Ongoing from the graphics card problems I've (hopefully) sorted in the previous post I thought it might be useful to add some information about helping getting Windows XP 64 bit (often referred to as x64) up and running with a wireless connection.
I installed the system fine and then tried to get a Belkin F5D7050 Wireless adaptor running so I could use my current wireless connection. This is where I ran into problems. Basically the current drivers are not 64 bit compatible so you have to go through a convoluted process of finding out what chipset the adaptor has and then going to Ralink's website chipset page (who I presume manufacture the chips in most wireless adaptors) and finding the relevant 64 bit compatible drivers, for the chipset not specifically for the adaptor itself. Tip: the entries in the table on the page are links although that isn't very clear. After a lot of playing I still couldn't get it working so decided to try a WUSB54GS Wireless-G USB Network Adapter with Speedbooster. This again didnt have 64 bit drivers but some nice guy on the linksys forums has put some unofficial drivers for the adaptors on their website here.
This solved the problem and got me online fast so thanks to the chap on the forum for making them available :o)
If I find any more problems/solutions then I'll post them up here.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
graphics card woes...
It's been a long time since I've posted here - blame that on learning 3D Studio Max ready for my masters course starting in January.
Anyways onto the subject in hand - namely the sapphire radeon x1950 pro graphics card. I bought one of these last week for a new PC and seemingly installed it fine. I kicked up a couple of games and within 2 minutes of playing the screen went into standby mode (black screen, no signal message) and the fan on the graphics card spun up to full noise. After lots of searching and nearly sending the card back (RMA which I presume stands for something like return to manufacturer) I found the following thread with lots of information on the card and the problem: here.
The current fix: I installed Rivatuner (http://www.guru3d.com/ - then a halfway down the right column) and went in the settings and changed the fan settings from auto to 80% (just an arbitrary figure I picked). This basically means that the fan is always running at 80% of its speed. I then kicked up a few games on the highest settings and ran them for a while. Everything now seems to run ok and the crashes have stopped.
You can actually run the rivatuner software in your system tray so it might be an idea to have 2 profiles in the settings, one for desktop use where it is set to auto and one for games where you run the fan at a high setting (e.g, 80 or 100%). This is just so that when you are browsing on the net you dont have the fan belting out noise and wearing itself out prematurely.
Another tip for people who want to go further is to actually take the default fan off the card and add a custom one. Additionally you can buy little VMU (or is it VRM) heatsinks which can be attached to the chips on the card and help dissipate the heat that builds up. The only problem with doing that is that you will invalidate your warranty so I wouldnt realistically advise this unless you know what you are doing and you dont mind losing the warranty.
Anyways onto the subject in hand - namely the sapphire radeon x1950 pro graphics card. I bought one of these last week for a new PC and seemingly installed it fine. I kicked up a couple of games and within 2 minutes of playing the screen went into standby mode (black screen, no signal message) and the fan on the graphics card spun up to full noise. After lots of searching and nearly sending the card back (RMA which I presume stands for something like return to manufacturer) I found the following thread with lots of information on the card and the problem: here.
The current fix: I installed Rivatuner (http://www.guru3d.com/ - then a halfway down the right column) and went in the settings and changed the fan settings from auto to 80% (just an arbitrary figure I picked). This basically means that the fan is always running at 80% of its speed. I then kicked up a few games on the highest settings and ran them for a while. Everything now seems to run ok and the crashes have stopped.
You can actually run the rivatuner software in your system tray so it might be an idea to have 2 profiles in the settings, one for desktop use where it is set to auto and one for games where you run the fan at a high setting (e.g, 80 or 100%). This is just so that when you are browsing on the net you dont have the fan belting out noise and wearing itself out prematurely.
Another tip for people who want to go further is to actually take the default fan off the card and add a custom one. Additionally you can buy little VMU (or is it VRM) heatsinks which can be attached to the chips on the card and help dissipate the heat that builds up. The only problem with doing that is that you will invalidate your warranty so I wouldnt realistically advise this unless you know what you are doing and you dont mind losing the warranty.
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