ATI card / PSU issue?

A

AjAx30

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2007
Messages
612
Reaction score
0
Sigh.... guess what... this problem is back again..

I have the following system, about 2 years old:
E6600,
ATI X1950XTX 512Mb ram card
3 gig ram (mushkin 2 x 1 gig and corsair 2 x 512 mb)
2 x Hard drives
500W PSU
Gigabyte Mobo (DQ 6 or something like that)
LG DVD writer
SB Audigy 2

My problem is that I have been in jhb for 2 months now (from CT), and the last month, my comp has just started shutting down while i was busy on it, and then not starting up properly again.

It also sometimes does not want to start first thing in the morning after being off the whole night. All the fans (cpu/gfx/extra fans) are running though when i press the power button. The DVD drive opens and I can hear the HD's working. The screen however stays blank..

The gfx card has 2 LED's that come on when this happens. The one LED says T_fault, the other Ext Pwr.

I did some looking on the net, and it seems that most guys who have had this problem have either put it down to the gfx card or PSU going. Murphy also is having fun here, cause when i take it in to 1 computer shop, it starts fine with no probs, but when i take it to anther shop, it does not start, like i explained above.

I wanna know if anyone else out there has had the same problem with ATI cards and what they did to fix it, cause i dont wanna go spend R1000+ to replace a PSU / gfx if that is not the problem..
 
Had a dying gfx like that, eventually just didnt start anymore

Why not get a friend to swap gfx and psu with u?

Though I'm almost certain its ur gfx
 
Had a similar issue a couple of years ago, would not start etc at home but took it the shop and it was fine. Seems the power at the house was causing issues, changed the psu and added a ups and no probs after that
 
He is new in JHB, so I don't think he has that many friends here yet. Where in JHB are you located?
 
hey, i was only up in jhb for a course.. I am, back in Langebaan now..

The computer started fine on friday, but when i put it back together just after i arrived in langebaan earlier today, it showed the same error...

Guess i am gonna hve to shop for a PSU for now.. Any suggestions for best value for money PSU in CT?
 
ok, what do you think about the coolermaster extreme 650W? saw the cheapest price for about R850 online..

gonna take my pc to matrix wharehouse tom morning (closest pc place to me) and see if they cant put in another gfx card just to see if it is my card or psu thats the problem
 
Last edited:
THe CM isn't nearly as good as the corsair. It is their cheapie after all.

Don't get fooled by the mantra, more wattage is better. These days it's about AMPS, efficiency and quality.

a recent vote by a popular online publication, Corsair won the Power supply department.
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/11/07/corsair-voted-best-power-supply-manufacturer-2008/1

An example of the AMPS vs Watts is that in a recent test some crazy techy put 30 hard drives on a single power supply to see which would start. most of the 1.2KW and 1KW PSU's gave up around 15-20 hard drives. Only 2 PSU's of the dozen he tested powered all 30. The Corsair 750W and an Enermax 850W.
 
ok, so for best value for money then, which corsair would you recomend? I see the link you gave me ealier was for the 450w.. will that be enough power for my setup, considering i might have to get a new gfx if the new psu does not help.. (looking at the ati 4850..)
 
AjAx30 said:
ok, what do you think about the coolermaster extreme 650W? saw the cheapest price for about R850 online..

gonna take my pc to matrix wharehouse tom morning (closest pc place to me) and see if they cant put in another gfx card just to see if it is my card or psu thats the problem
Click to expand...

I would say 650W is a bit overkill....Get a decent 500W which will be more than sufficient.
 
AjAx30 said:
ok, so for best value for money then, which corsair would you recomend? I see the link you gave me ealier was for the 450w.. will that be enough power for my setup, considering i might have to get a new gfx if the new psu does not help.. (looking at the ati 4850..)
Click to expand...

I say just get one of these:

http://www.prophecy.co.za/antec-550w-eps12v-certrified-high-efficiency-p-1832.html

http://www.take2.co.za/electronics-antec-neo-he-power-supply-550w-1734684.html

or maybe:

http://www.take2.co.za/electronics-corsair-vx550w-power-supply-550w-3968786.html

or maybe:

http://www.take2.co.za/electronics-corsair-tx650w-power-supply-650w-3689201.html

http://www.prophecy.co.za/corsair-tx650w-eps12v-modular-cable-management-p-27712.html
 
It just happened to me. My PC not starting. Keeps rebooting and doesnt come on. I took out my GFX card and still the same issue. So its not the GFX. The PSU could be stuffed.
 
If you look at the power draw figures of some of the setup the benchmarkers are running, you would have to go to crazy levels to exceed 450W.

What I would look for is a PSU with a 6+2 (8pin) PCI-E connection like the Corsair VX550. That should future proof you for some very power hungry Graphics cards. These days Wattage means skwat. Anyone can build a PSU and call it 650W
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=71

Look at 2 things to determine if it will power your PC:
1. Amps available on a single 12V rail.
2. Warranty period (as it is a good indicator of quality level) look for those with 5 year warranties.
 
I dont know why, but now my computer all of a sudden runs fine?? Started yesterday afternoon and i have restarted it a few times since then and no issues? WTF??

played far cry 2 at fairly high res and no problems?

I dunno anymore... :confused:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X