Possible Solutions to DOOM 3 Graphical problems

I was having problems with DOOM 3 on Windows 7 and I *THINK* I have fixed them. Below are examples of what I am seeing.

Normal DOOM3 Screenshot
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z...BAD SCREENSHOT

I was able to play perfectly fine the first night. This morning I loaded the game and got to MARS CITY. Once that map loaded, I started getting weird graphics. Exiting the game and reloading gave me what you see above. Sometimes the video will reset to 640 X 480 randomly. Sometimes AA will reset to 0. The variables in the DOOMCONFIG.cfg file were getting reset to r_mode 3 and r_multisamples 0. But then if I reloaded the game 2 or three more times r_mode might go back to "8". Weird.

First thing I thought was overheating graphics card. Using GPU-Z I got a baseline of 35-38 C. After running DOOM 3 (was able to get it to run a bit) I got an elevated temp of 38-43 C. Not exactly cooking.

Second thing I did was create an autoexec.cfg file in the \base directory with the following:

seta com_allowconsole "1"
seta r_shadows "0"            //didn't fix graphics prob
seta r_brightness "1.5"
seta r_gamma "1.5"
seta r_swapInterval "1"       //vsync
seta r_customHeight "1600"    //customs should be ignored if mode=8 or 3 iirc
seta r_customWidth "1200"
seta r_mode "8"
seta r_multiSamples "8"		//can be 16 but causes ♥♥♥♥up?
seta image_lodbias "0"          //can be -2
seta image_anisotropy "8"		//can be 8
seta image_filter "GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_LINEAR"

seta m_smooth "1"
seta m_strafeScale "6.25"
seta m_yaw "0.022"
seta m_pitch "0.015"
seta sensitivity "1.4"

seta com_showFPS "1"
seta g_nightmare "1"
seta com_videoRam "256"		//was 128
seta com_purgeAll "1"			//was 0  resets memory when loading maps

I wasn't able to get consistent results.

Then I exited out of XFIRE but that wasn't the ONLY change I made.

Assuming I have fixed the problem (loaded the game a few times now with no problems). Look into the following:
-Exit Xfire if you are running it.
-Tell the game to purge memory before loading the next level com_purgeall 1
-Don't run r_multisamples higher than 8 (Antialiasing)
-set com_videoRAM to 256 (tried 1024 but that may have caused a malocclusion error)



Those were the last things I did I think.

NOTE: I am using an old CRT monitor because the refresh rate doesn't hurt my eyes as much. Although those new 120 Hz widescreens have my attention. Normally I bump up the refresh rate to 85 Hz but haven't done it yet. Need to dig into my ETQW config as I forgot the variable.

Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600) (7600.win7_gdr.100618-1621)
BIOS: BIOS Date: 02/24/10 12:23:42 Ver: 08.00.15
          Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU         920  @ 2.67GHz (8 CPUs), ~2.7GHz
 Memory: 6144MB RAM
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7600.16385 32bit Unicode

 Card name: ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series 
       Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
          Chip type: ATI display adapter (0x6899)
           DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
         Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_6899&SUBSYS_E140174B&REV_00
     Display Memory: 3824 MB
   Dedicated Memory: 1012 MB
      Shared Memory: 2811 MB
       Current Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (75Hz)
       Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor
      Monitor Model: G90f-3
         Monitor Id: VSCC91A
        Native Mode: 1280 x 1024(p) (85.024Hz)
        Output Type: HD15
        Driver Name: aticfx64.dll,aticfx64.dll,aticfx64.dll,aticfx32,aticfx32,aticfx32,atiumd64.dll,atidxx64.dll,atidxx64.dll,atiumdag,atidxx32,atidxx32,atiumdva,atiumd6a.cap,atitmm64.dll
Driver File Version: 8.17.0010.1036 (English)
     Driver Version: 8.753.0.0
        DDI Version: 10.1

Note: I think I tried r_multisamples 0 and it didn't help so I don't think that limiting the AA was the problem in my case.

[Gameslaya]

Wiggin, you are nothing but a filthy Third.

Sorry, had to do it.

In any case, I will try your method after the vid_restart line I forgot to add.

hahah Well done. Well done.