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Forums > Home› Support› Graphical and Sound Issues

Graphic Freeze - NVIDIA GTX 280, 1GB GDDR3

SystemSystem Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,018 Arc User
edited February 2010 in Graphical and Sound Issues
I love this game; however, it causes my graphics to freeze solid, not just in the game but outside of it as well. It takes some time just to get my computer running normally again.

I am currently running patch 190.38 because it works. When I installed patch 196.21, all hell broke loose. The game froze my computer graphics, and even after I uninstalled STO, the freeze continued repeatedly. I had to uninstall the latest graphics patch and reinstall the earlier one to fix the problem.

My graphics card specs match that of the GeForce 8800, even exceeding it in many areas. Unless I am missing something there, there should be no problem graphically between the game and my card.

I am afraid to try the game again. Any ideas or suggestions out there?
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    What temperature does your card get to? The GTX 280 outstrips the 8800 in every are.... you should be able to play the game on the highest settings at a high resolution with no issues.

    Also, check your CPU temps.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Splyce wrote: »
    What temperature does your card get to? The GTX 280 outstrips the 8800 in every are.... you should be able to play the game on the highest settings at a high resolution with no issues.

    Also, check your CPU temps.

    How do I check the temps?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Try http://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/

    Set it to record a log file and play STO until it freezes..then restart your system and check the log file.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    You could clock it down to make it cooler, or even better you can get a better cooler for it, it can be dangerous to mount a new cooler if you dont have experience doing so, slightest failure can destroy the card permanently.

    But a warning about the 190 drivers from NVidia, they contain memory leaks that makes your card work harder than intended, resulting in extreme temperatures. The latest 196.21 fixes that and increases the performance.

    Also, did you install this card yourself?

    What PSU do you have, how did you connect the powercords to the card?
    Did you use 2x 6-pin connectors or did you use some converter that converts 2x 4-pin into 1x 6-pin?
    If you used the converter it is important to use 4-pin connectors from different cords, otherwhise the card will get too little power and it make games freeze, crash and the famous BSOD.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Splyce: Now that you mention it, it is behaving as if somethi8nhg is overheating. I don't think it is the CPU because the computer doesn't black out all together. It has to be the video card given the behavior of the computer when the screen freezes. I initially cannot boot, but if I let it sit for a while, it will boot up until that heat threshold is hit again and it freezes all over again.
    Skuggan wrote:
    You could clock it down to make it cooler, or even better you can get a better cooler for it, it can be dangerous to mount a new cooler if you dont have experience doing so, slightest failure can destroy the card permanently.

    How can I do this?
    But a warning about the 190 drivers from NVidia, they contain memory leaks that makes your card work harder than intended, resulting in extreme temperatures. The latest 196.21 fixes that and increases the performance.

    I did notice a performance increase.
    Also, did you install this card yourself?

    Yes.
    What PSU do you have, how did you connect the powercords to the card?
    Did you use 2x 6-pin connectors or did you use some converter that converts 2x 4-pin into 1x 6-pin?
    If you used the converter it is important to use 4-pin connectors from different cords, otherwhise the card will get too little power and it make games freeze, crash and the famous BSOD.

    Not sure what a PSU is, but I used the 2 x 6 pin converters.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    PSU is your power supply.

    Lets just see if the GPU or the CPU are overheating first - if they're not, then there's no need for coolers or underclocking.......
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Splyce wrote: »
    PSU is your power supply.

    Lets just see if the GPU or the CPU are overheating first - if they're not, then there's no need for coolers or underclocking.......

    I am certain it is the GPU
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    welllllllll...... get us some temp readings ;)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Splyce wrote: »
    welllllllll...... get us some temp readings ;)

    Ok, Ok...Stand by:) When it does freeze, it will be a while before I can get the data to you.

    Actually...later tonight or tomorrow. Am updating vista with latest patches and trying a new download of the latest driver as well before I begin.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Whats the current temperature while playing?

    The halt temperature is 105C.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Oh wait did you say you used converters to get the 2x 6-pin?

    Meaning, you used 4x 4-pin to get 2x 6pin?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Skuggan wrote:
    Oh wait did you say you used converters to get the 2x 6-pin?

    Meaning, you used 4x 4-pin to get 2x 6pin?

    No. I used the two six pin in the box.

    I just did a wipe of the NVIDIA drivers from my system and reinstalled the patch 196.21. There had to have been a corrupted file in there because it isn't freezing my system now.

