Problem with new video card, or new PSU??
Hi,
I've recently installed a new video card (XFX Geforce 5700) into my system, along with a new power supply (Antec TrueBlue 480W), at almost exactly the same time.
The new setup started out okay with no problems for the first few days, but now I am getting random system freezes, with crazy colours on the screen, which is only fixable by a reboot. Usually the problem will recurr immediately on reboot, until I've left the system powered down for about half an hour, after which it's okay again. This started happening when I started playing games (Soldier of Fortune II), but it has also happened just when I was burning a DVD.
I've looked in the event log, and in all but one instance the shutdown has been preceeded by an Event 111, with the description "Silent Running: HW clock slowdown due to missing Auxillary Power."
The video card has its own Molex connection. I'm guessing that this error is suggesting that the molex is not connected, but it is.
Can anyone tell me if this is likely to be caused by a faulty GPU, a faulty PSU which is failing to supply enough power, or something else?? I can't find much info on the error message via Google etc. Also I'm confused about the one occasion on which there was no error message.
Bios and all the drivers are bang up to date. Unfortunately I don't have another video card or PSU with which to test this out. Full system specs are below. I know there are a fair number of peripherals attached, but I would have thought 480W true power would be ample to power this setup?
Thanks very much!
Anthony
DFI NFII Ultra Infinity motherboard
AMD Athlon 3200XP
2 x 512MB OCZ PC3200 RAM (400Mhz dual channel)
80GB SATA Seagate Cheetah system drive
200GB SATA Seagate Cheetah data drive
160GB IDE backup drive
Plextor 8x DVD/RW drive
Toshiba DVD/CDRW combo drive
XFX Geforce 5700 video card
SB128 live soundcard
Antec TrueBlue 480W PSU
3 x case fans
Coolermaster Jet7 heatsink & fan
USB keyboard & mouse
I've recently installed a new video card (XFX Geforce 5700) into my system, along with a new power supply (Antec TrueBlue 480W), at almost exactly the same time.
The new setup started out okay with no problems for the first few days, but now I am getting random system freezes, with crazy colours on the screen, which is only fixable by a reboot. Usually the problem will recurr immediately on reboot, until I've left the system powered down for about half an hour, after which it's okay again. This started happening when I started playing games (Soldier of Fortune II), but it has also happened just when I was burning a DVD.
I've looked in the event log, and in all but one instance the shutdown has been preceeded by an Event 111, with the description "Silent Running: HW clock slowdown due to missing Auxillary Power."
The video card has its own Molex connection. I'm guessing that this error is suggesting that the molex is not connected, but it is.
Can anyone tell me if this is likely to be caused by a faulty GPU, a faulty PSU which is failing to supply enough power, or something else?? I can't find much info on the error message via Google etc. Also I'm confused about the one occasion on which there was no error message.
Bios and all the drivers are bang up to date. Unfortunately I don't have another video card or PSU with which to test this out. Full system specs are below. I know there are a fair number of peripherals attached, but I would have thought 480W true power would be ample to power this setup?
Thanks very much!
Anthony
DFI NFII Ultra Infinity motherboard
AMD Athlon 3200XP
2 x 512MB OCZ PC3200 RAM (400Mhz dual channel)
80GB SATA Seagate Cheetah system drive
200GB SATA Seagate Cheetah data drive
160GB IDE backup drive
Plextor 8x DVD/RW drive
Toshiba DVD/CDRW combo drive
XFX Geforce 5700 video card
SB128 live soundcard
Antec TrueBlue 480W PSU
3 x case fans
Coolermaster Jet7 heatsink & fan
USB keyboard & mouse
jer2eydevil88
If your Molex connector plugged into the Video Card is either not working correctly or your video card has a broken molex plug. Try another molex adapter (if you don't have an extra grab one from your optical drives to test with). If the card still doesnt work with another molex adapter then try your old graphics card out and see if it works any better that will determine if the molex plug on the video card is broken.
Your peripherals add up to about 330 Watts, with an addition 30w for any overages so the power itself seems to be well within range. Normally the Antec True Power PSU's are very good, in building systems I have used the Antec True Power 430w PSU many times with only one failure. 99.9% of the time they are among the best out there, IMHO...
Driver updates from nVidia, most GeForce cards have the nVidia Unified Driver Architecture, the newest driver is the listed from XFX is 66.93, but 71.89 was just released this month...April 14, 2005. Get the driver update here:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_71.89.html
I would hate to think it, but it is possible that the GPU could be faulty. Graphics cards are more suspetable to static electricity than almost any other component, if you were not wearing a grounding strap while installing the card, or touched the PCB of the card while the system was running could possibly be a cause as well. But still covered under warranty if purchased within the last year.
