[Geezer57]

Driver Cleaner Professional Edition version 1.5 is still available for free: http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=745

[frogbeastegg]

I've had entirely new hard drives since I got this card, so there's no chance of ATI bits lingering. Should have mentioned that ...

Think I shall begin the necessary steps to return it as faulty. :sigh: I do hope I don't have to pay for this; it's not my fault. Nonetheless, I expect the frog will get squeezed for cash, making my cheaper option card more expensive. :checks Overclocker's support page: Gah! Complicated. ~:(

[Lucjan]

Aw, froggy. Between your problems with the wii and now this?!

*offers consolatory hug* ~:grouphug:

[frogbeastegg]

And the problems I had with my new hard drives (long undocumented story short: out of the 4 SATA ports on my mobo I had to pick the one which is faulty unless you flash the BIOS to fix a manufacuring fault to plug my secondary drive into, jamming the entire BIOS each and every time. Took dayes to find out that this was the problem). I can't forget that. Oh - and my keyboard occasionally acts as though it is not plugged in. The only fix for that is to unplug and replug it which - you guessed it - disturbs the monitor cable, meaning I have to spend another 10 minutes grovelling about trying to get a picture. Methinks I'm cursed :yes:

The wii is working now, though I have to stand to play. It was picking up my room's main light as an unwanted third source of motion sensor reference. It's a neat little console when it's all working; my boyfriend has taken to wii sports like a fish to water. I'm scared of how good he is at the boxing. :hide:

[Beirut]

Think I shall begin the necessary steps to return it as faulty. :sigh: I do hope I don't have to pay for this; it's not my fault. Nonetheless, I expect the frog will get squeezed for cash, making my cheaper option card more expensive. :checks Overclocker's support page: Gah! Complicated. ~:(

Condolences. :shame:

I would only wish this upon my worst enemy. (And three other guys I know.)

[AntiochusIII]

Well, I have my 7600GT for a while now and it seems strangely underpowered just like yours -- a slight lag in Morrowind (NOT Oblivion) when things get too hectic or the resolution gets too high, etc. It made me delay my MTW2 purchase just in case it won't be as smooth a sailing as I'd dream of.

Oh, and for reference's sake, I don't believe it's weighted down by other hardwares because I have 2 1GB DDR2 (667) for RAM and a 3800+ X2 for the processor.

It probably has to do with drivers and such not utilizing the full force of the card, though; all the benchmarks I've seen on the net is favorable to the card itself.

Anyway, your card shows all signs of being faulty. I could, for example, play all the media I want with the right codecs available, DVD's, xvi's, etc.; and the cable between the card and my monitor doesn't show any signs of being particularly hypersensitive.

In fact, one question myself: what's the best driver for the 7600GT? I hate overclocking (I buy my computers much less often than others do, and barely change them while they live; so longevity is a concern), though, so those suggestions won't do...

[Husar]

Well, I saw even the 8800GTX go down to less than 10 fps in Morrowind in some review so I would not be surprised if some people overestimate the power of newer cards and the 7600GT is a midrange card, my own 7950GT is more capable but it doesn't do wonders, the only thing crippling it a bit may be the 4x PCIe but some review concluded that the framerate hit of that is about 6% so I can only really tell once I have upgraded my mainboard.
I'd say never expect too much of a new graphicscard, try to expect a slight increase and then enjoy it if it gives more.

[x-dANGEr]

I guess you can expect a huge performance increase when you go from a Geforce 4/5 card, can't you?

[Lucjan]

All I know about vid card reliability is that my first card was an nvidia 128 something (don't even know, came with the computer), and that ran better than the 256 ati x1300 pro I replaced it with. As soon as I came into the cash I opted for nvidias 512 7600GS, which runs exponentially better than the ati I've since removed.

[Master_Thief]

So far I haven't had any problems with my 7600gt so i'm not sure what could be the cause of the problems other people have suffered from. I did find when I was installing it that the power cable struggled to go in so maybe that might cause problems if it isn't fitted properly. I also heard somewhere that electrostatic discharge can damage components if you're not careful. I followed a guide in the UK issue of PC Zone on how to fit a new card and it went perfectly well.

