ocz powerstream not enough for dual 7900 gts?

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IceGod99

Member
Mar 20, 2006
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Hey guys... I'll try to keep this brief.

Basically I got the system listed in my specs except with a dfi lanparty board, when I'd reboot I'd lose video every time and sometimes I'd get no video on boot. I ended up RMAing the board and have the asus in my specs now. This one also experienced no video on boots a couple times when I first got it but they problem went away, and the video has never turned off on a reboot so far.

The system is stable but overclocking yielded very poor results. I basically could not get the system to pass super pi or prime 95 with a moderate overclock (2.2ghz) so I gave up from there, also I had a cold boot with no video during overclocking which hadn't happened in a long time. Otherwise the system has been stable with no lock ups or reboots. I recently bought morrowind oblivion and I played that today for about 6 hours, it caused one lockup and one reboot.

So to sum up:
-issues with no video on boot or on restart
-poor overclocking performance
-lockups and random reboot in very intensive game like morrowind

Does this sound like a PS problem to you guys? Everyone recommend the ocz powerstream to me so I have trouble thinkg it is bad but it sure seems like it. I have no idea what PS I should get to replace the powerstream either.
 
Kromis

Kromis

Diamond Member
Mar 2, 2006
5,214
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You should test out your theory by underclocking your system to default speeds. Then check to see if it works. If it does, its probably your power supply then; but for some reason, I'm not feeling power supply. Also, I think the PowerStream has lights that tell you if you are over working it. Check the manual, maybe?
 
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Luckyboy1

Senior member
Mar 13, 2006
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Sounds more like a case temperature problem. What are your case, GPU and CPU temps under full load?
 
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IceGod99

Member
Mar 20, 2006
44
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Right now I'm just running at stock speeds, everything is set to auto. The powerstream has lights to tell you if whatever rail is above/below a 5% margin of error on the back, they are all green though. It doesn't have anything to let you know you're pulling too much juice afaik. To me it definitely feels like the ps... but what do you feel it could be?
 
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IceGod99

Member
Mar 20, 2006
44
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Its the 520w powerstream.

I've had no problems with temps so far... cpu temp < 40c under full load, usually around 37-38c under load. MB temp about 30c, video cards hit 60c under max load, idle at around 45c. I have a fan blowing on the vid cards but it does't hit the bottom gpu directrly like it does the first, it's possible the second cards temps could be getting high. I kind of doubt it though, is there any program I could run in the background to log all the temps while I play just so I can see? I have a second monitor but obviously I can't monitor the temps with SLi going.
 
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Luckyboy1

Senior member
Mar 13, 2006
934
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There are two, dedicated, shielded +12 volt rails and one says Video Card on it and the other one says Hard Drive. Use both of them for your dual video card system. and run the hard drives on the common supply.
 
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Luckyboy1

Senior member
Mar 13, 2006
934
0
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nVidia reccomends for that setup...

7900 GTX 450W w/ 12V @ 22A 550W w/ 12V @ 30A

and as I remember, the 520 watt unit is rated at 33 amps total on the +12 volt side of life. This means you are pushing things to the limit.

Short of getting a bigger power supply, you can run your optical drives and fans on another power supply if you've got one extra.
 
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IceGod99

Member
Mar 20, 2006
44
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0
Hrm.... I'm not using those special dedicated connectors your talking about, the ones that are regular 4 pin molex power connectors and say vga/hdd right? I'm using the PCI express ones that plug into the cards themselves, are you saying I should plug one of the vga/hdd things into the slot on the motherboard that's meant to power the video cards?
 
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Luckyboy1

Senior member
Mar 13, 2006
934
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To tell you the truth, I've not gone PCI Express yet, so I can't answer that question, but the total power needs of those two cards can easily overpower that PSU.
 
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IceGod99

Member
Mar 20, 2006
44
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Well... I've only tried SLI in morrowind which is what's giving me problems atm. Would disabling SLI be sufficient or do I have to actually take the other card out?
 
