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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Desktops > Video Card Issue With My Mac Pro?

Video Card Issue With My Mac Pro?
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Neo.cmg
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Jul 11, 2007, 03:59 AM
 
Hi,

I've got a 2.66Ghz Dual-Core Intel Xeon Mac Pro machine with an ATI Radeon X1900 XT card sitting in the PCI Express slot. The graphics card is connected to a 30" cinema display.

Recently, I've encountered a problem which persists whenever I'm doing something 3D intensive (e.g. running 3D games). After 5 to 10 minutes elapses playing a game (the actual game title itself isn't a variable--I've tried Civ IV, AOEIII, and WoW) the display will turn off on it's own accord.

I can still hear the background sound effects and the computer continues to run, so I have every reason to believe the computer is otherwise functioning properly. However, nothing I do including reconnecting the monitor's power cable or reconnecting the DVI cable running from the display to the video card, resets the display. I'm forced to restart the machine holding the power button in order to regain any visibility from the display.

I'm thinking there may be an issue with my video card, and I was wondering if anyone else who has a similar setup has run into a similar situation and discovered a fix other than lugging the machine to an Apple Store to have the issue resolved.

Thanks!
     
silverflyer
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Jul 11, 2007, 09:31 AM
 
Wow, never heard of that before.

Good luck getting it fixed, have you called apple care yet?
Mac Pro Dual Quad 3.2ghz, 4gb ram, 4x 1 Terabyte hdd's, 8800GT, 30inch Samsung display running OSX Leopard Server
15 inch Macbook Pro Unibody and Apple 24 inch LED Display.
     
Neo.cmg  (op)
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Jul 11, 2007, 10:31 AM
 
Nah, I haven't called them just yet. It's past it's 90 days of complimentary phone support, but within it's original 1 year manufacturer's warranty. I'd rather not spend $49 for a call just to have them tell me to take it in to have it serviced somewhere.
     
silverflyer
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Jul 11, 2007, 12:06 PM
 
Oh, you didnt get apple care. I bet you wish you had now. Just take it to the Apple Store, there is nothing anyone here can do for you.
Mac Pro Dual Quad 3.2ghz, 4gb ram, 4x 1 Terabyte hdd's, 8800GT, 30inch Samsung display running OSX Leopard Server
15 inch Macbook Pro Unibody and Apple 24 inch LED Display.
     
damiensmunki
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Jul 11, 2007, 02:34 PM
 
I've never heard of anyone's display going completely black, but I had issues when I upgraded to the X1900. The card runs extremely hot and was causing all kinds of tearing and artifacts. Yours may be a little overzealous with the heat...? Try installing smcFanControl and increase the fan speeds to 1500. This fixed all the issues I was having. Just a last-ditch effort, as your problem sounds much more severe than the issues I was having... Good luck!
Rob
     
Big Mac
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Jul 11, 2007, 02:41 PM
 
I bet it's a thermal problem. When my 9800XT's fan stopped, display blanking would happen. Are you seeing any other problems like graphical artifacts? I'd check to verify that the card's fan is actually spinning.

"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." TJ
     
thag-simmons
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Jul 11, 2007, 03:54 PM
 
Originally Posted by Neo.cmg View Post
Hi,

I've got a 2.66Ghz Dual-Core Intel Xeon Mac Pro machine with an ATI Radeon X1900 XT card sitting in the PCI Express slot. The graphics card is connected to a 30" cinema display.

Recently, I've encountered a problem which persists whenever I'm doing something 3D intensive (e.g. running 3D games). After 5 to 10 minutes elapses playing a game (the actual game title itself isn't a variable--I've tried Civ IV, AOEIII, and WoW) the display will turn off on it's own accord.
These X1900XT cards (along with the older X800XT) have a habit of getting clogged with dust. Take the card out and examine the fan blades. Gently clean off any dust.

Also it's helpful to run a temperature monitoring util to see if the fan is really doing its job.

