I recently built a new computer:

CPU: Intel E8400 Core 2 Duo 3.0GHz
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L
Memory: G. Skill 4GB DDR2 800
Video Card: EVGA 8800GT 512MB video card
Power Supply: Corsair 520HX
Hard Drive: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB
CDROM: Samsung SH-S203B
Case: Antec 900

Everything was fine for about a week. I use it to surf internet and play EQ and WoW. Then, one night after a few hours, Everquest locked up. Screen looked fine, no artifacts. Whole computer locked up. Cold not alt-tab out, or ctrl-alt-del. Had to reset computer. Then worked fine. Did e same thing next few days. Then, I got artifacts the next time. Recently, it will do it almost immediately, and almost totally blank the screen. No errors come up that I can find. I did get NV4_Disp error twice. Here is what I have tried to remedy it to no avail:

1. Tried 5 different video drivers, from latest all the way back to almost a year ago. Uninstalled/Installed in safe mode and used Driver Cleaner Pro each time. Did not fix problem.

2. Have most up to date motherboard bios. Tried F4, and even F5c(Beta) and both did not fix it.

3. Ran Prime95 for 2-3 hours on Torture Test 2-3 different times. It did not report any errors.

4. Ran Memtest86+ V 2.01 for 3-5 passes and 3-5 hours. No Errors.

5. Temps on CPU are fine

6. GPU temps on card are fine.

7. Set GPU fan to 75-100% to no avail.

8. Installed side 120mm fan. Still locks up.

9. Ran ATI Tool Artifact test. Temps were fine, but after 30 seconds it would artifact.

10. Cut GPU clock, shader clock, and memory clock from 50-200 each to underclock card, and still locks up and artifacts in ATI Tool.


So............I am down to the card being bad or the power supply. As stated before, everything is brand new. From what I can tell, sounds like the memory on video card is bad, and I am considering RMAing it. But, came to my attention it could be power supply. Just as a side note, I have and APC UPS Backup(XS1500LCD). LCD display says under load when playing EQ it draws 150-200W. Is this to be a concern? I would have thought it would be more...........is this a sign PSU might be bad? Or, do all signs point to Video Card?

If I have missed anything or need to do another test, please let me know, or what people think my problem is. Everything is under warranty....I just don't want to RMA a component without being sure that is problem, and get it and it does same thing. Have I missed anything?

I do have another computer. I have not tried to swap the video card into it. Might try that tonight, unless what Ihave stated is obvious that it is the PSU or Video Card is defective.

Please Advise.....................

The easiest things to do is swapping cards, and the next thing is reinstalling the OS.

hard to track down problem i feel for you, my first instinct would be the power supply but the corsair is a very good one i would swap the power supply and see if that helps if not rma the card

Run speedfan and AtiTool or Orthos, check the 12v readings in speedfan, if it drops by more than 10% (10.8 v instead of 12) then the PSU is faulty, but reading your descriptions on the problem I'd say its most likely the GPU.

You've tried everything I can think of, I would say it's a defective card. Swap it into the other computer to make sure though. I don't think a corsair PSU would give up on life that quickly.

About the power usage, no that's normal. Most systems won't draw more than 250W total, with the graphics card usually accounting for half that. The reason manufacturers recommend such big power supplies is because most get unstable when they're pushed near their maximum, they provide much 'cleaner' power when they're only putting out half their maximum wattage. And because smaller power supplies usually don't have enough amps running over the main 12v rails to power a good graphics card properly.

UPDATE:

Switched video card to old computer. Tested it on that one using ATI Tool artifact test.............and after 30 seconds it began to artifact and after about 1 min it got a lot worse. Put old video card back in old computer and ran same ATI Tool artifact test and had no artifacting in 5+ minutes. Therefore, pretty sure it is bad video card. RMAing it today and hoping for better results on the new one.

Half tempted to buy an HD4850 or HD4870. After all this, I should have waited. I did not get much use over the past 1.5 months on new computer becuase of this darn video card problem. Would there be much benefit anyways of an HD4850 or HD4870 over a 8800GT playing Everquest and WoW anyways?

For Everquest and WoW probably not, they should already run fine on an 8800GT. But I'd still spend the few extra $ for a 4850, it's the best value out there right now. Never hurts to future proof a little.

I have the same brand & model of MB, RAM, CPU, & GPU as you do. I have been running games like Crysis maxed out with no problems. Perhaps you should list your load temperatures. Mine are 70 C when playing Crysis. If the card gets too hot, it could bust up. This brand of 8800GT it notorious for having bad stock cooling.