9800 gtx weird problem

[Mikx85]

Greetings everyone,

I have a question regarding this Graphic card that i bought today for a low price.
After i installed her and saw the performance... googled around and alot of other stuff ive finally met this nice forum where i want to share the problem (or myb its not a direct problem?):

1. My Configuration:
Processor: Intel I3 2100 3,0GHZ (perhaps 3,1 ghz)
Mainboard: http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P8H61M_LX_PLUS_R20/
Hard Drive: Some old 7200 Rpm / Seagate sata II drive (250 gb)
RAM: 1333 MGHZ 1x 4gb / 1x 8 GB = 12 at all
1x Combo cd/dvd drive (aswell sata)
OLD Sagitta Raidmax with 2 active LED 80mm coolers (1 old is defect and NOT connected to my psu)
Graphics: Earlier ATI 4670 HD radeon - worked WELL!,
now: Nvidia 9800GTX

PSU: Fortron Fsp400 - 60 APN 400 W

Problem: low fps 5 -15 in games (TESO 4-10 fps b4: 29 - 60)/ secondary Molex is not yet plugged in!
I know what the most of u are going to say now: "change ur PSU "
I have another old PSU CODEGEN 500 W model 300xa
(where the guys from the store told me 500 w is with this setup just worser then our 400 w - i where thinking "hey ok i dont know alot about PSU but infact usually more is better or not?)

As i noticed the dropdown of my performance i where a bit frustrated at all, spend some money to recieve alot lower perform ...
That guy who sold me this card told in any case "IT WILL WORK with only 1 molex but to have 2 Is extremly better, so far thats true - he didnt lie" but i where already starting to wonder about that on some forums where i saw that even guys with good 500 W PSUS had problems to turn the pc on with this graphic card - now how this can be when my psu is even extreme lower then theyr???
Tomorrow im going to buy another molex and plug it in this graphic card...
Do u all agree that with my current setup (and this PSU) it will perform well if i plug the second molex in and even better then on my old graphic 4670 HD?
Im thinking also about to install this graphic card on a pentium 4 (3,0 ghz pc) just in case something bad is going to happen bcs of this stuff like 12v 17 AMP i dont have really any clue and to be honest im afraid of to burn something down.
On that other pc i have a connected ATA drive HDD (40 gb oldie) +pentium 4 3,0 Ghz with 2 gb ram AND NOTHING ELSE no floppys.
Dont get me wrong i understand alot of PCS but... power and PSUS isnt my stuff to be honest.

At last case:
With my current setup (i3) will i be able to use this graphic card at MAXIMUM power if im going to buy the following PSU:
http://www.game-debate.com/psu/index.php?ps_id=219&psu=MS%20Industrial%20PRO-550ATX%20550W
with 2 molex?

a fast help would be really appreciated... not that im frustrated, aswell im that confused because everyone is saying something different on any other forum.
Excuses for my bad english also but its my third

PS: i calculated the power b4 i bought this card on : http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

 

[Smoblikat]

Have you updated drivers?
Please plug in ALL applicable power cables.
If you are getting a new PSU, you should get one from a good brand. An antec 350w - 400w should be plenty for your system and still be reasonably priced.

 

[Mikx85]

Ty for this quick answer but in my country they do not import that much, first time i hear about that type of psu... here are basicly all of Codegen frontier.. Spire and similar, the expensive ones are Fortron.
Besides that im going now to reinstall my complete windows 7 Ultimate edition.
The reason to do this is just bcs C: is on 5 gb (10%) empty have to cleanup it. Can anything worse happen if i keep working with this graphic adapter? or should i switch fast to my old one till i reinstall...

 

[Deders]

You current PSU will be good enough for a 9800GT, might as well keep the Nvidia card in whilst you re-install to avoid driver conflicts with AMD.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I'm not sure I agree with the previous posters. I was under the impression that if an NV GPU didn't have enough power, that it would alarm (some have little buzzers mounted), or just wouldn't boot (or go into "3D mode" - aka black screen after Windows boot logo). Not that it would simply operate slowly.

I think that you should return the 9800GT/GTX to where you got it from, and get a newer card, like a 7750 GDDR5 version.

That reminds me, does your card have DDR2, DDR3, GDDR3, or GDDR5? Your slow performance could simply be from a card with a poor (slower) memory configuration.

It's a slow card though, regardless, compared with today's cards. I would try to get your money back, if you can, and save up a bit more.

After all, a GT240 or GT430 is pretty-much equal to that card, and they are newer and lower-power.

Oh, and in case you are wondering, your Fortron 400W is probably more powerful than your CodeGen 500W. Ratings aren't everything in PSUs, brand matters A LOT.

 

[Smoblikat]

I'm not sure I agree with the previous posters. I was under the impression that if an NV GPU didn't have enough power, that it would alarm (some have little buzzers mounted), or just wouldn't boot (or go into "3D mode" - aka black screen after Windows boot logo). Not that it would simply operate slowly.

I think that you should return the 9800GT/GTX to where you got it from, and get a newer card, like a 7750 GDDR5 version.

