5850 fried?

[redrider4life4]

Hey guys,

So this might be 100% my fault, might not be, you tell me. So I got my 5850 2.5-3 years ago, apparently it has 2 6 pin power connectors and I've only had one connector in it this entire time. Not sure why I didn't investigate this further later on, maybe I just screwed up on install.

Anyway so last night I was playing and the entire screen would just randomly freeze and I would have to restart my computer, last night I turned my pc off and I go to turn it on this morning and the monitor isn't recognized, figure maybe it's a video card problem. I swap out my 5850 for an old 7800 gt and everything fires up perfect.

What can I do to see if my card is toast? I don't have the 2nd 6 pin power cable for my card atm, it is at my parents house so should I get the 2nd 6 pin connector to see if that works before calling it quits on the 5850?

Thanks,

-Mike

 

[Arkadrel]

Id get a 2nd 6pin and try again.

*it could be your PSU as well, do you have another card that uses a 6pin power cable as well? to test?
Maybe years of stress on psu, supplying the power needed from just 1 6pin instead of noraml 2 put too much stress on it, or something.

That would be ideal, preferably before you even buy the extra 6pin power cable Y split thingy
(cuz if it is the psu, you could just opt for one that has 2).

 

[KingFatty]

Yeah maybe the video card was "sucking" on the single 6-pin power cord too much in order to compensate for having only one connector, and your power supply couldn't handle the load, and now that 6-pin power cord is messed up? I'd suggest swapping another power supply if you have a spare, or maybe don't use the 6-pin power cord at all, and get 2 new sources for the two 6-pin power inputs (maybe two adapters that use molex connectors).

It just seems odd that it would break itself by having too little power?

 

[redrider4life4]

Yeah the card I used to test (7800) I plugged in the same 6 pin connector so the connector does work. I don't think the connector is bad, but it may be possible it is having trouble flowing that much power. I'll have to run to best buy today to buy some modular cables for my power supply to get the 2nd 6 pin.

 

[Termie]

The card really shouldn't have ever run with one 6-pin connected. Maybe you just got lucky. Definitely don't try to run it again until you have a second 6-pin available.

 

[KingFatty]

Maybe the card somehow was able to pull the full amount of power through that one 6-pin port, and maybe that overwhelmed the cards 6-pin port?

Have you closely examined the front and back of the card to see if any of the components have been compromised? Maybe a bulging (or blown) capacitor or power MOSFET etc.? I'd guess the problem will be invisible, but if you spot a blackened or bulging/blown component, that could be an easier issue to solve.

Just wondering, did you try to run the card by moving the 6-pin power cord to the empty port on the card? I don't suggest doing it, but wanted to know if you tried it and got nothing. Maybe, after connecting both 6-pin power cords, the card will be able to work by pulling all the needed power through the other port (assuming the first port is blown), only to eventually blow again when the second port gives out. So even if it works with both ports provided with power, this could be a lurking issue if the first port is dead and the second port allows the card to suck down enough juice through one power cable.

 

[The_Golden_Man]

I just checked up on the 5850's TDP. Turns out it's 151 Watts. So when using one 6-pin power connector (75W capable) + 75 Watts coming from the PCI-E lane the card had just enough power. I doubt thread starter would hit the cards TDP very often, if ever. As long as he did not overclock? If he had used the last 6-pin connector the power delivery would be up to 225 Watts.

 

[redrider4life4]

I'm waiting for OCZ to send me another power cable, I might stop by best buy tomorrow to buy a powersupply just to test to make sure the card still works with both 6 pins plugged in, otherwise I have to RMA the card, it is a 3 year warranty thank god.

Will they give me a used 5850 or a refurbished newer card if the card is dead?

 

[redrider4life4]

Hey guys,

So I got some extensive testing done last night, basically the problem is still happening. I actually replace the stock cpu cooler, it had a lot of dust and what not so I figured might as well.

Problem happened about 1 hour into a gaming session, the computer locked up (no blue screen) and I had to hard restart. Computer starts up against, it is in the middle of loading a game and freezes and blue screens, get the physical memory dump and a driver error. After this it froze and I had to turn it off again.

The difference is this time I went to turn the power on and the mb kept getting power every few seconds for a split second, I could see the fans start to light up blue and the fans start to go on, but it wouldn't fire up. I left it for a solid few minutes then tried again, now it starts up.

After this I let it start up a few times, and it would just completely freeze without a blue screen when loading a game. Basically I can use it for just browsing the internet, but as soon as I start playing a game (does it the most) or watching a movie (takes a bit but it will freeze it) the computer just freezes and the monitor sometimes goes all pixelated.

I have tried the below and none of it worked. So annoying because for so long this thing ran flawlessly.

2 different GPUs (5850 and gt 7800)
2 different sets of memory modules
replacing the cpu cooler

 

[Arkadrel]

Well if it happends reguardless of; differnt ram moduals used, differnt gpu....

the issue probably lies else where.... could it be corrupt software? badly coded game?

Maybe its time to reinstall windows + that game, see if things work better lol

 

[KingFatty]

Monitor your temperatures, maybe somehow something is getting hot.

If it only happens when you are stressing the components, that's when they would heat up. So see if you have a temperature monitoring program that can show you the various temperatures of your CPU, motherboard, etc.

Maybe one of the heatsinks on your motherboard chipset (not the CPU) came loose? If your motherboard has active fans for the chipsets, see if they are stuck. Maybe your CPU is overheating?

 

[redrider4life4]

I just downloaded realtemp and my cpu never got over 76, it idles in the mid 30s to low 40s, no freezes so far today. Maybe I'll just take everything apart, clean it, and put it back together in case there are any lose connections somewhere

 

[Termie]

Wait, are you still trying to run the 5850 with a single PCIe power connector?

 

[redrider4life4]

Nah, have the 7800GT in there now until I can get 2 6 pins connected.

 

[Termie]

It's possible, but hopefully not likely, that running the 5850 in there for so long without the second power cable has damaged the motherboard PCIe slot or one of the rails of the psu. Can you switch the PCIe power cable to the other connector on the psu? (I'm assuming it's modular)

If it works with the 7800gt, it would mean something is wrong with the psu's other connector.

 

[redrider4life4]

Well I got both power cables hooked up now to the 5850 and no issues for 2 days straight. Diablo 3 and BF3 both run flawless now. I was able to turn the graphics up in Diablo 3 to pretty much the top settings when before it lagged. I've been putting computers together for almost 15 years, can't believe I missed something as simple as a power cord for almost 3 years.

I was going to buy a 7970 or twin frozr 7950, but since my card just got new life I am hanging onto it until after xmas.

 

[KingFatty]

Well, keep in mind the card should have sounded an alarm and refused to work based on the thing you missed, I say you get a MacGyver pat on the back for getting it to work at all in that configuration.

 

[Termie]

Glad you got it working.

If you overclock that 5850 a bit, you should be able to run BF3 on all high at 45fps (1080p) or 50fps (1680x1050). It's a solid card given that it's now almost three years old.