    On to the game to see if that fixed the problem, though I will collect heat data on the CPU and GPU.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Splyce wrote: »
    welllllllll...... get us some temp readings ;)

    Ok...her5e are the heat stats

    CPU 1 and CPU 2 both running steady at between55 and 60

    GPU running steady at 85. Fan kicks in while running, but it never goes higher than that.

    The best part...No freeze at all. Wiping the driver and reinstalling a fresh, up to date driver has done the trick it seems. I will keep playing and let you know if it freezes up again or not. I'll give it a few days trying out different video settings.

    Thanks for the help guys.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Great to hear that you found the problem, hope you enjoy the game. :)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Ever since using the in-game video adjustments, under the troubleshooting tab, I have experienced much lower temperatures and have sacrificed very little, if virtually, any visual quality in the game, which is awesome. My CPU (AMD Phenom II 940) runs at about 35 Celsius and my GPU hits about 75, which is a very impressive temperature, when running a BFG GTX 285 OCX (1 GB). I'm very impressed with Cryptic, in providing those advanced video options. WAY TO GO!!
    There's something that I would like to add, and that is, I personally don't recommend underclocking or adjusting the fan speed, on a GPU that is brand new, that carries a warranty with specific guidlines. Although it may alleviate excessive heat problems, it can also void warranties. For example, adjusting those settings and then for some reason, the card malfunctions and dies out, could leave someone stuck with a dead card and no warranty coverage.
    BFG carries a line of awesome graphics cards, but doesnt support underclocking or adjusting anything
    else, in their warranty coverage, unless it is a software or utility that is provided by them (Or at least, this is my understanding). And I have yet to find any software or utility provided by them, to make adjustments. But then again, there are GPU manufacturers out there, that allow you to make those particular adjustments.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Skuggan wrote:
    Great to hear that you found the problem, hope you enjoy the game. :)

    OK guys, the problem has returned. Here are the temps. Don't think that's the problem

    In Game: Core 0: 60 Core 1: 61 GPU: 85
    Out Game: Core 0:30 Core 1: 31 GPU: 44-56

    The biggest issue I am having is when I am not playing the game, my computer graphics freeze anyway. The only way I have found to fix it is to uninstall STO, then uninstall / reinstall the video driver (196.21).

    I am baffled. Any ideas?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Please do give the overheating threads a read. The GTX 280 runs a bit hot to start with.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Interesting, I'm running a Nvidia 250 GTS with the very latest drivers with no problems on the highest setting(with 2xAA). Sounds like it might be a driver issue with your specific card.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    montemj wrote: »
    Interesting, I'm running a Nvidia 250 GTS with the very latest drivers with no problems on the highest setting(with 2xAA). Sounds like it might be a driver issue with your specific card.

    I know it isn't the driver for the card. When STO is on my system, I have this problem. When it isn't, I don't.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    I'm running a GTX 280 FTW and have similar problems,although my card hovers around the 73-75C mark playing STO.I use 196.21 drivers too,however its very intermittant with the freeze ups,and it starts working again if I Ctrl-alt-delete and come straight back into the game.
    I also get some strange artifacts very occasionally but having used the trouble shooting options i'm at a loss as to what exactly is the problem !!! My card is brand new,my system is spec built for cooling and all drivers for everything in my system are upto date. :eek:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Tinead wrote:
    I'm running a GTX 280 FTW and have similar problems,although my card hovers around the 73-75C mark playing STO.I use 196.21 drivers too,however its very intermittant with the freeze ups,and it starts working again if I Ctrl-alt-delete and come straight back into the game.
    I also get some strange artifacts very occasionally but having used the trouble shooting options i'm at a loss as to what exactly is the problem !!! My card is brand new,my system is spec built for cooling and all drivers for everything in my system are upto date. :eek:

    The part I can't figure out is why, after I stop playing the game and the GPU / CPU temps drop back down, does my system freeze up? I can only fix it by uninstalling STO, then everything is fine again.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Ok. Problem solved it would seem. Turns out it was a GPU overheating issue. I did a couple of things.

    I noticed in my case that the harddrive and video card were restricting the airflow in the case, preventing the video card from getting a proper airflow for cooling. I moved the HD which gained me a 2 degree drop in GPU temp.

    I then followed some tips elsewhere... Turned off the Physics on my card, capped my FPS at 60 in the game, reduced CPU / GPU usage when idle in the game, and turned off post processing in the game.

    End result is I gained another 10-15 degree drop in GPU temp.

    Thanks for the useful and not so useful help.
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