That reminds me, does your card have DDR2, DDR3, GDDR3, or GDDR5? Your slow performance could simply be from a card with a poor (slower) memory configuration.

It's a slow card though, regardless, compared with today's cards. I would try to get your money back, if you can, and save up a bit more.

After all, a GT240 or GT430 is pretty-much equal to that card, and they are newer and lower-power.

Oh, and in case you are wondering, your Fortron 400W is probably more powerful than your CodeGen 500W. Ratings aren't everything in PSUs, brand matters A LOT.

Im not sure if the 9800 will boot without all power connectors installed, but I think its worth mentioning that I have never seen a 9800GTX take molex. My old 9800GTX used 2 6 pin PCI-e cables. I think the card comes with GDDR3, and the 4670 is either DDR2 or DDR3, but the core config on a 9800GTX blows a 4670 away, so even with slightly slower memory, performance should improve. A GTS 250 is almost a direct equivalent to this card, so maybe try looking for one of those?

 

[Mikx85]

Well ty guys, after all ive reinstalled windows7 and got enough space now on C:
i turned my old Graphic card Ati radeon Hd 4670 Inside of it
(and i will not install gpu drivers for now till i have the required molex for the new graphic card).

@Virtuallarry ty also very much for compareing my 2 PSUS, but on all possible web pages and hardware analytics ive met a giant difference btw my current ATI HD 4670 and
9800 Gtx (both are DDr3), and therefore im not really someone who is complaining about 50 - 60 Fps in games, just wanna bit more then 4670 HD

http://www.hwcompare.com/3054/geforce-9800-gtx-vs-radeon-hd-4670-512mb/
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-HD-4670-vs-GeForce-GTX-9800

If u all agree what MY current psu depends, and nothing can go wrong with it im gonna buy this molex today and try it = 2 molex x6 pin for this 9800 gtx.
My friend also told me that he got a cheap (but unused PSU) with 1 molex integrated perhaps thats something even better then my current?, just in case i dont find a molex is it worth for 15€ here is it (if u have a moment time) :
http://www.fsp-europe.com/german/hexa400.php
(its the FSP 400 not 500)

ty all so much

edit: @Smoblikat
I have the same like u had b4, but thats why i where wondering why the graphic or pc is even booting if only working on 1 molex, even if it requires 2 of it! And im an idiot bcs its not molex its the PCI -e cable i wanna turn over a molex ! This:
http://www.advancetec.co.uk/media/c...daptor_-_4_pin_male_molex_to_6_pin_female.jpg

 

[Deders]

If u all agree what MY current psu depends, and nothing can go wrong with it im gonna buy this molex today and try it = 2 molex x6 pin for this 9800 gtx.
My friend also told me that he got a cheap (but unused PSU) with 1 molex integrated perhaps thats something even better then my current?, just in case i dont find a molex is it worth for 15€ here is it (if u have a moment time) :
http://www.fsp-europe.com/german/hexa400.php
(its the FSP 400 not 500)

ty all so much

edit: @Smoblikat
I have the same like u had b4, but thats why i where wondering why the graphic or pc is even booting if only working on 1 molex, even if it requires 2 of it! And im an idiot bcs its not molex its the PCI -e cable i wanna turn over a molex ! This:
http://www.advancetec.co.uk/media/c...daptor_-_4_pin_male_molex_to_6_pin_female.jpg

You'll want to get a dual molex to 6-pin like this:

Because molex wires are thinner than graphics card's wires and can heat up easier if high loads are put through them. This way the power and heat is spread between 2 of the wires. So make sure each molex connector you use is from a different wire coming from the PSU.

Your PSU is fairly decent for what is available to you but you may have to experiment with which molex's to connect them to as some PSU's have limits on the amount of power that can go through each 12v rail.

For instance if you have 2 12v rails, one might handle your CPU and 6-pin connector, and another might handle everything else which will include up to 75W for the graphics card supplied through the PCIe slot. (actually some 9800gt's have been measured to use up to 88W through the PCIe connector, but then some 9800GT's don't have any 6 pin connectors. I'm surprised yours has 2.

Either way it varies from PSU to PSU how they handle the power so unless there is any clear indication in the manual or on the internet for your specific model about what rails handle which parts of your PC you will have to try it and see if it shuts down when gaming at heavy load. If it does then try different molexes.

 

[Mikx85]

hey deders, greetings

if im gonna buy the PSU from my friend
do u think even this normal 1 - x6 molex will do it with his original PCI-E cable from his PSU? means 2x1 Pcie - molex + original cable?

HIs PSU:
http://www.fsp-europe.com/german/hexa400.php
i cannot connect 2 of such molex that u showed me beacuse my PSU dont have 4 free Slots (for hdd and such stuff where i could put 2x2 molex)

 

[Mikx85]

I would like to give a thanks to all peoples above who helped me with my problem, its solved and works very well. Thread can be closed if needed

 

[VirtualLarry]

Can you tell us what the performance problem was caused by first?