Total Video RAM 61.3 of 64 MB

[Allyn]

After much searching online for a Video RAM test, I found Burn-In Test Pro. So far, I like it. Following is my system.

Asus A7N8X Deluxe 1.04 1004 final
Athlon XP 2400+ multiplier at 12
2 512 XMS 3500C2 at 6-3-3-2 166 mhz
Gainward GeForce4 Ti 4200
Windows XP Professional SP1

Problem: Video errors that persist through reboot during POST. Error occurs primarily during heavy game play (Flight Simulator 2002). Garbled display can be cleared only with complete power-off cycle. Microsoft OCA reports both driver and device failures.

I have tried different drivers. I get the same results whether using 30.82 or the latest Detonators. Also, the video display problem existed when I was running the XP 2400+ at default multiplier and FSB.

My system passes the BurnInTest 2D and 3D Video tests. However, total Video RAM does not agree with the card specs. Burn-In-Test shows 61.30 MB RAM total and 60.75 tested. To me, this sounds like I've a bad video RAM chip.

Is it accurate to state that BurnInTest goes beyond sys info and actually searches the video card for operational video RAM and displays it as total available? If so, this makes it an invaluable diagnostic tool for video cards as well as its other functions. The few other inexpensive dianostic tools I've seen appear to simply repeat what Windows shows in Device Manager.

Is there any reason for me to look elsewhere for the source of the problem?

Allyn

[David (PassMark)]

You can not conclude that you have bad video RAM just because of the reported total.

These amounts for total and free RAM are reported by the video card device driver and DirectX.

It seems that most video cards (maybe all??) seem to under report their total. It seems to be the case that the total is reduced by the size of the on screen frame buffer.

So if you drop the resolution on your monitor (to 640x480) you'll probably find the total amount increases to something closer to 64MB.

As an example on a Radeon 7500 card, the total was 56.4MB with dual monitors at 1280x1024 and 59.7MB at 800x600.

These problems can be hard to track down. You need to carefully note down under what circumstances the problem occurs and eliminate possibilities. For example if the problem never happens in other games, maybe FS has a bug. If you move the video card to another computer and still have a problem then it is more likely a problem with the video card, etc..

Best of luck
David
PassMark

[Allyn]

Thank you for your informative reply. Yours is the best I've received.

I have noted the circumstances and it is when the card or the computer is under stress and most frequently if I'm switching cockpit views. That seems to be the most common error generator. It first reared its head when I enabled anti-aliasing. Now the fault occurs regardless of anti-aliasing settings and has occured once when not playing a game. Interestingly, underclocking the card's memory reduces the incidence of failures.

My Antec 1080 case is well-ventilated. I've also considered the possibility of a power problem but have discounted it since I use a 430 watt Antec True Power supply which should be ample.

I don't understand how a software bug in FS 2002 would trigger an error that would persist through a reboot and show a garbled display even during post. Wouldn't a reboot reset the entire system including the GPU if the problem was software initiated?

I see a post from kmaun describing display problems similar to mine but with a different error message. AMD system with a Gainward GeForce4 Ti 4200 64mb model (sounds identical to mine) and an Asus motherboard but a different chipset.

I'll do some further experimentation and see if I can get to the source of the trouble.

Thank you,

Allyn

BTW, how many posts are required before I "hatch out"?

[David (PassMark)]

> how many posts are required before I "hatch out"?

Rank / Number of posts
Unhatched 0
Newt 10
Gecko 25
Iguana 50
Gila Monster 200
T-Rex 1000
Dragon 3000