This tells you how to do it from Windows. I'm not sure how to get the ATI card's temperature from a Mac utility, although there are utils that will show you the temperature of the entire expansion bay (not as useful).

How to monitor X1900XT temperature on the fly? - Rage3D Discussion Area
     
Leuey
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Jul 11, 2007, 06:10 PM
 
the late, great Thag Simmons of Thagomizer fame? wow - thought you were dead..

-Greg
     
Neo.cmg  (op)
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Jul 11, 2007, 08:36 PM
 
Yeah, I'm inclined to believe it is a thermal issue. I did clean out the case last night--it had been pretty dusty inside. I also installed smcFanControl, upped the fan speeds to 1500, but the problem still persists. I don't notice a lot of air coming out of the video card vent, and really can't verify that the fan there is spinning.

In any case, it sounds as though I may need to deal with Apple/Apple Authorized Service Provider at this point.
     
brokenjago
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Jul 11, 2007, 09:43 PM
 
Neo.cmg

I had this EXACT issue. It's a graphics card problem. Call Apple. They will NOT charge you for support because it is a HARDWARE related issue. Simply stress that it's a hardware issue, and you need information to have it covered under warranty. I have not paid them a dime so far.

They will be glad to replace your card. They even sent me a DIY kit for it.
Linkinus is king.
     
mduell
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Jul 11, 2007, 09:59 PM
 
Sounds like the common Mac X1900 overheating issue.
     
Neo.cmg  (op)
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Jul 12, 2007, 12:36 PM
 
Apple is in the process of sending me a new X1900 XT card...
     
macgeek2005
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Jul 17, 2007, 03:47 AM
 
The X1900XT WILL overheat in the Mac Pro after a certain amount of time.

Mine does it, and so does everyone else i've ever talked to about it.

My card worked great for about half a year, and now if I do something graphically intense, the screen locks up after about 30 minutes, just like that review on apple.com says.

Since I don't game much anymore, I might just pop the 7300GT back in, or i'll just deal with it. The video card is fine. I get no artifacts on the screen during anything. Not even during gaming. It's just that the screen suddenly locks up while playing a game like Quake 4 or something.

I'm hoping that a future Video Card upgrade kit for the Mac Pro will not overheat like this one does.

Question. I just downloaded that fancontrol thing. What's the fastest I can set the fans to spin at safely? For graphic issues, I assume the most important one to increase is PCIe/HDD Fan. Right?

Thanks.

I've put my fans at around 1600rpm right now, and my computers temperature is dropping and dropping, and everything is running super snappy!

Is it safe to keep them at that speed permenentaly?

Sorry for quadruple posting, but the edit option isn't working right now. I've noticed that my Power Supply fan hasn't risen above 599rpm even though I set it's minimum to 1140rpm. Is something wrong?
( Last edited by Lateralus; Jul 17, 2007 at 12:50 PM. )
     
TerryR
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Jul 17, 2007, 08:43 AM
 
Even though there are settings for the PSU-fan in smcFanControl, the fan seems to be independent of them (there's a reply from the developer Hendrik Holtmann to a question in MacUpdate's smcFanControl page stating that it's a limitation that can't be overcome.....

Hendrik's reply
     
silverflyer
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Jul 17, 2007, 10:00 AM
 
Has anyone here installed the Accelero Cooler X2?

Mac ATI X1900 XT Quiet Cooler Swap (Accelero X2)

I have not used the power of my card in a graphics intense way yet, so this has not happened to me, but I plan on using it to game in XP/Bootcamp and do not want this problem to arise.
Mac Pro Dual Quad 3.2ghz, 4gb ram, 4x 1 Terabyte hdd's, 8800GT, 30inch Samsung display running OSX Leopard Server
15 inch Macbook Pro Unibody and Apple 24 inch LED Display.
     
macgeek2005
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Jul 17, 2007, 12:36 PM
 
Originally Posted by silverflyer View Post
Has anyone here installed the Accelero Cooler X2?

