7 réponses à ce sujet

[Subutai]

I was using an Acer X3400 with the following (as read from the box--I ended up sending it in for free repairs):
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
CPU: AMD Athlon IIX4 640 quad-core processor
RAM: 4GB DDR3 memory
HDD: 1TB hard drive
Video Card: NVIDIA Geforce 9200 graphics

Mass Effect ran fine for over a month for me (I put in 55 hours), with minor glitches here and there--nothing horrific.  I then decided that it was time that I look for a new driver.  I went to the Nvidia website and typed in my graphics card--it directed me to Geforce driver version 266.58, which came out a month after I got my computer (this thing only dates to December of last year).  I installed the driver correctly as far as I can tell.  I tried out some other games, and they worked far better than before.  Then I tried Mass Effect, and here is where things get bad:

I started up Mass Effect.  Roughly 15 minutes in the audio cut out and the screen degenerated into dancing green lines.  Ctrl-Alt-Del did not work--the computer was utterly non-responsive.  I shut it down, and eventually tried again.  Same problem after the same amount of time, even though I was doing something completely different in the game at this point (I was in Port Hanshan, playing around in a different area from where the glitch first occured).  This time when I restart the computer it says "BOOTMNGR" or something to that effect was corrupted and it could not start.  When I tried starting the computer yet again it only let out a strangled beeping noise--nothing else.

As I said, I have already sent my computer in for repairs and hopefully I will be able to get it back in one piece.  I just want to know: WHAT HAPPENED to cause all this and will I ever be able to update my driver safely?  I know I'm not trying that version again.

I'm not really good with computers, and I hope I gave all the necessary information.  Sadly right now any extra info I give will either have to be from the box or from memory.

[Moondoggie]

Wouldn't the common sense thing to do be roll back the driver to the one that worked? The latest Nvidia drivers can have a bad effect on older cards like yours.

Though i must say the fact you played the game so much on a graphics card like that is impressive personally i couldn't stand the low quality.

Roll the drivers back and you should be fine like before.

[SSV Enterprise]

As Moondoggie said, roll back to the driver that worked. Go to Control Panel -> Device Manager -> Display Adapters -> Nvidia Geforce 9200 -> Properties -> Driver -> Roll Back Driver. If that doesn't work, go to the Nvidia driver website and click "Archived and Beta Drivers". Try the drivers until you get one that works. Only try the ones that say "WHQL" next to them, not "Beta".

I would also give a general recommendation that you upgrade from that weak integrated graphics chip to a real dedicated graphics card. You may have been able to play before, but you can't have been gettting good performance or playing on high settings. A half- decent card will cost around $60.

[Subutai]

The crazy thing is that I was playing on nearly max settings the entire time, with minimal lag (first 20 hours max settings with some trouble aiming, next 35 with a few settings turned down a bit). I am going to update the graphics card, because I think the problem was that I was just overworking the dumb thing. I've spent so much time playing games on laptops I think I can just work through the lag.

Thanks for the help, I'm going shopping for graphics cards now.

Also, I can't roll back the driver now because the whole computer is unresponsive.

[SSV Enterprise]

Whole computer is unresponsive? How so?

You need to check two factors before buying a graphics card. First, is your computer a desktop or a laptop? If it's a laptop, you can't upgrade to a new graphics card at all. The only component of a laptop that's made to be upgradeable is the RAM. Secondly, how wide is your computer? (assuming it's a desktop) If it's less than 6 inches, you probably need to buy a graphics card with the key words "Low profile" in the name so that it will fit in your computer.

Here's a quick buying guide to graphics cards:

AMD uses a four-digit naming scheme and Nvidia uses a three-digit naming scheme along with a couple letters. For both, the last digit indicates the generation of graphics card, and the second to last digit indicates the power level of the card relative to the generation. The most important digit is actually the second to last; while each generation is progressively better than the last, a low-end card of the most recent generation will be worse than a high-end card of the last generation.

The most recent generations are the AMD Radeon HD 6000 series and the Nvidia Geforce 500 series, but they haven't released budget cards for those yet. If you're on a budget, you will want to buy from the Radeon HD 5000 or 4000 generations, or the Nvidia Geforce 400 or 200 generations. For AMD you will want the second to last digit to be "6" or greater; for Nvidia you will want the second to last digit to be "4" or greater.

Modifié par SSV Enterprise, 05 mars 2011 - 05:48 .

[Gorath Alpha]

Given that English reads from left to right, your description make me think of the Hebrew language instead. I call the first "5" in the number "5670" 0n the far left as the generation number, which helps the prospective buyer determine the specific functionality provided, while the SECOND number keys us to the LEVEL of the card, a "600" for the Mainline medium class used for games.

The third number, the "7" in "70" is the rank within the 600s, since often there are both a 650 and a 670, with the 670 being the fastest of the two.

Previous to the GT200 generation, nVIDIA's Geforces also used the four digit performance naming, so that an 8600 "GS" was about what an HD 3630 would be, compared to a "GT" which is where the "70" for a current Radeon is, and where the older Radeon "HD 2600 XT" would have been.

Current Geforce naming varies all over the performance ladders, making referring to benchmarks almost the only way to rank them.

Modifié par Gorath Alpha, 05 mars 2011 - 07:30 .

[SSV Enterprise]

Haha, good one. But it was my impression that when it comes to numbers, the "ones" digit is the first digit, the tens is the second, the hundreds is the third, etc. Words go the opposite way (the first letter in "apple" is "a") but numbers don't necessarily work the same way as words.

I didn't mention how Nvidia used to use four digits and AMD/ATI used to use letters, because the most recent generations don't. It's not worth it to buy graphics cards that are more than three generations old. Newer ones for the same price will run more efficiently and have better software support.

[Gorath Alpha]

When bored enough for picking at nits, I find it too easy to be less topically strict than otherwise, so I followed this up via PM.