I have a windows Vista 64 bit with a radeon 4850 (i think thats right) and all drivers were up to date (maybe i could have been 1 update behind somewhere)

Normally when i play a high-end game and my graphics card cant keep up with it, it powers off and i have to restart my PC. However, while playing the Witcher 2, i was getting well over 60 fps with most of the settings on low with a couple bumped up to medium, when suddenly instead of the usual scenario where my monitor goes black, I got blue screened! I restart several times, check to see if the card is in completely, no dust etc, but now i cant even boot without getting the BSOD. I didnt even get passed the 2nd of 4 flashbacks in the first 5 minutes of the game

So now my card is fried, and i have no money to get another one, so im stuck without gaming (or my PC) for probably a couple of months. i dont know what i hope to accomplish with this post, but it seems fucking outrageous a game fried my gfx card. Did anything like this happen to anyone else? or am i a 1 man wolf pack

The only issue I have ever had with a graphics card getting fried was because its internal cooling fan failed, and it would heat the inside of my computer up to the point of shutting down without warning.

If your PC powered off while playing games before, than it means that some component, power source, or graphics card, is faulty, or overheating.

This is not the game's fault. You should have switched your card or find the source of the problem as soon as the problem first appeared.

Obviously hundreds of thousands of people play Witcher 2 without any stability problems (me included - not a single crash in 50 hours of gameplay), so the problem is with your PC, not with the game.

Verican: My card crapped out before, but usually while playing something heavy on maxed out settings (like the original crysis for example). The fan was working and my internal thermo said it was running at 59 F.

Paul: it was not my PC that powered off, it was my card, I can still hear music, vieos or whatever would be running at the time. And as i stated to Verican, my temperatures were fine. the problem appeared plenty of times before on other games, but i was maybe 20 minutes into the game on low settings and cool processors, next thing i know my screen goes black. I only started to panic after i couldnt login after the 2nd restart.

im not a 14 year old crying because im on a 8 year old PC and i cant play the game. I just find it very strange that the game crashed despite being in a perfect environment and wish to see if other people experienced this aswell

It could very well be your card but i would try a clean install of the video drivers and then maybe try underclocking your card before writing it off entirely .

It is clear there is something wrong with your hardware. Try to borrow another graphics card or power supply from someone and test it out, or try to underclock your card. But if it does not handle even default clocks with complete stability, it is probably worth replacing anyway.

Do you have this installed:

http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles/Pages/AMDCatalyst116bHotfix.aspx

?

I would start out by getting a can of compressed air and opening up your computer. Blow out all the dust, and do a careful visual inspection. What you're looking for is any component that looks burned or damaged.

Electrolytic capacitors (little beer-can-shaped things, with what looks like a letter "K", "Y', or maybe "X" on top) are the most likely to fail, especially on a computer that is several years old, especially if you've had heat-related failures before (and the OP definitely has), and especially if it was cheaply made. If it looks like the top has swelled or popped, even a little bit, it's dead.

If your computer has on-board graphics, pull the 4850 out and see if it will POST with the on-board graphics hooked up. Also try with just one stick of RAM and see if it will POST. Try with the disk drives disconnected and see if it will POST.

If you can find no obvious failures, the first component to try replacing is the power supply. Do not, no matter what your lack of funds suggests, get anything less than a top quality power supply. Cheap power supplies will fail and take other components with them when they do.

Sounds like you already have a problem here. The norm is that when graphics card can't keep up with a high-end game, you get low framerate. The only time when I faced a similar problem is when I overclock too much.

So I won't say it's the game's fault, not by a fair bit. Try what the others suggested.

If your video card is shutting down mysteriously while playing games (but you can still hear your PC going via music etc.), it's a good sign that the card is on its last legs. This happened to my old video card (a Geforce 8800 GT) as well. I managed to extend its lifespan for a couple of months by deliberately underclocking my card before it died for good, but it sounds like your card has well and truly bit the dust by now. I'd suggest getting a new card.

I forgot about this! the capacitors all look fine on the card, ill try running it in post as you suggested. Hopefully its a much cheaper software problem than very expensive hardware problem I do not, i last updated on the 28th or 30th. i probably wouldnt have found this till after i go a new card. Ill try installing the driver once i find my flashdrive, hopefully i get lucky and this relieves the problem.


Thanks everyone, i now have some new solutions i wouldnt have thought up of myself. ill try to defib some last few breaths into the card and post the results for anyone who cares/is curious. thanks alot!

I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU!
card is working and no crashes from the witcher. Its running a little better than before. thank you friends and good day

Kisses to you!!!

LOL

That ATI support site is a pain to navigate. Glad you got it sorted.

Happy Gaming!