Graphics problem with new kick-butt PC

M

M Darrah

Registered
My old Athlon T-bird system finally bit the dust, so I bit the bullet and bought some new hardware:

Athlon 64 3400+ (939 pin)
MSI K8T Neo2 mobo
PNY Geforce 6600GT

The rest (CD/DVD drives, HDD) are from the old system.

I'm still running Windows 98SE. Yeah I know. But I busted my budget on hardware, so XP will have to wait a month.

Anyway, my problem...

I installed DirectX 9.0c along with the newest Nvidia drivers (66.94?), but when I tried running Call Of Duty, it will only run in software mode. No hardware accelleration at all.

So I went into dxdiag and ran the graphics tests. It fails on the Direct3D 9 test. Instead of the spinning box, all I get is a stationary side of the "box". Direct3D 7 and 8 work, although 7 looks funky (the cube doesn't spin smoothly).

I'm at a loss as to what to do. The 66.94 Nvidia drivers are (I believe) the only ones that support the 6600GT, so I can't try a previous version. In fact, one previous version I tried didn't even recognize that I had an Nvidia card installed at all.

Please note that I formatted and did a clean install of Win 98SE and all the chipset drivers, etc., with no problems.

I tried reinstalling DirectX 9.0c and uninstalling/reinstalling the video drivers, but it makes no difference.

I realize this isn't exactly a tech forum, but I figured I'd see if anyone here knows something before I go in search of a more specialized forum somewhere.
 
RE: Graphics problem with new kick-butt PC

maybe the drivers don't like win98. do you know anyone with a copy of xp that you can "borrow", to see if that fixes it?
 
RE: Graphics problem with new kick-butt PC

[div class="dcquote"][strong]Quote[/strong]
Get XP
[/div]

Well, I've been looking around a little more and there are people with XP who have the same problem. But no one's come up with a solution yet. I think it's a driver problem, but until Nvidia comes out with an update, there's not much I can do.
 
RE: Graphics problem with new kick-butt PC

Mark, we can help you "test" your system. Stop by if you want after work and talk to John.
 
RE: Graphics problem with new kick-butt PC

I found this rather unweildy thread:

http://forums.belution.com/en/directx/000/000/35s.shtml

There are posts from 2003 through 2005. The problem seems to be random and can affect any OS and video card (ATI and Nvidia). I'll try some of the suggestions there and if that doesn't work I'll reformat and try an earlier version of DirectX. Luckily I don't have much installed on the new system yet and I've got everything backed up. I read somewhere else that someone fixed theirs by uninstalling their Logitech mouse and keyboard software. That'll piss me off because I like using the shortcut keys on my keyboard.
 
RE: Graphics problem with new kick-butt PC

Thanks for the the suggestions cvrefugee, but I think I've got them all covered.

I installed the latest 4-in-1's right after Windows came up for the first time, although I do recall that there were a couple of components that apparently weren't included and I had to use the default Windows drivers. There's nothing outstanding in Device Manager at this time.

And yes, I've got the power connected to the card.

After doing some more research (and wasting an entire day at work), I'm going to play with some BIOS settings when I get home. I remember there being one for "fast AGP write" or something like that, which I have enabled now. There are a few other setting that I can play with too, and if that fails, I understand that dxdiag has some settings that can be changed.

I'm convinced it's not a Win 98 issue, and I'm reasonable certain the hardware is good.
 
RE: Graphics problem with new kick-butt PC

I thought I read somewhere that XP is required for 64 bit processors...

Could be wrong though...
 
RE: Graphics problem with new kick-butt PC

[div class="dcquote"][strong]Quote[/strong]
I thought I read somewhere that XP is required for 64 bit processors...Could be wrong though...
[/div]

To take advantage of the raw power of 64bit processing, you need to be running WINDOWS XP 64Bit Edition, which is still in beta release as we speak.

But if you run any other operating system, it will default to 32bit operation, which is just like any other processor, and what’s good about the AMD, is the non-existence of processing power-loss at 32bit like the Intel's 64bit processor.
 
RE: Graphics problem with new kick-butt PC

[div class="dcquote"][strong]Quote[/strong]
Just like most cars come with a mini spare in it's trunk, maybe PC's should come with one of [link:www.detnews.com/2005/techcolumns/0503/02/techcolumn-105208.htm|these.] x( **ducks under desk**
[/div]

I may just decide to go that route Paul.

After lots and lots of research, I've pretty much concluded that it's a driver issue. For now I've got the old Geforce3 in the machine.
 
RE: Graphics problem with new kick-butt PC

After much fussing and fiddling, including installing Windows XP Home and getting a fancy new power supply (none of which made a difference), I took the card back and exchanged it for a Geforce 6800. Everything's working great now. It may not be on par with Alowishus' $5400 monster, but it's pretty darned sweet. Went way over my budget on this thing unfortunately. But at least I've got it working the way I like.

Moe, I might consider sticking XP64 on another partition just to play with, but the way I understand it there aren't very many applications that will work on it yet. The Athlon64 has still got plenty of juice at 32 bit though.
 
RE: Graphics problem with new kick-butt PC

[div class="dcquote"][strong]Quote[/strong]
It may not be on par with Alowishus' $5400 monster, [/div]

I'VE GOT IT, came in last week than, we got a call that my mother-in-law passed away, so I have'nt really had a chance to play w/ it yet. Been in NY all week, what I do know is...
1) IT'S A SPACE HEATER
2) It's the BIGGEST computer I've ever seen. I'll post some pics when I can.
 
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