Sparkle 6600GT Problems

L1ned · 05-26-2005, 04:07 PM

Hello i recently built a new pc over a period of a month and half. the last thing i brought was a Sparkle 6600GT 8x AGP 128mb gfx card. i put it in installed the latest nvidia drivers, started up a game of cs:s and my PC restarted. puzzled, i used a driver cleaner to get rid of all nvidia drivers and reinstalled them and it had no effect. i decided to do a system restore to when i last formated my hard drive. i then installed the drivers and started up cs:s and it worked, but i was getting similar FPS to my old geforce 4 ti4600, no fancy graphics that i was expecting with a 6600GT. i decided to then do a full reformat of my hard drive, installed all my drivers, restarted and it didnt get past the windows loading screen ( ust on a black screen with my white cursor) and restarted, i did rollback with last known working configuration and installed older nividia drivers 66.93 and i got back onto the desktop. i decided to use dxdiag 3d test and they crashed and restarted my pc. ive read some solutions on this forumn but nothing seems to work. (using a lower AGP speed, fastwrite was already disabled by default) can someone please help me??

my specs are:

ASrock K8 Combo-Z
AMD Athlon 64 3000
Sparkle 6600GT 128MB
512MB DDR 400 SDRAM

**Sarkast** · 05-26-2005, 04:16 PM

Have you looked at your power supply as the reason for this yet ? The symptoms you are describing sound exactly like the ones described by others whos problem was insufficient power.
The 6600GT is quite power hungry - so are the rest of your components.

ebackhus · 05-26-2005, 04:27 PM

Aye, you'll want a PSU with a MINIMUM of 18amps on the 12v line to power your PC.

L1ned · 05-26-2005, 04:34 PM

The psu came with my case a month ago and its a 400W quiet PSU.

**Sarkast** · 05-26-2005, 04:38 PM

Thats the problem. Most case powersupplies are of low quality and dont deliver the power where its most needed - on the +12V rail.

Could you read the values off the side for the 3.3, 5 and 12V rail ?

L1ned · 05-26-2005, 04:54 PM

They are:
3.3: 20A 5: 22A 12: 16A

ebackhus · 05-26-2005, 04:58 PM

Your 12v line is a bit weak for your system. Consider a PSU with 20-24+ amperes on the 12v and you'll be back in business. I recently went from a PSU with an 18a 12v rial to a 24a and there IS a difference. I was lucky enough that I didn't have crashes or anything but I didn't want to starve my components either. If you'd like we can suggest a few solutions for you.

L1ned · 05-26-2005, 05:04 PM

some suggestions would be great. so the reason my pc keeps restarting is definately because of the power? as i installed the latest nvidia driver and i didnt get to the desktop at all- but used an older one and it did (although any 3d app restarted my pc). iI wouldnt want to buy a new power supply and i get the same problems :(

ebackhus · 05-26-2005, 05:09 PM

Antec 400w
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103912

Enermax 350w
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103455

L1ned · 05-26-2005, 05:17 PM

Do USA PSU's work in the UK?

ebackhus · 05-26-2005, 05:28 PM

Just flip the 120v -> 230v switch.

**Sarkast** · 05-26-2005, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L1ned

Do USA PSU's work in the UK?

Like ebackhus said - "just" flip the switch - although i've come across a few power supplies that didnt have that. If you asked because you thought about ordering from the USA - its probably better to find one of the suggested models in the UK. Cause even though your symptoms strongly point to the PSU - there isa 1% chance its something else and you want the choice to return the PSU if its not it (or lets imagine for a moment you get a faulty unit - you dont want to deal with RMA across the atlantic).

ebackhus · 05-26-2005, 07:04 PM

I didn't mean that those should be your only choices but I found them to be a good starting point. I'm sure you have UK-based retailers that carry the same thing and those ought to be ready for your electrical sytems.

