How can I tell if my 4850 is getting enough from PSU?

[bupkus]

I didn't have a big enough power supply so I put my VisionTek 4850 w/ 512 into an Antec box with a 380W 80-Certified PSU. Also cannibalized other parts:
Biostar MCP6P-M2 AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6150 / nForce 430
AMD Sempron LE-1100 Sparta 1.9GHz 256KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 45W Single-Core Processor
2x1GB DDR2

It booted, I installed Windows 7 32-bit, I moved the box next to my big LCD TV.
Now, after I inserted the dvi to hdmi converter into th e 4850 and tried to boot it beeps repeatedly. Sometimes it misses a beep but when it does a pair of small red LED's on the video card light up for a moment.
Is this an indication that the PSU just isn't enough?

 

[cusideabelincoln]

The PSU is enough. But something is wrong.

 

[FalseChristian]

That PSU isn't enough and it isn't supplying enough power to your 4850. Grab at least a 600w with 72 amps.

 

[brblx]

psu problems would manifest under a load. you should have no issues booting.

card firmly seated, 6pin firmly connected?

edit: completely disregard post above mine, you're clueless, dude. EA380 is capable of 27 amps on the 12v rails, 72 amps would be overkill for SLI...and would be indicative of a 800w+ psu.

 

[AzN]

brblx is right. boot issue is usually caused by something else. When you don't get enough power it usually happens under load like gaming like random reboots.

 

[yh125d]

Originally posted by: FalseChristian
That PSU isn't enough and it isn't supplying enough power to your 4850. Grab at least a 600w with 72 amps.

I very seriously for the good of your offspring that you are joking



OP, don't pay attention to his post, An antec 380 is plenty of power for that, especially with such a low power CPU

 

[nitromullet]

It booted, I installed Windows 7 32-bit, I moved the box next to my big LCD TV.
Now, after I inserted the dvi to hdmi converter into th e 4850 and tried to boot it beeps repeatedly. Sometimes it misses a beep but when it does a pair of small red LED's on the video card light up for a moment.
Is this an indication that the PSU just isn't enough?

If I am reading this correctly, you booted and successfully installed Win 7 with the 4850 installed, correct? Then after you moved the PC and tried to use the HDMI converter it stopped working...

If this is the case, my guess is the issue is either of the following:

1) Something came loose during the move. Re-seat all the cards, and check all power supply connections.

2) There is something wrong with the HDMI converter or it is not configured properly. If re-seating the cards and checking of power connections didn't help, try booting without the HDMI connector. No need to have the PC hooked up to a monitor, you'll know it failed if it beeps.

If it works without the HDMI connector, you've obviously found the culrpit. At that point it would time to start googling issues specific to using an HDMI adapter with a 4850.

If it still doesn't work without the HDMI connector (the same conditions you installed windows under), it's time to start doing to more research. Try to find the beep error codes for your motherboard in the manual, and start systematically removing hardware until it works.

..oh yeah, I just noticed your mobo is a NV board with onboard video, did you disable the onboard video in the BIOS?

that's all I could think of to check right now... hope it helps.

 

[Winterpool]

Friend of mine got the EarthWatts 380W on sale after I recommended it. For his uses it ought to have been sufficient (he was running Core 2 Duo E8400 and a basic nVidia 7300 card). Eventually he upgraded to an ASUS overclocked HD 4850. System began crashing under load. He blamed me for recommending an understrength power supply.

After I told him this was extremely unlikely, we conducted an investigation. CPU heatsink had somehow been knocked loose (perhaps when installing the Radeon HD 4850?). After reseating heatsink, temps dropped 30 C, and another 20 C after we reapplied thermal paste. He was playing Crysis the next day.

There was no problem with sufficient power to his video card.