E6600 can't get above 275fsb with new 4870 [SOLVED]

[MarkZ3]

[SOLVED] Too many things were connected on the same PSU rail. I changed a PCI-E connector for a normal one with an adapter and it works. [/SOLVED]

The cpu ran at 350+fsb with a 8800GTS but since I inserted my new 4870, it can't go above 275. Here's my system:

E6600 (stock runs at 266x9)
Gigabyte 965P-DS3 rev 3.3 (F12 bios)
OCZ DDR2-6400 platinum rev2
OCZ 720W powersupply
Visiontek Radeon 4870 / eVGA Geforce 8800GTS 640MB

I went back to the 8800gts and everything works fine. I can overclock no problem. Could it be a bug with the motherboard? Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Why can't you go above 275? stability?

 

[MarkZ3]

No, it's not booting. Everything seems to turn on except there's nothing on the screen. I don't hear any HDD activity so it doesn't look like it boots at all. I hear the GPU fan of the 4870 spinning pretty fast and it doesn't stop. Went I leave the fsb at 266, the GPU fan spins like that for a second and stops, then everything boots fine. There's probably a problem with the initialization of the card but I can't figure out why. I sent an email to Gigabyte support but I was hoping somebody had already seen the problem before.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

in your boot options turn off 'Quick boot' I did this and a problem what you are describing went away.

 

[MarkZ3]

Sorry, I don't have that option.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I had the same problem. I would overclock the fsb, hit the F10 key, reboot, and i'd get no screen. This other way i got it to work, was to unplug the actual monitor cable from the back of the card, boot the machine, gave it a few seconds and then plug the cable back in ... I know it sounds risky, don't do it if you don't feel comfortable.

 

[MarkZ3]

ok, I just tried that and it's still the same problem. Thanks for the suggestions, though.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

maybe the PSU is not adequate enough

 

[ther00kie16]

Have you updated the driver? The latest drivers are supposed to solve some known issues. I don't know what those issues were but it's a start.

 

[bcracer220]

u prolly forgot to lock your pci-e frequency at 100.

 

[MarkZ3]

Originally posted by: bcracer220
u prolly forgot to lock your pci-e frequency at 100.

I tried that.

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
maybe the PSU is not adequate enough

I doubt it, it's not a cheap PSU. It's a OCZ Extreme Gamer 700W (not 720W from my original post, sorry). It should be plenty power.

Originally posted by: ther00kie16
Have you updated the driver? The latest drivers are supposed to solve some known issues. I don't know what those issues were but it's a start.

I have the latest 'Hotfix', but my problem is before even starting Windows so it's not a driver problem.

 

[Conroe]

I had a similar experience going for a 7600gt to x1900xt with a Biostar Tforce 965pt. Before it could run 430 FSB but after it had problems going over 400. I decide it was power delivery problems with the mobo it's self.

 

[TC91]

is there a molex connector on the motherboard? if so, try connecting it if it hasnt already been connected.

 

[MyLeftNut]

Are the pci-e power cables plugged into the videocard and providing the power? Is your powersupply multi-railed or single railed? If multi-railed, perhaps one of the rails has too much connected to it and getting overloaded? Are the cpu and motherboard power seperated from the pci-e rails or combined?

 

[MarkZ3]

Originally posted by: TC91
is there a molex connector on the motherboard? if so, try connecting it if it hasnt already been connected.

molex connector? I suppose you mean a ATX 12V (4 pins), yes it is connected. I don't see any other power related connectors on this board (except for the 24-pins of course).

 

[MarkZ3]

Originally posted by: MyLeftNut
Are the pci-e power cables plugged into the videocard and providing the power? Is your powersupply multi-railed or single railed? If multi-railed, perhaps one of the rails has too much connected to it and getting overloaded? Are the cpu and motherboard power seperated from the pci-e rails or combined?

Both pci-e power cables are plugged. I don't know much about rails. Do you mean if they are on a single cable coming out of the PSU?

My PSU specs

I'll try to plug a different cable in the card with an adapter.

 

[MarkZ3]

It worked! I guess there was too much on the same rail. Thanks MyLeftNut and everyone!

 

[VirtualLarry]

So was the solution to use a dual 4-pin molex-to-PCI-E 6-pin power adaptor, or to stop using that adaptor and use the native PCI-E 6-pin power connector coming off of the PSU?

 

[MarkZ3]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
So was the solution to use a dual 4-pin molex-to-PCI-E 6-pin power adaptor, or to stop using that adaptor and use the native PCI-E 6-pin power connector coming off of the PSU?

"use a dual 4-pin molex-to-PCI-E 6-pin power adaptor" both of which I suppose are on a different rail.