*is scared of 230v outlets.*

L1ned · 06-16-2005, 11:07 AM

ok i brought a new power suply, 28amps on the +12v line, and im still getting the same problems :/

Grandmaster_Z · 06-16-2005, 11:43 AM

do you have another video card you could install and test to see if you get the same problem.

L1ned · 06-16-2005, 11:48 AM

yes, when i installed my 6600gt with my old power supply i had the same problems, so i installed my old card and everything was fine, i get my new power supply, put my new card in, and i get the same problems again

Grandmaster_Z · 06-16-2005, 12:16 PM

maybe you should sent your card back, get a replacement.

ebackhus · 06-16-2005, 12:24 PM

Agreed, even if we factor in the probability of an untrue 28a rating it should still deliver enough to give you good results. RMA the card.

L1ned · 06-30-2005, 12:12 PM

They said nothing is wrong with the card, so they sent it back, but a new one with a different make, "point of View", put the card in reinstall display drivers chipset drivers, same problems happen. its like im destined to never have good fps.

uTz · 07-09-2005, 08:48 PM

Hi i also have a sparkle 6600gt AGP its core/mem is suppose to be 500/900
upon inspection using coolbits to my shock was set at 300/900!! which is 2d mode 3d mode was 500/900 so i set it to 3d mode. During gaming however with the settings maxed out on Battlefield2 and need for speed underground 2 the display starts to produce artifacts after awhile the artifacting slowly gets worse and worse untill it crashes the computer!! i am currently in the process of RMAing it. My psu is a Enermax Noisetaker 470w.

05-26-2005, 04:07 PM	#1 (permalink)
L1ned Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 8 OS: XP	Sparkle 6600GT Problems Hello i recently built a new pc over a period of a month and half. the last thing i brought was a Sparkle 6600GT 8x AGP 128mb gfx card. i put it in installed the latest nvidia drivers, started up a game of cs:s and my PC restarted. puzzled, i used a driver cleaner to get rid of all nvidia drivers and reinstalled them and it had no effect. i decided to do a system restore to when i last formated my hard drive. i then installed the drivers and started up cs:s and it worked, but i was getting similar FPS to my old geforce 4 ti4600, no fancy graphics that i was expecting with a 6600GT. i decided to then do a full reformat of my hard drive, installed all my drivers, restarted and it didnt get past the windows loading screen ( ust on a black screen with my white cursor) and restarted, i did rollback with last known working configuration and installed older nividia drivers 66.93 and i got back onto the desktop. i decided to use dxdiag 3d test and they crashed and restarted my pc. ive read some solutions on this forumn but nothing seems to work. (using a lower AGP speed, fastwrite was already disabled by default) can someone please help me?? my specs are: ASrock K8 Combo-Z AMD Athlon 64 3000 Sparkle 6600GT 128MB 512MB DDR 400 SDRAM

05-26-2005, 04:16 PM	#2 (permalink)
Sarkast TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: NY Posts: 2,715 OS: WinXP	Have you looked at your power supply as the reason for this yet ? The symptoms you are describing sound exactly like the ones described by others whos problem was insufficient power. The 6600GT is quite power hungry - so are the rest of your components. __________________ P4 2.4@2.9 / XP-90 / Albatron PX865PE Pro V2.0 / Kingston Hyper-X 512MB Dual Channel CL2-2-2-5 / Geforce4 MX440x8 64MB / WD80GB 7200RPM 8MB / Thermaltake 420W PSU --> SEE IT ALL GLOW <-- MBM5 - SpeedFan - PSU Calculator - MemTest86 - ThrottleWatch

05-26-2005, 04:27 PM	#3 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,285 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	Aye, you'll want a PSU with a MINIMUM of 18amps on the 12v line to power your PC. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

