Bad Video Memory on Mobility 9000 AGP?

  • Thread starter Thread starter StewRat
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StewRat

I have a Jetway w/ 64mb Mobility 9000 4x card (yeah, old tech but so is the
mobo etc) that I just got, and so far it seems to run very nicely after
installing the most recent Omega driver set (I started out w/ the regular
Catalyst set and a Mobility modder from somewhere, but it wouldn't install
the secondary device). Gets about 6000 on 3DMark 2001 SE, 1000 on 3DMark 03
w/ just a Duron 1.6, so is fine for old DirectX 8 games, playing/ burning
DVDs, etc. Right now I have the default heat sink on it. Got it from the
Egg.

Only beef I've got right now is that it looks like maybe I've got a problem
w/ the video memory. Since I really know nothing about it, I figure I'd
bring it up here. I'm wondering if I should RMA it and get a replacement, or
just keep the darn thing. Hey, shipping ain't cheap, and the card was only
$25ish...

What I have seen from the beginning w/ this card is a couple of adjoining
dots that are either all black or all white (usually black) when I run 3D
demos (and presumably will in games; 2D looks fine). They show up in
different places depending on my choice of resolution (and AA?), but they
are pretty consistently there. I expect they are permanent, and something
akin to having dead (yet moveable) pixels on an LCD display (I'm using a
Compaq P1100 flat CRT w/ default res set at 1024x768).

Is this the start of something that will only get worse? Might it be a
problem w/ the drivers? If hardware, might it just stay the way it is, if
I'm willing to ignore it? The Omega drivers include good OC tools which test
for artifacts while rendering 3D and don't detect anything; is there a
better test available? Finally, should I feel comfortable pushing this to
standard 9000 clock levels (or higher - it seems to do it w/out artifacting,
or changing the number or location of the dots) if I keep it? I'd probably
put a good fan on it if I do.

I'm looking forward to your advice.
 
A quick test you can do: Use any o/c tool and *underclock* the card by about
50%, then leave your case open and point a household fan at it. If the dots
go away, you'll know for sure the heat sink is insufficient.

If the dots do not go away, overclock the crap out of it and run the card to
the ground (or discreetly unload it on eBay...). $25 is not worth the
shipping cost of an RMA, in my opinion.
 
A quick test you can do: Use any o/c tool and *underclock* the card by about
50%, then leave your case open and point a household fan at it. If the dots
go away, you'll know for sure the heat sink is insufficient.
Click to expand...

I'll give that a try. Don't know about the fan; maybe a little freon on the
suspect components instead... <EG>

So, you think it is the VPU, and not the DDR? Well, that's how I'm reading
this...
If the dots do not go away, overclock the crap out of it and run the card to
the ground (or discreetly unload it on eBay...). $25 is not worth the
shipping cost of an RMA, in my opinion.
Click to expand...

I see your point about the RMA. Plus, they want to charge me 15% for a
restocking fee. I'm down about half by the time I've sent it back, and they
aren't doing more than crediting me for the difference (IOW, no replacement,
as it was a refurb - oops). I'm not terribly thrilled.

OC the crap out of it? I had it to 300/275 (200/240 Bios defaults?) for a
while w/out any artifacts detected by the tool. FWIW, I think the mobile is
deliberately underclocked already, to keep the heat down for its usual
applications (eg IGP), and thus should have a lot of headroom, at least WRT
the VPU Clock. Normal Radeon 9000 is, I think, 250/250. Hmmm... <G>
 
200/240 Bios defaults?
Click to expand...

Oops - got that backwards. The vpu default is 240, mem is 200 (double that
for DDR figures, of course...) MHz.

Underclocking to 120/150 has no effect on the dots. Took a little while,
because I changed mobos. WTH causes the dots?
 
StewRat said:
So, you think it is the VPU, and not the DDR? Well, that's how I'm reading
this...
Click to expand...

Never said that... The open case, house fan test is simply to eliminate heat
as a possible culprit. It may very well be bad RAM, in which case there's
little you can do, though I don't think it will deteriorate further over
time.
I see your point about the RMA. Plus, they want to charge me 15% for a
restocking fee. I'm down about half by the time I've sent it back, and
they aren't doing more than crediting me for the difference
(IOW, no replacement, as it was a refurb - oops). I'm not terribly
thrilled.
Click to expand...

15% restocking fee even for defective merchandise? Then again, it is a
refurb. Someone probably returned this card for the same reason...
OC the crap out of it? I had it to 300/275 (200/240 Bios defaults?) for a
while w/out any artifacts detected by the tool. FWIW, I think the mobile
is deliberately underclocked already, to keep the heat down for its usual
applications (eg IGP), and thus should have a lot of headroom, at least
WRT the VPU Clock. Normal Radeon 9000 is, I think, 250/250. Hmmm...
Click to expand...

Is 300/275 the limit? Can you go higher? There's very little to be concerned
about here. :-)
 
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