Mac ATI X1900 XT Quiet Cooler Swap (Accelero X2)

I have not used the power of my card in a graphics intense way yet, so this has not happened to me, but I plan on using it to game in XP/Bootcamp and do not want this problem to arise.
I have not installed that, but i've heard it works great.

The default running speeds of my fans are around 500rpm. I have them running at around 1000rpm right now. Is that safe? Will it wear out the fans?
     
macgeek2005
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Jul 17, 2007, 06:34 PM
 
Wow.. weird. I had never heard of that problem before this thread, and I installed smcFanControl, and today, I just got that exact problem!

My screen just went black, of it's own accord, while playing Cod 2. My cousin's computer said "Connection interrupted", since mine was the one hosting the server.

I think either smcFanControl caused the problem, or maybe I didn't turn up the fan speed enough....

But anyways, to the OP, you're not alone!
     
macgeek2005
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Jul 18, 2007, 02:03 AM
 
Originally Posted by brokenjago View Post
Neo.cmg

I had this EXACT issue. It's a graphics card problem. Call Apple. They will NOT charge you for support because it is a HARDWARE related issue. Simply stress that it's a hardware issue, and you need information to have it covered under warranty. I have not paid them a dime so far.

They will be glad to replace your card. They even sent me a DIY kit for it.
Why would getting a new card fix the issue? It's the same card, same machine. It'll overheat again.
     
rehoot
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Jul 18, 2007, 11:56 PM
 
I have a problem with my 23" Cinema Display on my Mac Pro, but I connected the monitor to my Powerbook and it was still dark. The monitor decided to work correctly later, but appears to go into sleep mode for no reason. I'm still experimenting, but considering that I had the same problem when I hooked it to the Powerbook, I know that the graphics card is not the issue.

Check to see if the light on the monitor still works and see if the USB ports on the monitor still function when it goes dark. My USB ports on the monitor die when the screen goes dark, but the little light will flash if I hit the power button on the monitor.
Mac Pro Quad: 2.66GHz; 4 GB Ram; 4x500GB drives; Radeon X1900, 23" Cinema Screen, APC UPS
PowerBook G4: 1.33GHz; 768MB Ram; 60GB drive
     
macgeek2005
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Jul 19, 2007, 01:21 PM
 
Well, Apple has shipped me a new X1900XT video card "Rev. 2". The guy on the phone confirmed that there IS a second version of the card, in which they fixed the overheating issues.

It should be arriving tomorrow or monday.
     
macgeek2005
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Jul 23, 2007, 05:37 PM
 
I just installed my replacement X1900, but I forgot to take a screenshot of "About This Mac" before doing so. I now have no numbers to compare too in the Graphics/Displays tab in system profiler. Can someone who has a Mac Pro with an X1900 from October/Novemeber 2006 pleace post a screenshot of the info for the card?

Thanks!
     
macgeek2005
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Jul 24, 2007, 10:18 PM
 
Hey guys. This new X1900XT card is definitely a little different than the Rev A one. The fans goes REALLY fast when the card gets hot. I think they increased the fan speed on the card, to remove the overheating problem. My cousin was just playing Redline Rumble, a very non-graphically demanding game, and all of a sudden, the computer went "VOOOOOOSSSHHHHH", and it was the video card spinning up!
     
brokenjago
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Jul 25, 2007, 02:00 AM
 
MacGeek2005: Apple sent me a new version of the card, but there is no discernible difference in the System profiler, with the info given.
Linkinus is king.
     
macgeek2005
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Jul 25, 2007, 02:05 AM
 
Originally Posted by brokenjago View Post
MacGeek2005: Apple sent me a new version of the card, but there is no discernible difference in the System profiler, with the info given.
Yeah, I didn't see anything that looked different, from my memory....
     
   
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