Graphics Card and Oblivion Fail

[Rivenworlder]

Ok, I've checked all over the internet, and so far no one who plays Oblivion who has had technical problems has bought a new graphics card since 2006. So I'm going to ask for help for my problem specifically since I can't find what I need otherwise.

 

Anyway, here's the problem:

 

I bought a new graphics card off Newegg the other day. It's an Nvidia GT 240 (1024mb, 128bit, DDR3) and was pretty cheap. Anyway, I've got it put in all right, installed the latest drivers, etc. but it doesn't want to seem to run Oblivion at all. It claims that the video card is unrecognized.

 

What happens is that when I load up Oblivion, I am able to get into the game, but I get these strange multicolored boxes that flash all over the screen (mostly on the bottom portion) and then the game completely freezes the computer, forcing me to reboot. I've installed all the patches, official and unofficial for Oblivion that I know of, and the problem persists. I've re-installed Oblivion, mod free, only to get the same results. Basically, I've done everything under the sun that I know of and I'm still getting the same problem.

 

Anyone with an unrecognized card have similar problems/find a solution to this? Oblivion may be 4 years old, but dammit, it's still my favorite game and I'd hate to not be able to play it anymore.

 

Thanks

[XJDHDR]

The game says that your card is unrecognised because your card didn't exist when Oblivion was released. This failure to recognise only means that the game can't properly configure the video options to suit your configuration. After you set them manually, there shouldn't be any problems.

 

As for your issue, try take a look at the website in my signature. Tweakguides.com's Oblivion Tweak Guide would probably be of particular importance to you.

[Qwaxalot]

Try renaming or deleting the oblivion.ini file (...\My Documents\My Games\Oblivion\Oblivion.ini)

 

Oblivion will then redetect hardware. It will also, probably, not recognize your video card and set everything to medium. Just change the settings according to what you think your card will support (You can always change them later)

[MikeHibs]

It might also be over heating if it is locking up and forcing a reboot.

So if the other suggestions don't work, you should check and make sure the inside of your case is clean and you are getting proper air flow.

[Fonger]

It might also be over heating if it is locking up and forcing a reboot.

it just could also be that the power supply doesn't have enough juice to power that new video card.

[bben46]

I am using the GTX 260 version. It is a power hog and runs very hot so it needs a lot of cooling. The first slot I put it in was close to the CPU, and just behind my hard drive rack the video card fan was sucking in preheated air from the Hard drives, and was being heated by the CPU. So I moved it to the only other vid slot which is at the very bottom of the case. I even cut a new hole in the bottom to allow cooler air.

 

As I said it is a power hog and needs 2 - 12 volt connectors directly from the power supply. One way to know if you don't have enough power is to listen to the fans - On start, the fan on the video card will ramp up to full spreed, then slow back down, this is normal. Listen to your chassis fans. If you hear them slow down, it shows that the 12 volts is low. This may happen just before it freezes.

 

If the 5 volt supply is being pulled down also, you may see spontaneous reboots. Where the computer restarts itself.

 

Many of the off the shelf name computers are underpowered as they are made more fore office type work and surfing the internet than heavy duty gaming.

 

Do you know the name and wattage of your power supply?

[Rivenworlder]

Since I've last checked this thread, I've reinstalled Windows, and although I only tried to run Oblivion once, I think the problem happened again. My computer is custom built, so it doesn't have a maker name or anything. Let me check the power supply though, you may be on to something.

 

But I just remembered. The card works with Dawn of War II without any problems. Every other game I've tried doesn't however.

 

Update: I've checked the power supply. It's a "Hipro" supply. I don't know exactly what specifications would be helpful, but the sticker did say that it's max output was 300w.

[bben46]

300W is pretty wimpy for an up to date gaming rig. It should probably be 500W minimum, and 600W Would be better.

 

Check out Newegg.com and Tigerdirect.com for good deals. Be sure to read the reviews before making a choice.

[Rivenworlder]

I've put in a more powerful power supply. But the screen goes black when I try to enter the game.

[Jenrai]

Turn off HDR lighting, Antialiasing, ect and all the other graphics options in the Oblivion Launcher and force them on using your graphics card's controller interface (usually the Nvidia Icon in the task bar) This will ensure your game uses "true" settings from the card rather than trying to use the "virtual" ones that the game does.

 

Ensure your monitor is capable of running the refresh rate that the card is set at (if you set it too high for the monitor, you'd usually get th default 'no video signal' or whatever message and then your monitor will go into stand-by mode, but some monitors don't bother displaying that and just seem to shut off)

 

Jenrai