DAIMOND StealthIII s540 extreme problems

[wildc]

Hallo people,

Got major problem with my videocard
DAIMOND StealthIII s540 extreme
It have S3 savage4 chip
I cannot run anny games with it..I've try Unreal Tournament, soldier of fortune, rage rally ..nada!!!
Everytime I run it after a while it locks up o crash or return to my desktop..
I've try every drivers and settings..
With 3dmark 2000 benchmark or the demo sometimes it runs all the way but most of the time it return to my desktop...
Someone Please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

System spec:
ASUS Cus2L-c
PIII 733
128mb sdram pc 133
Windows98 /windowsme

[K6-III]

Put a larger active heatsink on the Savage4. That should get rid of those problems. I am convince that it is a heat-based problem. Otherwise you may want to try a different BIOS for the card.

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Gimme my TriLevel Cache

[mwessinger]

I purchased one of these last year to replace my older Voodoo3 2000 16 meg card. Thought that the 32 meg of the Stealth would be better. Turns out the card was crap for games. So I put it in the computer I have set up for the wife, since she doesn't use the computer for games. Now that I have my new Radeon working in my system, the Stealth will soon find its way to my old and spare parts box, as it will be replaced with the Voodoo.

If you just bought the card, take it back. Get a Radeon or GeForce.

Mike

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AMD Athlon 1 GHz
ASUS A7V KT133
256 RAM
DVD-ROM drive
48X CD-ROM
HP CD-Writer+ 7500
8.43 GB Hard drive
13.66 GB Hard drive
30.00 GB Hard drive
Radeon 32meg DDR
Creative SB Live! X-Gamer
LinkSys 10/100 NIC
www.michaelwessinger.com

[fallguy]

Hi wildc,
I think your problem lies in the drivers you are using - I have a S540, running in exactly the same motherboard as you (although with a Celeron 566@850 instead of a PIII 733). If you are using the default drivers that came with the card you will need to either download the latest release or beta drivers from www.s3graphics.com or try and use some tweaked drivers (I use Mr F's Tweaked Drivers 2.3) from www.savagenews.com .

This should help with your problems. If it doesn't, try running your comp open case - it may be that the S540 is overheating or that the heatsink is not attached properly and needs additional cooling. If running open case helps, you might want to get a PCI system exhaust fan to help vent the hot air from your case (I have one sitting right under the S540 and I find it helps alot).

Hope that is of some use.
Fallguy
P.S. I would recommend you consider a replacement card if you can RMA the Stealth - whilst it can be made to work with most games, it requires alot of time and effort to set it up properly. An ATi Xpert 2000 Pro should be in the same price range, and has much better performance and driver support.


[This message has been edited by fallguy (edited 04-05-2001).]

[This message has been edited by fallguy (edited 04-05-2001).]

[K6-III]

I had to put a larger heatsink/fan combo on my S540 to get it stability and move to a newer, but not the newest BIOS, as the newest one introduces more heat issues. With Fachman's 2.2 or 2.3 drivers, which include S3 Tweak you would be getting as much out of the card as you can.

If you can RMA the card, don't bother with the ATI expert. You wouldn't get any better performance or driver support. Instead, save your pennies, and for an extra $30 get the Radeon LE. You will never regret it!!!

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Gimme my TriLevel Cache