[Lucjan]

Yeah static electricity could fry everything, but that's general computer knowledge. Goes right along with "don't put a magnet in your tower".

[Husar]

don't put a magnet in your tower
Magnets are just hardware-formatting your harddrive.~;)

[Lucjan]

But that doesn't mean you should do it if you don't want to format it. ~;)

[x-dANGEr]

If you do, does it actually work? And is it just like put and remove? (Would be very easier than the "software" format!)

[Crandaeolon]

I've had no issues with Leadtek Winfast GF 7600 GT (AGP version.) Performance increased very significantly compared to my old Radeon 9800 Pro; for example in Company of Heroes framerates almost doubled, with somewhat higher graphic settings, when compared to the Radeon. I'm still using Forceware 91.47, having not felt the need to upgrade since CoH, DoW, Oblivion, Brothers in Arms:EiB and Guild Wars all run without issues. Other new(ish) games played on the system include KoToR 2, Prey (= Quake engine), Fear and Star Trek: Legacy, and they functioned without problem.

Other specs: Athlon XP 3000+, 1 gig PC3200 memory, SB Live! (the ancient version.)

PS. Don't touch ST:L, it's a terrible game. What a waste of money. :shame:

[Lucjan]

The magnet thing really isn't a good idea. I wouldn't recommend actually trying it.

[Husar]

The magnet thing really isn't a good idea. I wouldn't recommend actually trying it.
Neither would I, only maybe with an old, replaceable HDD or so but not with one you still plan to use later.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Did the fix I PM'd you for the video problem work?

[frogbeastegg]

I've had to remove the card. My keyboard acted like it wasn't plugged in. When I unplugged it from the back of the PC and plugged it back in again the PC refused to boot. It started to a black screen, beeped many times and then reset, an error I'm familiar with; I encountered it when I was installing my new hard drives. Means my system is so badly mashed it can't begin to start up. I had to remove the 7600gt and put my old radeon 9800 pro back in to get it to start. Again, I had to do this when installing my hard drives.

I'll be in contact with Overclockers first thing tomorrow about a return.


Crandaeolon, that's the exact card I have - the Leadtec Winfast AGP version. And ditto the SB Live!

BKS, I didn't get to try it ~:( I recieved your PM as I came back online from removing the nvidia card.

[frogbeastegg]

Getting a bit worried here.

I have to pay postage for the faulty card to go back; unfair if you ask me, and it's going to cost a fair bit. It doesn't seem like I'll get this back even if the card is as broken as a crate of porcelain which has gone over the Niagara Falls.

They want it back in the exact same condition it arrived in. I don't have the box any more; it got thrown away weeks ago. If it doesn't arrive in that condition then they charge £10+VAT+shipping back to me without looking at the card at all. I've contacted them again for confirmation that they will not do this to me; I won’t send the card until I have it in writing that I will be immune to this charge.

If they decide it isn't faulty then it's £10+VAT+shipping back to me, leaving me badly out of pocket, stuck with a card I can't use, and with a PC running on a dying old card which can't really play games and could fail at any time. I won't have the money to buy another graphics card after losing something like £160 on this one.

Anyone got any experience with sending things back as faulty to Overclockers? Or experience sending faulty parts back to somewhere else? Overclockers say in their form email that approximately 50% of their "returned as faulty" stock is fine and gets sent back. I heard they are meant to be a really good company, but so far the response is far from reassuring.

I know this card is faulty - on my system. I also know that parts which refuse to work on one machine are fine on others. And being a cynical frog I also know that getting an extra £20 out of a frog is going to be a far more appealing option to a company than sending a replacement card at their own expense.

[Lucjan]

I try to stay away from buying anything from an online company I don't really know anything about. I stick to good old Best Buy for simple upgrades like ram and graphics/sound cards.

[Husar]

Sounds bad froggy.:no:

I had a similar problem, even sent them a very detailed bug report etc, sent the card twice and both times they sent it back(didn't even test it with the games that caused problems for me, just ran 3DMark on it according to what they called a test report). It was then used by a friend of mine in who's computer it ran just fine for whatever reason. Suffice to say I won't buy anything from them anymore, it was not Overclockers though, just saying you are right to be careful. Maybe you could contact the manufacturer and ask them about returning it? Will probably not work but an email doesn't cost you anything.

