6850 went the same way as my 9800gt... Is it my PSU?!

[Bearach]

Recently I was in the market for a new graphics card, and I posted on here a thread to help decide between a 460 1GB or a 6850.

I decided to go for the Asus 6850 cause it gave the best frame rates at the resolution I wanted, and with less power draw from most of the benchmarks I found.

I was so worried about their drivers despite people saying it was just "fud". So as soon as I got the card, I started testing it, and I was very impressed with the speed and graphics quality.

It did seem sharper and crisper than my old 9800GT at gaming, which was nice and ran RE5 and other games perfect... it was a huge step up from a 9800GT in speed.

After about 3-4 hours of it being installed the card started to show pink across an Internet Explorer window, then Windows literally shifted over to one side bringing the left over to the right and so I thought... oh no, driver problem (didn't have any troubles whatsoever in game).

Reset the computer because it halted and now, it's doing all the same things as my 9800GT. Coloured lines all across the BIOS, incapable of loading the driver in Windows, yet able to display Windows properly in most cases.

I have a replacement that will be on it's way soon but don't want to install the new one into this system with the possibility it could happen again. It's been running a 8800GT perfectly for about a week (before I got the 6850), and now to be safe (as the card is not mine, it's my brothers) I put the 7600GT back in that I had in for a while.

Both these cards have not had this issue happen to them (but could be just lucky). The 7600GT is within the 75w of the PCI-Express slot and the 8800GT is the lower memory edition (so maybe within the boundaries of the PSU?) Could this all be down to a PSU issue?

Here is my system specifications... The PSU is pretty old, had in my old machine before this one.

PSU : OCZ Technology ModStream 520W
CPU : AMD Phenom II 965 @ stock with Zalman CNPS9500A Heatsink/Fan
Memory : 8GB OCZ DDR3 1333Mhz 1.65v
Motherboard : Asus M4A89TD PRO
Monitor : Samsung B2230H
Optical Drive : Samsung SH-B083L
Hard Drive : Western Digital WD10EARS 1TB (Green Series)

There is plenty of USB devices too, gamepads, webcam and card readers.

I'm thinking of getting a new PSU, which is http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135514 but just want to make sure and get an idea, of other possible culprits.

 

[daRkKon]

first off, what drivers are you running?

try uninstalling drivers, reset card, then install 10.10 or 10.12

your power supply is normally a strong unit but in order to test it you would need a multimeter to see what the 12+ rail is putting out as well as the 5v and 7v.

 

[Bearach]

Don't think it has anything to do with drivers, cause it has the graphical issues in the BIOS, where drivers are not loaded.

Though I have used the 10.10 on the Asus disk and the 10.12 from AMD's site and still the same.

Tried the card in another system and it had the same issues with the BIOS and not loading of drivers.

I don't have access to a multimeter though...

 

[oldswab]

tried taking the card out and reseatning? Verified the fan is spinning somewhat at idle?

 

[Bearach]

The card has been reseated, in two different systems, the fan does spin and it does display an image on the screen, just that it's corrupt now.

Ironically in Windows (without the driver loaded) there is no indication of corruption most of the time... but in the BIOS there is lots of coloured dots and lines everywhere.

This is exactly the same as the 9800GT is too.

 

[notty22]

Is your pci-e clocks locked at 100mhz ?
That can do 'things' sometimes.

How old is the psu ? You can use HW monitor to see software readings of the voltage rails. Also Everest which is now AIDA64 for sensor readings.

 

[Bearach]

The PSU is about 4-5 years old, closer to 5 years old now. The PCI-Express is locked at 100Mhz, and I will quickly run that application to see what the software readings are. I will post the numbers as soon as I'm done.

According to HWMonitor :

CPU VCORE Value 1.34 Min 1.04 Max 1.38
+3.3V Value 3.31 Min 3.31 Max 3.33
+12V Value 12.61 Min 12.41 Max 12.67
-12V Value -6.34 Min -6.40 Max - -6.27
VBAT Value 3.26 Min 3.26 Max 3.26

This is with the 7600GT and without the USB devices attached though.

