eVGA 6800 Vanilla Troubles HELP!

sgrim80

Junior Member
Dec 15, 2005
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Hi guys, I just put a eVGA 6800 Vanilla agp card in my system. I can play SOF II at 1280x1024 resolution just fine. I can run 3dmark just fine and get a score of about 3400. When I try to play Need for speed most wanted at high resolutions I get crazy video distortions and strange colored geometric shapes. I have installed the latest drivers off of evga's website and reinstalled my shipset drivers. I am running a 350 watt power supply. Any ideas what my problem could be? Or is it just the game?

 

zagood

Diamond Member
Mar 28, 2005
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What brand/moel power supply?

Are you testing with 3DMark03 or 05?

Have you tried to overclock or unlock?

-z
 

sgrim80

Junior Member
Dec 15, 2005
14
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0
Originally posted by: zagood
What brand/moel power supply?

Are you testing with 3DMark03 or 05?

Have you tried to overclock or unlock?

-z


Testing with 3dmark05. The card is totally stock, have not tried to do anything but make it work the way it is supposed to. The power supply is from an enlight case, its a 350 watt p/s not sure of the model right now.
 

zagood

Diamond Member
Mar 28, 2005
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Crack your case open, there should be a decal on the PSU that lists its specs. Check what it says next to +12v (looking for the amps on the +12v rail - number followed with an "a").

-z
 

Wolfshanze

Senior member
Jan 21, 2005
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While you've got the case open, make sure you plugged the molex power connector to the eVGA 6800NU. You did plug the extra power to the card, right?

Also, I wouldn't bother with the drivers on eVGA's website, whatever they may be.

Go directly to NVidia's website and get the most current official drivers from NVidia's website for your card.
 

zagood

Diamond Member
Mar 28, 2005
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Okay, gotta bolt, but here's the deal...

You need probably about 24 amps on the +12v rail of your power supply to run that card consistently. If your power supply is less than that (which I'm almost positive it is) you should get a new one.

However, just because your power supply should "probably" be replaced, doesn't mean that there's not a problem with your game or video card.

Update the latest driver patches for NFS:MW.

From EA Support Site (which sucks btw)
-
Make sure that you have all the patches that are available for the game.
Click on the Start button.
Select All Programs.
In the list of programs find the game folder.
The default should be in the EAGames or EASports folders.
In the game folder there should be a Check for Update or Auto-Update icon. Double-click on that icon.
It should now log on and check for updates.
-

Also try starting in SafeMode. There should be an option for it in your Start programs list for NFS.

-z
 

zagood

Diamond Member
Mar 28, 2005
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Originally posted by: Wolfshanze
While you've got the case open, make sure you plugged the molex power connector to the eVGA 6800NU. You did plug the extra power to the card, right?

Also, I wouldn't bother with the drivers on eVGA's website, whatever they may be.

Go directly to NVidia's website and get the most current official drivers from NVidia's website for your card.

I agree with the drivers, I'm using the 81.85 drivers from NV and they're working great.

If the molex connector wasn't plugged in, machine wouldn't boot.

-z
 

Wolfshanze

Senior member
Jan 21, 2005
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If the molex connector wasn't plugged in, machine wouldn't boot.
I've seen those cards boot without the molex connector... they just won't do sh!t for 3D gaming without the connector (the card auto throttles-down).
 

sgrim80

Junior Member
Dec 15, 2005
14
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Originally posted by: Wolfshanze
If the molex connector wasn't plugged in, machine wouldn't boot.
I've seen those cards boot without the molex connector... they just won't do sh!t for 3D gaming without the connector (the card auto throttles-down).

I have the molex connector plugged in and it is the only plug on that line plugged in I did reverify that it was plugged in last night by reseating it. The drivers are version 81.94 on eVGA's site. I also tried the latest whql drivers on nvidia's site..thats what I started off with.

Whats a good power supply for not a whole load of cash? When running 3dmark I hear a low whine like a capacitor leaking or something. Could that be the psu straining?

I will check the p/s sticker when I get home for specs.
 

sgrim80

Junior Member
Dec 15, 2005
14
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The +12 rail says 18A

GPS-350BB-104D is the Enlight p/s model number

NFS says no patch available when I check for it.

I have also blue screened twice now since installing this card when the system is just at idle overnight. How can I test the card to see if it is what is causing the issue. IRQL_LESS_OR_EQUAL
 

SergeC

Senior member
May 7, 2005
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Whether or not the PS is actually causing this problem, a cheap PS is nothing but a major headache. I'm with the other guys, a replacement is a good investment, whether or not it actually fixws the issue (which is certainly might)
 

sgrim80

Junior Member
Dec 15, 2005
14
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A reccomendation would be nice...It's for a soyo 865 board if it matters. two hard drives, 1 dvd burner, and 3ghz p4 chip, a sound card, and a nic.
 

zagood

Diamond Member
Mar 28, 2005
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Pretty sure the setting is "Assign IRQ to VGA"

Try that.

Even if it works, you should still get a new PSU.