[Crandaeolon]

Might be a good idea to try the 7600 on another system if you can find a willing "victim". The card has both an analog and DVI output; do they both suffer from apparently faulty sockets? Might also be worth checking out if the connection works with a shorter and/or newer cable, if you have the opportunity.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

I don't think this is unique to Overclockers. The vast majority of companies that sell computer hardware online will refuse to give you refunds if the part is incompatible with your system, rather than faulty in and of itself. There's probably a caveat emptor in their terms and conditions.

It makes sense, really-they sold you a working part, it's not their fault it doesn't work in your system.

[Lucjan]

Newegg.com I think accepts any return in a certain time period. I'm not sure about the quality of their equipment though. Anybody have any idea?

[frogbeastegg]

Got a reply, an actual reply from a real person this time. They say as long as it's sensibly packaged it will be fine. So I shall give it a go.

Overclockers has a good reputation, and one of the people I used to work with used them a lot and had nothing but good to say. In this case I had a choice of online or not at all; no proper shops stocked the card. Buying from them went smoothly; the goods were dispatched promptly, arrived the next day, and were well packaged. It was so good I ordered my pair of new hard drives from them as well, and again had no issues.


The card has both an analog and DVI output; do they both suffer from apparently faulty sockets?
I haven't got an analog cable any more; my LCD needs DVI to get the best picture.


Might be a good idea to try the 7600 on another system if you can find a willing "victim".
Alas, none of the people I know with computers are willing to risk havign their computer killed to such a degree they have to use jumpers to reset the BIOS to get it to begin to boot up again.


It makes sense, really-they sold you a working part, it's not their fault it doesn't work in your system
Hmm, yes ... and no. Most proper shops would recognise the goodwill and good service value of swapping parts in such circumstances, provided the card was returned in saleable condition and any difference, postage etc was paid.

I am as sure as I can be that this card is faulty. I just see the potential for frog abuse. If they say it isn't faulty they can force me to keep it, meaning they gain more money and don't have to deal with sending faulty goods back to the manufacturer, and all without me being able to do anything much. I don't have much faith in this testing business either; some tech problems simply can't be picked up in a couple of hours simple trial.

[Husar]

It makes sense, really-they sold you a working part, it's not their fault it doesn't work in your system.
That depends, the part can be faulty only under certain circumstances.
I didn't send them a detailled report about several games where errors ocurred only for them to test with a program that ran just fine for me as well.:wall: And sometimes I really don't know why any video card would be "incompatible" with a certain system as long as the slots and drivers fit the card, never saw something like "doesn't run on AMD systems" on a video card package.~;)

[Crandaeolon]

I haven't got an analog cable any more; my LCD needs DVI to get the best picture.

The objective of this exercise would be to find out if either the circuitry controlling output or the DVI socket are faulty, both of which would make you eligible for a replacement. But, if the problem is in the cable, you might lose money and be back at square one.

It's within the realm of possibility that your cable works with one card and not the other. Nvidia's record with high-frequency DVI signals was somewhat spotty in 5th and 6th generation GeForces, though the 7th generation has supposedly fixed the issues. 1920x1080 and 1600x1200 were potentially troublesome resolutions IIRC, or anything that drives DVI at close to its maximum frequency (usually with a single DVI link, since dual-link resolutions are pretty huge.) Poor cables can affect connectivity, and differences between brands (or low-end and high-end models) can result in one brand working and another not working on the same cable.

But, I suppose this is a non-issue if you can't get a cable or have already sent the card, as you said you might do. Here's to hoping that all turns out well. :2thumbsup:


Alas, none of the people I know with computers are willing to risk havign their computer killed to such a degree they have to use jumpers to reset the BIOS to get it to begin to boot up again.

Someone with a motherboard model proven to work with 7600gt should be a relatively safe bet. (There should be compatibility lists on various hardware sites.) Still, faulty hardware can of course wreck things badly, so the sentiment is understandable. It's just that something about your case seems to hint about underlying problems that might be BIOS- or motherboard-related.