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power supply? mobo? gfx card? ... i say power supply UPDATE

N

NoChance

Junior Member
my system:

AMD64 3500+
MSI K8N Neo Platinum2
Geforce 6800 GT
1 gig DDR400 RAM (Corsair)
400W thermaltake power supply
Win XP Pro SP2

the problem:

the computer worked fine until it crashed today.

now, when I boot, at the boot screen, there are lots of artifacts (strange characters, missing letters) -- same if I go into the BIOS.

If I let it try to get to windows, the screen fills up with artifacts and I can't tell if i'm actually in windows.

Now I've had problems (on another computer) with a Geforce 6800 GT card that were similar, but that time I was 100% sure the problem was the card since I was building two identical machines and was able to swap parts easily.

This time, I can't tell as easily (that identical machine is with my bro 3000 miles away) -- but I have a really old AMD Duron machine with a Geforce 4 card and I swapped the cards on the machines... Both machines entered Windows properly.

So I'm guessing the problem is that the power supply has problems. It doesn't have enough juice to power the machine and the 6800 card (the geforce 2 card doesn't need a molex connector of its own, so less power is needed over all, so it booted ok)

does this sound right? I'll be trying to borrow another 400W power supply over the next few days. is there a quick way to tell if the power supply is bad?

a couple other notes:

I've also tried to use different molex lines to the card, and the problem is still there... and when I do connect the 6800 card, that line is never connected to any other device.

the only devices I have that use power are the CD drive, hard drive, mobo, case fans, and gfx card -- I've tried booting with the case fans, CD drive disconnected - no luck.

I also moved my RAM DIMMS to different slots... no luck.

please tell me my mobo isn't the culprit!!!! nothing is more painful than installing a new mobo!

thanks for any help!!!

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UPDATE: 10/01/05

I put in the new PSU... still didn't work!!!

I'm thinking maybe I didn't test the swapping of graphics cards (with my old computer) for long enough time, or for enough reboots. I'm going to try swapping again, but does anyone have any idea what the problem can be???


 
My first reaction would have been a problem with the RAM on the video card, but since you put it in another machine and it works fine there, and the old video card is working normally in the 'new' PC, that narrows things down to two primary possibilities that I can think of:

1) The card was not plugged in properly (loose in the slot, dust preventing a good connection, etc.)
2) The PSU in that computer is not providing enough power to the 6800.

Since you already have a 'spare' PSU on the way, definitely try that to see what happens. If it still doesn't work, make sure the AGP slot (I assume it's AGP since you swapped it with a Geforce 4) is clean and there aren't any scorch marks or damaged or missing pins in the slot or on the video card itself, and make sure the card is seating all the way into the slot and that the 4-pin Molex power cord is tight and - if possible - on a separate cable or rail from the other peripherals in the system.
 
Very well could be the PSU, Thermaltake PSU"s are not the greatest and have weak 12v rails..and the 12v rail is used by the 6800GT..
 
Been a lot of problems lately with leaking capacitors in PSUs made around 2 years ago. Even if it's more recent no telling how long it sat on a warehouse shelf.

Had an Antec 430 go south on me with bad caps recently that damaged 3 hard drives before I figured it out.

 
thanks for the replies!

i've considered that the gfx card was not plugged in properly, but it worked fine for the 7 months that i've had this machine... plus, with all this testing, i've put it in and taken it out several times, and I doubt i seated it wrong every time (though it is really hard to stick that enormous card into the AGP slot)

my machine is about 7 months old, so it could very well have one of these bad PSU's from 2 years ago.


anyway, if the problem is indeed with the PSU (i'll hopefully know in 2 or 3 days),
any suggestions on what brand name PSU to get?

thanks again for any help.
 
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