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smopoim86

Senior member
Feb 26, 2006
901
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Originally posted by: IceGod99
Hrm.... I'm not using those special dedicated connectors your talking about, the ones that are regular 4 pin molex power connectors and say vga/hdd right? I'm using the PCI express ones that plug into the cards themselves, are you saying I should plug one of the vga/hdd things into the slot on the motherboard that's meant to power the video cards?
Click to expand...

Yeah, (you are talking about the extra power molex on the Board used for ati cards?). It would make sure the board was recieving sufficent power. I had a board that was unstable without that plug hooked up.
 
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IceGod99

Member
Mar 20, 2006
44
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Well on my asus board it doesn't specify ati or nvidia but it sounds like its made for nvidia cards (its called a8n-sli after all). It has a 4 pin molex connector next to the video cards and the manual says it's required to use SLI and that it promotes system stability etc. I just have a regular 4 pin molex from the power supply connected. Think trying that vga one would do any harm? Come to think of it I think I have a couple fans chained on the power connector thats going into the video cards too =) Suppose that might cause a problem.
 
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Luckyboy1

Senior member
Mar 13, 2006
934
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I'd ask nVidia or wait until someone with actual experience with your card setup came along to clear things up.

Either way, you are pushing the limits with the rates on that power supply, but it is known for delivering more than stated specs.
 
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twitchee2

Platinum Member
Dec 29, 2004
2,135
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yes you need that extra molex plugged into the board. it is there to give the PCI-e power. Try it it will probly do the trick. They wouldn't put it there if it would blow somthing up. It is there for the video card.
 
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IceGod99

Member
Mar 20, 2006
44
0
0
Well I just played about 4 hours of morrowind just using one card, I left the other one in but didn't activate SLI. No problems the whole time so I'm guessing using both cards morrowind is drawing just a bit too much power... that sound about right?

To twitchee2: I do have a regular 4 pin molex plugged into that spot, the board won't let you boot without it. My question is whether or not the special vga/hdd connector would help over just a regular power connector.
 
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twitchee2

Platinum Member
Dec 29, 2004
2,135
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Originally posted by: IceGod99
Well I just played about 4 hours of morrowind just using one card, I left the other one in but didn't activate SLI. No problems the whole time so I'm guessing using both cards morrowind is drawing just a bit too much power... that sound about right?

To twitchee2: I do have a regular 4 pin molex plugged into that spot, the board won't let you boot without it. My question is whether or not the special vga/hdd connector would help over just a regular power connector.
Click to expand...


ahh I missunderstood what you were asking, sorry. Good luck hope everything works out.
 
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DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
126
Originally posted by: IceGod99
Well... I've only tried SLI in morrowind which is what's giving me problems atm. Would disabling SLI be sufficient or do I have to actually take the other card out?
Click to expand...
Are you saying you've only tried playing Morrowind using SLI, or that Morrowind is the only game you've played at all using SLI?

If you have not played any other games using SLI, perhaps you should before deciding it's a hardware problem instead of a Morrowind-using-SLI issue.
 
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svsnow

Member
Feb 8, 2006
90
0
0
what u may want to do is buy an multi meter and check the voltage rails on the psu ..
i have the same psu and u can dial in the correct rails...
measure the rails on load and dial them as exact as you can...
google up on how to check the voltage rails..
but ill just give u a tip[... use the 24pin conector to read em
trust me ,. do this as i am pretty sure ur prob is power
 
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JSFLY

Golden Member
Mar 24, 2006
1,068
0
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Originally posted by: IceGod99
Well I just played about 4 hours of morrowind just using one card, I left the other one in but didn't activate SLI. No problems the whole time so I'm guessing using both cards morrowind is drawing just a bit too much power... that sound about right?

To twitchee2: I do have a regular 4 pin molex plugged into that spot, the board won't let you boot without it. My question is whether or not the special vga/hdd connector would help over just a regular power connector.
Click to expand...

How can you be playing morrowwind when OBLIVION JUST CAME OUT???? And you have SLI!!!???? Are you a MAD man???
 
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