05-26-2005, 04:38 PM	#5 (permalink)
Sarkast TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: NY Posts: 2,715 OS: WinXP	Thats the problem. Most case powersupplies are of low quality and dont deliver the power where its most needed - on the +12V rail. Could you read the values off the side for the 3.3, 5 and 12V rail ? __________________ P4 2.4@2.9 / XP-90 / Albatron PX865PE Pro V2.0 / Kingston Hyper-X 512MB Dual Channel CL2-2-2-5 / Geforce4 MX440x8 64MB / WD80GB 7200RPM 8MB / Thermaltake 420W PSU --> SEE IT ALL GLOW <-- MBM5 - SpeedFan - PSU Calculator - MemTest86 - ThrottleWatch

05-26-2005, 04:58 PM	#7 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,285 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	Your 12v line is a bit weak for your system. Consider a PSU with 20-24+ amperes on the 12v and you'll be back in business. I recently went from a PSU with an 18a 12v rial to a 24a and there IS a difference. I was lucky enough that I didn't have crashes or anything but I didn't want to starve my components either. If you'd like we can suggest a few solutions for you. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

05-26-2005, 04:34 PM	#4 (permalink)
L1ned Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 8 OS: XP	The psu came with my case a month ago and its a 400W quiet PSU.

05-26-2005, 04:54 PM	#6 (permalink)
L1ned Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 8 OS: XP	They are: 3.3: 20A 5: 22A 12: 16A

05-26-2005, 05:04 PM	#8 (permalink)
L1ned Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 8 OS: XP	some suggestions would be great. so the reason my pc keeps restarting is definately because of the power? as i installed the latest nvidia driver and i didnt get to the desktop at all- but used an older one and it did (although any 3d app restarted my pc). iI wouldnt want to buy a new power supply and i get the same problems :(

05-26-2005, 05:09 PM	#9 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,285 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	Antec 400w http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103912 Enermax 350w http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103455 __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

05-26-2005, 05:17 PM	#10 (permalink)
L1ned Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 8 OS: XP	Do USA PSU's work in the UK?

05-26-2005, 05:28 PM	#11 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,285 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	Just flip the 120v -> 230v switch. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

05-26-2005, 07:04 PM	#13 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,285 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	I didn't mean that those should be your only choices but I found them to be a good starting point. I'm sure you have UK-based retailers that carry the same thing and those ought to be ready for your electrical sytems. is scared of 230v outlets. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

06-16-2005, 11:07 AM	#14 (permalink)
L1ned Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 8 OS: XP	ok i brought a new power suply, 28amps on the +12v line, and im still getting the same problems :/

06-16-2005, 11:43 AM	#15 (permalink)
Grandmaster_Z Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 108 OS: WinXP Pro	do you have another video card you could install and test to see if you get the same problem.

06-16-2005, 11:48 AM	#16 (permalink)
L1ned Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 8 OS: XP	yes, when i installed my 6600gt with my old power supply i had the same problems, so i installed my old card and everything was fine, i get my new power supply, put my new card in, and i get the same problems again

06-16-2005, 12:16 PM	#17 (permalink)
Grandmaster_Z Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 108 OS: WinXP Pro	maybe you should sent your card back, get a replacement.

06-16-2005, 12:24 PM	#18 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,285 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	Agreed, even if we factor in the probability of an untrue 28a rating it should still deliver enough to give you good results. RMA the card. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

06-30-2005, 12:12 PM	#19 (permalink)
L1ned Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 8 OS: XP	They said nothing is wrong with the card, so they sent it back, but a new one with a different make, "point of View", put the card in reinstall display drivers chipset drivers, same problems happen. its like im destined to never have good fps.

07-09-2005, 08:48 PM	#20 (permalink)
uTz Registered User Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 1 OS: xp	Hi i also have a sparkle 6600gt AGP its core/mem is suppose to be 500/900 upon inspection using coolbits to my shock was set at 300/900!! which is 2d mode 3d mode was 500/900 so i set it to 3d mode. During gaming however with the settings maxed out on Battlefield2 and need for speed underground 2 the display starts to produce artifacts after awhile the artifacting slowly gets worse and worse untill it crashes the computer!! i am currently in the process of RMAing it. My psu is a Enermax Noisetaker 470w.