Whats wrong with my graphics card?

12 months after i bought my laptop my graphics card which is and ATI X1800 started to artifact to the extreme. and my computer would freeze or BSOD sometimes. I hooked up an external monitor and it still artifacted. I tried different RAM and it still artifacted.

I then replaced my graphics card with another X1800 which was NIB. The laptop stopped artifacting and everything was good untill 8 months later it started to artifact again.

This is the second X1800 that has done this.

What can be causing it to artifact?

I would buy a new computer but i may have to use my money towards somthing else more important.

 

motherboard maybe?

 

overheating perhaps?

 

I agree. It COULD be overheating. Could be the motherboard. Could be something else. Maybe you just keep getting bad cards. Or maybe your laptop could have another unidentified problem

 

I think it might be overheating. It does get VERY hot when i play and the artifacting starts about 5-10 minutes after i start a game.

So should i put my laptop on a block of ice and see what happends?

 

You should try a GPU undervolt.

 

Also, if it takes about 8 months... how often do you clean out the machine?

 

I clean it out every other month.

I put some ice packs under my laptop and i was able to play for about 30mins before the icepacks got warm, then it started artifacting.

So i think you guys are right that its overheating.

What would undervolting do? and how do i do it?

 

I think it's the ice packs, haha. Moisture will kill a system.

 

There is a guide to undervolting in this forums somewhere.

And yes... moisture kills the system. Icepack is not a good idea, even as a quick remedy.

 

Just to throw in this idea as a possibility: your Acer may be affected by motherboard flex. This was actually one of the few problems that IBM's T4x ThinkPad series suffered from. Essentially, the bending of the board would cause the solder joints securing the GPU to crack and eventually lose contact. In time, artefacting would result.

The solution was to dismantle the laptop, carefully mount the GPU with a layer of aluminum foil, and to apply a heating element of sufficient wattage as to melt the solder joints again.

It may not be as likely as some of the other suggestions on this thread, but it is possible.

 

have you tryed a coolpad,thats what i use for gaming and as a result my fan comes on less and when it does its not as intense.

 

Yes i use a laptop cooler but it still overheats or artifact.

What can i do to stop it from overheating?

 

You've mentioned using a cooling pad, regular cleanings, and even ice packs. What are the idle temps with and without any of these measures?

 

what is the room temp when it starts artifacting.

 

may be you could open one side of the case and then put a fan towards it.


EDIT: Lol i thought it was a desktop. try undervolting your gpu (using a program called nibitor) and cpu

 

Overheat,!

Or as5 not being replaced over so many months can have bad effects?

Or am i completely wrong.