Hi guys,

My dad turned on his PC about an hour ago, and was welcomed to XP with a sh1t load of artifacts all over his screen, resolution changed etc. When i seen it, i knew it was his graphics card. At first, i thought it was a overheating issue, so i took out the card and placed my hand on the heatsink. Sure enough, it was pretty warm but i was confused as to how it had got so warm, so fast after the PC being on for about 30 seconds.

Anyway, i let the card cool and then put it back in. For about 10 minutes, everything was fine, but then again, artifacts all over screen, resolution changed etc. So again, i took it out (this time the pc was on for about 4 minutes. Card was cool compared to being warm the first time) and then thought "maybe a motherboard issue..." so i placed it into the PC in our games room and again, as soon as it booted up, artifacts all over screen, lo-res etc.

My guess is the card is dead, but i would like to have a proper answer from you guys who have more knowledge and experience in this than me.

btw, the card is a ATi. The model is what i believe to be a 9800 Radeon SE (512mb).
two pictures are attached for reference. (excuse quality, taken from phone.)

Thanks in advance for any help.

Regards,
Frenchy

p.s, if you need anymore specs of the machine. Feel free to ask.

Definately could be dead. If you can fork out the cash and your PSU can handle, go for a 3850/3870. If not, try an X1900 card.

Quote from Nathan_French_14 :

btw, the card is a ATi. The model is what i believe to be a 9800 Radeon SE (512mb).
two pictures are attached for reference. (excuse quality, taken from phone.)

A 9800 with a passive heat sink? My 9600Pro had a fan and my 9000 had a passive heat sink so I'd of thought it would be something lower than an 9800. They don't cost much now anyway so I'd check the remaining case fans are working and just get a new card off ebay.