Radeon 7000 hangs, is this because of DirectX9?

[paugie]

A quick question.
I have an NVIDIA MX4000 card 64mb. spec'd at AGP 8X and DirectX8.1. I had no problems with it.

I got hold of an ATI Radeon 7000, spec'd at AGP 4X and DirectX7, supposedly supports DirectX 8. I like the display better, smoother and more pleasant colors. But every now and then, it hangs the PC while I'm watching a DVD or a DivX AVI. Does not hang on MPG1 or VCD.

Is it because of and incompatibility somewhere, maybe with DirectX9? 1 or 2 of my software automatically installs DirectX9 and I'm stuck with it. I'd sure like to have the Radeon because of the better display but the hangs are unacceptable.

???

 

[Bozo]

I presume you have loaded the latest ATI drivers and the latest version of DirectX (9c)??

Bozo :mrgrn:

 

[paugie]

yes, I have the latest drivers and directX9C.

 

[Tannin]

Try removing everything that seems to have anything at all to do with video driver software, and reinstalling from scratch. (If you haven't already done this.) ATI drivers are horrible. Me, I'd remove the ATI card, use it for landfill, and fit one that works (i.e., Nvidia), but I guess that's not the advice you were looking for.

 

[Mercutio]

1. This has nothing to do with DirectX.
2. What DVD playback software are you using? Does that player support hardware acceleration? Is it turned on? Is the WRONG hardware acceleration turned on?
3. Are the DVDs scratch and dirt-free?
4. Have you tried different playback software?
5. Do the hangs happen at the same place every time?

I need a little more information and Tannin needs to quit talking, as he doesn't have the good taste to bow down in the face of decent hardware.

 

[paugie]

you are right, Tony. that was not the advice I was looking for.

Yet, it seems I will be taking it.

I have decided not to bother troubleshooting and return the Radeon 7000 to my Brother-In-Law and that's happening tomorrow. This is a learning experience for me.

I have also arranged to buy (hopefully the person does not change his/her mind) a 1-year old NVIDIA 5200 on saturday. Tomorrow I will re-install my old Matrox Mystique 4mb PCI video Card.

But the question still stands. . .

If you use a video card designed for a certain edition of DirectX (in this case ver. 7) would installing a later version of Direct X, say ver.9, cause system instability?

 

[Mercutio]

No. No. No. No.

A card that supports Directx-whatever supports directx-whatever. If some program calls for features newer than that card supports, GENERALLY an effort is made to find a rendering path which can display some kind of placeholder or equivalent effect, or no effect is displayed at all.
Windows' 2D desktop doesn't use DirectX for anything. Media Player DOES use DirectX to render video more efficiently (the alternative is a bigger hit to your CPU while decoding MPEG2 or other processing-intensive file types - this is controlled in the "Troubleshooting" section of the "advanced" area of your "settings" under Display in control panel), but this feature is something that any ATI, S3, Matrox or even nvidia card made since the debut of AGP can support. It also uses Directsound (not a function of your video card) to support playback of multiple sounds at once.

Sigh.

 

[Tannin]

5200s are just fine if you are not expecting anything much by way of performance. You plug them in, they work. Next question please. Also, I hate to agree with Mercutio on any quetion that has anything to do with video, especially those evil ATI things he uses, but I have no choice this time as he is right.

 

[paugie]

Whoops, while I was typing my reply to Tony, Mercution had chimed in.

I was using PowerDVD 5. I switched over to Windows Media Player, version 6.4, which came with W2K, which is upgraded to SP4. WMP was worse. It seemed it was trying to keep me from watching the movie, hanging repeatedly almost as soon as I called the file.

I wouldn't know if these software supported hardware acceleration.

Yes the discs were newly burned and scratch free.

No the hangs were pretty random.

 

[sechs]

ATI drivers are horrible.

You've got it backwards. nVidia drivers are horrible. They're nothing but trouble.

 

[sechs]

Windows' 2D desktop doesn't use DirectX for anything.

Unfortunately, incorrect. DirectDraw has been rolled into DirectX. This is to say that DirectX is now all forms of graphics acceleration in Windows.

This is why, when you make some changes to DirectX settings, the screen blinks. It also makes it easy to do fancy-pants interface effects.

 

[sechs]

I was using PowerDVD 5. I switched over to Windows Media Player, version 6.4, which came with W2K, which is upgraded to SP4. WMP was worse. It seemed it was trying to keep me from watching the movie, hanging repeatedly almost as soon as I called the file.

I wouldn't know if these software supported hardware acceleration.