-z
 

sgrim80

Junior Member
Dec 15, 2005
14
0
0
Hi Guys, Thanks for your help so far. I just got off the phone with eVGA tech support and they checked all my IRQ's. All my cards are on different ones so its not that. He had me install a program called "speedfan" to check PSU voltages. We think we found the problem. Tell me what you guys think after you look at this screenshot of my voltages. Pay special attention to the +12v and -12v.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a108/sgrim80/psu.jpg

+12 is 11.37v and -12 is .56v

Time for a new psu huh?
 

zagood

Diamond Member
Mar 28, 2005
4,102
0
71
Yup, looks like the first diagnostic was the right one...

Read that guide I pointed you to, and let us know what happens when you get a new PSU.

Glad to help!

EDIT: If the PSU takes care of your problems, get a Zalman vf700Cu or Arctic Silencer to keep the heat down for overclocking...Here's my scores with the XFX 6800NU (not done yet though...still working on the memory timings with Nibitor). I'm getting up to about 65c with the Zalman, so wouldn't recommend trying it with stock cooling.

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm05=1545146
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=4464241

-z
 

sgrim80

Junior Member
Dec 15, 2005
14
0
0
Thanks man! How bad is it to keep running my system? How bad is this for the hard drives with this crappy power?

Originally posted by: zagood
Yup, looks like the first diagnostic was the right one...

Read that guide I pointed you to, and let us know what happens when you get a new PSU.

Glad to help!

EDIT: If the PSU takes care of your problems, get a Zalman vf700Cu or Arctic Silencer to keep the heat down for overclocking...Here's my scores with the XFX 6800NU (not done yet though...still working on the memory timings with Nibitor). I'm getting up to about 65c with the Zalman, so wouldn't recommend trying it with stock cooling.

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm05=1545146
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=4464241

-z

 

Captante

Lifer
Oct 20, 2003
30,349
10,872
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Your system is fairly modest in terms of power consumption, so a high quality 400 watt PSU should do fine ... look for a good price on an Antec Smart Power or Fortron (FSP) anywhere in that range & you should be fine ... for a bit more cash the Seasonic 430 watt is very good & very quiet too.
 

zagood

Diamond Member
Mar 28, 2005
4,102
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71
As long as you don't stress it too much (like playing hardcore 3d apps all the time) you should be fine. Most errors you'll get will be software/OS related. Shouldn't affect your processor or HD's though as long as you don't push it back too far.

If you are playing 3d apps, play them on low settings so the power consumption isn't too high.

Keep in mind you may have still an IRQ conflict, sometimes the AGP crosses over with the SATA drives or USB, so if you just went through your PCI cards with the tech it might have been glossed over. Not knowing your exact conversation though I don't know.

-z
 

sgrim80

Junior Member
Dec 15, 2005
14
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0
I bought a seasonic power supply today from a local vendor. It was all they had. 400 watt dual rail unit. 29 watts or something like that. I'll put it in when I get home...it should do the trick.
 

sgrim80

Junior Member
Dec 15, 2005
14
0
0
Ok, put my new power supply in and I still get the same voltages and same problems. Still 11.37 on the +12 side and .5 on the -12 side.

Come to think of it, everything is low. Is this the sign of a dying motherboard? Maybe the voltage regulators are shot? Or capacitors?
 

CKXP

Senior member
Nov 20, 2005
926
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does your bios has the option to disable "fastwrites", sometimes having fastwrites enable can cause an issue with certain games.
 

CKXP

Senior member
Nov 20, 2005
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Originally posted by: sgrim80
Probably, but that doesn't fix my voltages.


true... so you're still getting low voltages, you can definetly rule out the new power supply, Seasonic is a reputable brand. have you check the capacitors on your board to see if any might be bulging from top, or even leaking. i did a google search and found this article:

Have you noticed this?

Let?s say you are on your trusty computer which has a fairly clean OS, not too many major programs and an internet application or two. You are chugging along, internet surfing and listening to music at the same time through the media player when all of a sudden your computer simply shuts off and starts to boot again. If this does not occur, you may be running along when all of sudden the screen freezes, no mouse movements, nothing. Finally, if during your normal boot screen you hear a lot of beeps from the system computer that you have never heard before AND you have not added any new hardware or software, this can indicate problems with the capacitors. If this has been happening infrequently in the past and is becoming more and more frequent, your board may be dying?

Oftentimes this will happen most frequently during a graphics intensive application, such as a game or video editing session. This has caused many people to target their graphics card, which may or may not be the correct diagnosis.

On the other hand, if you were to get a BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) with a message such as IRQ not equal to or less than, or something pointing to a *.dll file, more than likely you have an OS issue or hardware issue other than the capacitors on the motherboard. That is more than likely not something that this review will help with?

What you should take away from this is that if the computer shuts down for no apparent reason, beeps during boot for no apparent reason, or freezes for no apparent reason you may want to check your capacitors. This is not the only problem that can cause these errors, but it is becoming more and more prevalent, and worth a look?

heres the link. http://www.epinions.com/content_3906576516


 

zagood

Diamond Member
Mar 28, 2005
4,102
0
71
"On the other hand, if you were to get a BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) with a message such as IRQ not equal to or less than, or something pointing to a *.dll file, more than likely you have an OS issue or hardware issue other than the capacitors on the motherboard."

Might also just be your motherboard sensors not reading the voltages correctly. Pretty common. Only way to accurately test your voltages is to use a multimeter.

Try this, found on another forum for verifying drivers:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q244617/

After you're done shut off verification, eats up sys resources.

-z