AIDA64 says pretty much the same, but I can't tell if it's the same +12v cause it's a trial version.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Is your pci-e clocks locked at 100mhz ?
That can do 'things' sometimes.

How old is the psu ? You can use HW monitor to see software readings of the voltage rails. Also Everest which is now AIDA64 for sensor readings.

I stopped right there, HW monitor is a horrible program, specially to look at voltages.

 

[RavenSEAL]

The PSU is about 4-5 years old, closer to 5 years old now. The PCI-Express is locked at 100Mhz, and I will quickly run that application to see what the software readings are. I will post the numbers as soon as I'm done.

According to HWMonitor :

CPU VCORE Value 1.34 Min 1.04 Max 1.38
+3.3V Value 3.31 Min 3.31 Max 3.33
+12V Value 12.61 Min 12.41 Max 12.67
-12V Value -6.34 Min -6.40 Max - -6.27
VBAT Value 3.26 Min 3.26 Max 3.26

This is with the 7600GT and without the USB devices attached though.

You need a new PSU,it's too old, 5 years is the limit in my book.

 

[notty22]

It probably could not hurt going for a HIGHER quality PSU.
I googled that model http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104155
Its a lower quality 500 with only 330 watts on the 12v rail.
Not the most important factor, but that psu has the little red voltage selection switch, which is a sign of older cheap designs.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Here is the deal, for the HD6850, you need 30A on on the +12V.

With that being said, any Antec or Corsair supply over 500W will supply that need.

Expensive units? Yes
Overly well built? Yes
High quality product? Yes

Pick one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139004
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371016

This is what i got my HD6850 900/1100 running on:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371007

That's just how it is...

 

[Bearach]

According to the Asus box, they say it requires a minimum 500w +12v 40amp... So I'm guessing 28amps max is not good.

I should have checked that, but the 9800GT did the same thing so just had to make sure as it had me worried.

 

[RavenSEAL]

According to the Asus box, they say it requires a minimum 500w +12v 40amp... So I'm guessing 28amps max is not good.

I should have checked that, but the 9800GT did the same thing so just had to make sure as it had me worried.

Probably a non-reference design.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

It's quite possible the power supply is dying and not able to deliver it's rated wattage or giving you unstable voltages.

If that power supply were delivering its rated wattage with stable voltages it would have no problems powering your system.

Changing the power supply would be a good idea regardless if it's the real culprit. Pick up a good unit, and one that is 80 Plus efficient. That power supply is probably below 70% efficient, so much of the electricity is just wasted and turned to heat.

The recommendation on the Asus box is over the top. They recommend over the top to cover the worse case scenario. Any modern power supply, that is 80 Plus Certified, and by a reputable manufacturer (Antec, Corsair, Seasonic, even the new OCZ power supplies) labeled as 500W or more should do the trick just fine. You could get by with a lower unit, a quality 400W one, but you should get a little bit more instead of just enough.

Now there are other culprits that could be causing your issue. After the power supply I would peg the problem probably on the RAM. After that I would guess the motherboard being the issue. Or maybe it's a combination of the motherboard not liking the RAM you have. I'm assuming you have 4 sticks in your system. Have you tried taking out sticks of RAM? Ran memtest?

 

[Bearach]

I have 2 sticks, they're 4GB each and it was tested when installed for 12 hours with memtest.

You think I should test again to make sure?

 

[Markfw]

I would have to say its a decent possibility that your PSU is the culprit. The 12v rail is too high. I like Corsair, and 650 not not overkill. I have a 700 watt OCZ > 85% efficiency, on a 1090T and a 260 video card. I couldn't get 4 ghz(3600 not even stable). I replaced it with a Corsair AX850 and now have 2 460 gtx cards, and now it does 4 ghz perfectly stable.