PowerDVD should support some sort of hardware acceleration, although it's likely to be for DVDs only. WiMP 6.4 doesn't directly support any form of hardware acceleration. This is to say that you're probably playing MPEG-4 (DivX) files in software only.

What's the rest of this computer look like?

 

[Mercutio]

PowerDVD supports ATI's hardware acceleration, but doesn't turn it on by default.

So I don't think that's the problem.

paugie, do you ever hang when you're watching a video file as opposed to something on a disc?

 

[paugie]

I am sorry, I forgot to mention what I should have.

Yes, I do experience hangs even when playing from a hard disk file. They are AVIs of an unknown format, but probably DivX or XVid. (how does one uncover which)

What does the machine look like?
I am sorry but you've seen it before. And I am sorry, too, that I have not come around to replacing the Power Supply you suggested be replaced.

Sempron-64 2600+
Gigabyte K8NS, NForce3-250 mobo
2x512Mb TwinMos DDR400 4 months old
Samsung SP0802N 80Gb 7200RPM 1 year old
Maxtor 6Y080L0 80Gb 7200RPM, 3 years old
NEC 3540 DVD-RW 3 months old
Turtle Beach Sta. Cruz 1-1/2 year with me, purchased 2nd hand
Promise Ultra-66 IDE controller very old, purchased 2nd hand
TASK 350watt Power Supply Unit
Pinnacle Video Capture card (borrowed)

 

[LiamC]

I am sorry, I forgot to mention what I should have.

Yes, I do experience hangs even when playing from a hard disk file. They are AVIs of an unknown format, but probably DivX or XVid. (how does one uncover which)

Could it be a Codec problem? GSpot (small download) will tell you if you have the codecs on your system to play back a stream. If it says no, you can download all-in-one codec packs from a number of sites, www.free-codecs.com or something similar. I'm sure Mercutio will have more to say on this issue.

FWIW, I have a Radeon 7000 in my DOS gaming machine (Win98SE) with DX9.0c and it works just fine.

What does the machine look like?
I am sorry but you've seen it before. And I am sorry, too, that I have not come around to replacing the Power Supply you suggested be replaced.

Obvious suspect. Check out your CPU usage with Task Manager or Process Explorer. Then run the troublsome file. If usgae spikes to 75% or more and then the machine crashes, it may be a power draw problem

If you run SpeedFan, it has realtime voltage readouts (I think). You may be able to see the voltage drop just before a crash. Another smoking gun if that turns out to be the case. If you can beg/borrow/steal another P/S for a day, it may help in the troubleshooting process.

 

[Tannin]

Task power supplies are middle of the road: not first class, top dollar units, but generally solid, reliable performers at a reasonable price. Certainly not cheap junk. Just the same, the latest generation CPUs can draw a heap, so swapping it out for a known good one might tell you quite a lot.

 

[CougTek]

I suspect paugie isn't a retailer and doesn't have access to other parts to swap/test/troubleshoot his system. Also, he lives in the Philippines, so I don't expect him to have the budget to go out and buy some new toys whenever his current hardware no longer suites his mood. Paugie still has a very decent system, with maybe one or two suspicious parts.

 

[Tannin]

Oh, no problem there, Coug. I'm making the same asumptions. However, it isn't difficult to beg or borrow a PSU from a friend for a few days.

Hint: Paugie, if your friend doesn't want to part with his power supply, try threats of extreme violence. When/if that doesn't work, burst into tears instead. Gets 'em every time!

 

[CougTek]

Paugie, if your friend doesn't want to part with his power supply, try threats of extreme violence.

I don't know about Philippines, but if their culture is anywhere near the one in Texas, he could end up being shot for this. Watch out.

 

[time]

Much as I dislike Task power supplies, I find it hard to believe that a Radeon 7000 draws significantly more power than an nVidia MX4000. Before they failed, I don't recall having problems with Task products.

Radeon 7000 is quite old now; it's remotely possible that newer Catalyst drivers don't support it very well - current nVidia drivers no longer support TNT Vanta, for example.

However, I think the most likely cause is simply a bad card.

An FX5200 is certainly a step up in capabilities, but it's also a serious step up in power consumption. Such is life. Hopefully, it will solve your problems.

 

[paugie]

(sigh)

My batting average is 0.0

No access to a decent power supply, yet. Nothing better than the one I've got. I cut out most of my equipment, leaving just the video card, and one hard disk, the 5V readings are still crappy. I was able to borrow a generic PSU half the weight of this Task and the 5V readings are garbage as well.

The Inno3D FX5200 backed out. Got a Gainward FX5200 in my sights but it's probably mispriced and may be taken out of the market once the seller reads my offer to buy. :roll:

No retailer here for sure. Just an old enthusiast with a few coppers in his pocket.