ME2 killed my computer

well, probably not ME2 specifically, but it died while i was playing it.

i just finished the last boss when both monitors went black and sound began looping. i turned it off and back on, reset all the settings, and the computer booted up fine. thinking there's nothing else to it, i started playing again. i managed about another 5 minutes in when the system just completely shut off. i turn it back on. the graphic card fan began running at full tilt and this burning plastic smell began to blow out the back of the case.

i shut it down again and took it apart. the smell seems to come from the graphic card (HD 4890); it still lingered on the card itself while the rest of my system smelled fine. the computer seems to boot up without it. so tentatively, it looks like my graphic card fried itself. only had it for six months. great....

so, it looks like an early upgrade. i had planned on skipping the first generation DX11 hardware entirely and do a platform upgrade in the spring, but i guess that plan is out. any ideas on good replacements? i'm leaning to a 5850, but they are still around $330 CDN.

I would have a hard time buying anything less than a 5850, I personally don't play any games (yet) that have DX11, but you are the one that has to decide just how important DX11 is to you. Since the 5700s aren't really any better than the 4800s as far as graphics muscle goes.... do you want to spend the extra on them just to have DX11 capability? It all depends on your pocketbook and what DX 11 games you either play or plan to play in the near future.

i just put in my old HD 2400PRO and the system booted up fine. so unless my PSU went berserk and fed too much power into 6-pin PCIe power connectors, it's definitely the graphic card that died.

DX11 means very little to me. quite honestly, i find the DX11 performance on the 5000 series to be somewhat lackluster, especially with tessellation on. however, seeing that there aren't any nvidia DX11 parts yet, i have nothing to compare to. either way, whatever replacement has to be more powerful than the 4890, since i'm most definitely not spending money for a downgrade.

well not downgrading means a 5800 series or a GTX 285/295 - at this point I would get a 5850 since it's the best bang for the buck once you get to that price range. They scale well in Crossfire too, if you have a compatible mobo etc...

Wait for the GTX480 and 470 to come out moriz. That will drive down the 5850 and 5870's prices, and you can then decide. You just have to tough it out for another 3 weeks. You can do it!

my current plan is to buy a 5850 and RMA the 4890. it's still under warranty. here's hoping sapphire's RMA process is at least somewhat decent. once i get the replacement back, i'll sell it. seeing that the 4890 is discontinued, i'll likely get a 5770 back, or another 5850 if i'm lucky. either way, it should be a nice tidy sum.

tentative choice: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...-471-_-Product

You won't get a 5770 back. They still have plenty of 4890's in stock bud. Just wait it out. Patience is a virtue, one that will pay off if you wait.

Please do keep us posted on the RMA - I have steered clear of Saphire due to complaints about their customer service etc.... I'm quite interested in seeing if there was much veracity to those complaints or not.

i've emailed them the purchase receipt, so it's now a waiting game.

anyways, my girlfriend picked up a 5850 for me @ $300 CDN, which is a pretty good deal. it's a factory overclocked model to boot (MSI HD 5850 OC), and runs at 765/1125. tears though everything with utter ease; though strangely enough, GW run slightly slower than before. maybe it's more sensitive to clock speeds than anything else, since i can't imagine GW using all 1440 shaders.

unfortunately, it looks like the dual monitors bug has come back. if you remember rahja, i talked to you a year ago about the now infamous GSoD issue on my 4850. well, it's back, though not as severe. the second display just flickers instead of crashing my entire system. i've isolated the issue: it's the memory clock again. as long as i force the memory clock to stay the same (in my case, 1250mhz), it never flickers. i accomplished this using atitraytools' auto overclocking feature.

Actually, the flickering issue is something I have issue with right now. If you move the clock speeds at all using Overdrive, it starts to flicker. Reason? Because ATi's drivers are garbage.

it is actually caused by changing memory clocks. with two monitors connected, the card idles at 400/1000 instead of 157/300. this is done to keep memory clock at 1000mhz no matter what. if you touch the sliders in overdrive, the card immediately idles at 157/300 again and causing the flickering.

mine flickers even if i don't touch overdrive. this is because the default clocks on my card is 765/1125, instead of 725/1000. it still idles at 400/1000, instead of being 400/1125.

I had a similar issue with ME1 last year, but I think it was not my computer, rather the game itself being buggy. ME2 has only frozen up once for me so far.

If you're going to upgrade, I'd suggest the GTX 285 or 295, but that's just 'cause I'm an Nvidia fan I'm running their older 9800GT, which still works fine. When I can afford it I'm going to upgrade to the GTX series myself

Clearly you didn't complete ATi's loyalty mission before setting off to destroy the Collector ship, moriz. As expected from you.

Now sell that 5850, give me $90, and I might send you my old 9800GT to hold you over until the new cards come out in March. Everybody wins.

ATi is a plague. I hate my card. I'll sell it for 300 bucks to anyone who can bear the horrid drivers and lack of functionality! I swear, 300 bucks. That's 100 off!

atitraytools is your friend.

i've uninstalled CCC completely and use ATT full time now. the only features missing are the AVIVO video ones, which aren't really big deals for me. the best part: individual application profiles, with customized 3D AND hardware settings. it's low level control of clock speeds also eliminated the flickering issue on my second display.

but sure, i'll take you up on your offer. here's hoping my case is big enough.

Well this thread has scared the shit out of me. I just dropped a lot of money on the HD 4890 and now your telling me no one wants this crap? Eeep should I be expecting a melt down anytime soon? QQ.

Why would you buy a new card now, if you could wait a month for new Nvidia cards?

Bought it a few months ago, its still fairly new.

Well then, if it dies, you have a 3-year (or 5-year, not sure where you bought it) warranty. Then buy a better vent.

I'm considering changing my GPU's on-board ventilator. My 9800GT is usually 58-60'C when idle, 80 during gameplay (especially with ME2). Since my card endures 90'C, I really need a new cooling.

Here we go again - the battle of the Fanboys.