 

[Termie]

The card has been reseated, in two different systems, the fan does spin and it does display an image on the screen, just that it's corrupt now.

Ironically in Windows (without the driver loaded) there is no indication of corruption most of the time... but in the BIOS there is lots of coloured dots and lines everywhere.

This is exactly the same as the 9800GT is too.

Are you saying the card shows corrupted images in two different computers? Did the 9800gt also show corrupted images in two different systems? Are you using the same monitor? Can you try it with another one? Unlikely since you're saying the system halted and needed a restart, but it could be...but even more unlikely two different video cards would fail in exactly the same way (pink lines, etc.).

Does anyone know if it's important that his -12v line is at -6v?

And while you're testing, pull one stick of memory out. It's always easier on the system and will eliminate one potential culprit.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

It wouldn't hurt to run memtest again but so far it's looking more likely your power supply is the issue. I assign it an 85% chance of being the problem. Its age, and I assumed been used for a long time, the fact that power supplies during its time were not built with +12V in mind, there's probably dust on the inside causing it to heat up, it's inefficient which also adds heat, and power supplies typically perform worse when they get hotter, all point to the power supply being the issue.

There are 400W units that are actually more powerful for today's systems than that 520W OCZ.

 

[Bearach]

Are you saying the card shows corrupted images in two different computers? Did the 9800gt also show corrupted images in two different systems? Are you using the same monitor? Can you try it with another one? Unlikely since you're saying the system halted and needed a restart, but it could be...but even more unlikely two different video cards would fail in exactly the same way (pink lines, etc.).

Does anyone know if it's important that his -12v line is at -6v?

And while you're testing, pull one stick of memory out. It's always easier on the system and will eliminate one potential culprit.

Both cards show this problem in both the systems I've tried, they both first exhibited the symptoms on my computer which has the Samsung, the other system is using RGB and is a Viewsonic 22".

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Both cards show this problem in both the systems I've tried, they both first exhibited the symptoms on my computer which has the Samsung, the other system is using RGB and is a Viewsonic 22".

Your power supply is starting to look like a killer. Unless it's getting framed by your motherboard.

 

[Termie]

Pick one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139004
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371016

These are good choices. If you can't buy these where you live, then get any Seasonic, Corsair, or Antec power supply in the 500-600 watt range. Other brands are fine but these are the best.

Both cards show this problem in both the systems I've tried, they both first exhibited the symptoms on my computer which has the Samsung, the other system is using RGB and is a Viewsonic 22".

Definitely the video cards then, since you've tried both on two computers/monitors.

Your power supply is starting to look like a killer. Unless it's getting framed by your motherboard.

Yup - sounds like it's time to invest in a new PSU. Unlikely the new motherboard is doing this damage.

 

[evolucion8]

Swap that PSU!! PSU tends to age due to capacitator aging. At two years of constant usage, a PSU may loose up to 20% of its power output. So at 5 years like that PSU, would means that the PSU is delivering less than 400W which is too inadequate for a Phenom II and a Radeon HD 69x0 series. It could even kill your motherboard if its stress the capacitors too due to noise or invariable power.

 

[Matrices]

When you pop both cards into another system, they both show the same symptoms, as you say. However, this is already after the point at which they have shown said symptoms in your primary system, correct?

In this case, your PSU is probably damaging your cards, and so of course when you try your card in another system, it is already too late.

 

[Bearach]

When you pop both cards into another system, they both show the same symptoms, as you say. However, this is already after the point at which they have shown said symptoms in your primary system, correct?

In this case, your PSU is probably damaging your cards, and so of course when you try your card in another system, it is already too late.

Correct, it's already done the damage. It was just to test after the fact.

Going to order one of these, and install before I even install the replacement. http://www.dabs.com/products/corsair...-atx-4RY9.html

 

[Patrick Wolf]

I had the Modstream 520. It ran great for 3-4 years before suddenly dying.

Been using the TX650 for almost 2 years.