Driver updates from nVidia, most GeForce cards have the nVidia Unified Driver Architecture, the newest driver is the listed from XFX is 66.93, but 71.89 was just released this month...April 14, 2005. Get the driver update here:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_71.89.html
I would hate to think it, but it is possible that the GPU could be faulty. Graphics cards are more suspetable to static electricity than almost any other component, if you were not wearing a grounding strap while installing the card, or touched the PCB of the card while the system was running could possibly be a cause as well. But still covered under warranty if purchased within the last year.
SOLUTION
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I've had a few XFX cards go wonky on me... My current 6600GT works pretty good but I switched to a gigabyte card.
I would tend to think your PSU is fine. I have an antec as well, they are very good.
Jeff
I would tend to think your PSU is fine. I have an antec as well, they are very good.
Jeff
Is ur system overheating by any chance?? Try and keep the cabinet open and on its side and try using it. See if the tempreatures are within range and the system runs fine. CHekc the PSU fan if its working fine.
Although the Power supply seems adequate but still its reccomended to try a different one as it cud be having problems. Antec's are good but can still have problems and fail like any electrical equipment.
CHeck the connectors and press em in properly. Looose connections can also cause failures. SInce u have case fans I suggest u try disabling a couple just to check that excessive power drain is not the cause.
Dan
Although the Power supply seems adequate but still its reccomended to try a different one as it cud be having problems. Antec's are good but can still have problems and fail like any electrical equipment.
CHeck the connectors and press em in properly. Looose connections can also cause failures. SInce u have case fans I suggest u try disabling a couple just to check that excessive power drain is not the cause.
Dan
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ASKER
Thanks for your suggestions!
wlennon: Thanks for the info - I was going with the latest driver release from XFX, but have now installed 71.89 from nVidia. Sadly no improvement!! I did quite a lot of research and Antec were very highly recommended, but you never know it could be a dodgy unit I guess. Fingers crossed it's not the GPU... the card was second hand so no warranty!
tmj883: Isolating the power sounds like a very good idea, I hadn't thought of that. I've disconnected the drive which was sharing the cable, and I'll give it a thorough bashing tonight to see if it fails again.
mysticaldan: I did think of overheating as a possible cause, but I don't think that's it. Although the CPU is running much hotter with the new video card installed (52c versus a steady 32c before...) it's still within acceptable temp limits I think??
Callandor: Isn't the 4pin connector for Pentium 4s?? I thought this wasn't necessary for Athlon, but I may be wrong!
wlennon: Thanks for the info - I was going with the latest driver release from XFX, but have now installed 71.89 from nVidia. Sadly no improvement!! I did quite a lot of research and Antec were very highly recommended, but you never know it could be a dodgy unit I guess. Fingers crossed it's not the GPU... the card was second hand so no warranty!
tmj883: Isolating the power sounds like a very good idea, I hadn't thought of that. I've disconnected the drive which was sharing the cable, and I'll give it a thorough bashing tonight to see if it fails again.
mysticaldan: I did think of overheating as a possible cause, but I don't think that's it. Although the CPU is running much hotter with the new video card installed (52c versus a steady 32c before...) it's still within acceptable temp limits I think??
Callandor: Isn't the 4pin connector for Pentium 4s?? I thought this wasn't necessary for Athlon, but I may be wrong!
It's for all cpus that need extra power, and I think I saw the connector on your motherboard.
ASKER
Callandor: I didn't know that. I've been trying tmj883's suggestion of keeping the video card as the only feed on that power cable, and the system has been up and running intensive gaming for 6 hours without crashing, so it seems to be okay like that.
However I will reconnect the other drive to the cable tomorrow, and connect the 4pin plug. If it continues to work I will share the points between you.
Thanks very much to both for your help.
However I will reconnect the other drive to the cable tomorrow, and connect the 4pin plug. If it continues to work I will share the points between you.
Thanks very much to both for your help.
Callandor is correct, and you positively need to connect it. I am amazed that the system stated without it! I do suggest that you keep the aux power to the video card isolated, but the square 4 pin 12V connector is a must for the cpu.
T
T
ASKER
Hi Callandor & tmj883.
Thanks again for your help - the problem definitely seems to be resolved now. I've connected the 4-pin plug and reattached the other drive to the same cable, and it still seems to be running fine.
What do you think is the fairest way of allocating points? I would say that Callandor identified the root cause of the problem, but tmj883 you provided an effective workaround. So should I split them evenly between you or should they go to Callendor?
Thanks again for your help - the problem definitely seems to be resolved now. I've connected the 4-pin plug and reattached the other drive to the same cable, and it still seems to be running fine.
What do you think is the fairest way of allocating points? I would say that Callandor identified the root cause of the problem, but tmj883 you provided an effective workaround. So should I split them evenly between you or should they go to Callendor?
That's up to you but I wouldn't mind a 60/40 or something on that order...glad you're up and running...
T
T
ASKER
Cheers to both - have decided to split with weighting to Callandor, but appreciate both your suggestions.
Cheers,
Ant
Cheers,
Ant
I'm glad we were both able to help resolve your problem.