System power failures with ATI9800 Pro

[RhodamineRed]

Since I installed my ATI 9800 Pro one year ago, I have lost two motherboards and 3 power supplies. This has happened despite using two different surge protectors and two different outlets in my house. In ALL cases except one, the sky was clear with no thunderstorms. My system has an AMD CPU, 400W Axiom Power Supply, ATI 9800 Pro, CD-ROM, CD-Writer, floppy drive, Soundblaster live PCI and one 40 GB HD.

Interestingly enough, I have another computer in the same room and on the same power circuit that has never fried itself in the year it has been set up. It has an ATI9000 video card.

A friend told me that some "high power" video cards can send a spike back through the system. Anybody have any info on this? If so, heard any solutions (other than a new video card)?

Help will be greatly appreciated....

RhodamineRed

 

[cyberknight]

How are your voltages? do they flucuate a lot under a heavy load?
Try downloading a program like Everest and see how your voltages are sitting.

 

[Pete]

The 9800P is still kicking, just the MBs and PSUs are frying? Odd. Are your outlets grounded? Are any extra MB stand-offs touching, and possibly shorting, the MB?

My first move would be to invest in the $10AR Belkin UPS at CompUSA, if it's still in stock near you. For about $15 total after the huge rebate and tax, it's definitely worth it for peace of mind.

As far as quality is concerned, I don't think I've heard of Axiom. Where'd you buy it from? What other PSUs did you use?

What does the card's manufacturer have to say about this? Can you RMA it?