Graphics card problems

alexmachell · 11-24-2005, 10:10 AM

Hi,
I recently have upgraded my graphics card from a G-force2 to a Geforce 5950Ultra however it is having problems when put under any pressure. It will enable me to load windows, surf the net etc without any problems what so ever, but when I load any game that has even moderate graphics in it a strange clicking sound starts and after a while the PC simply cuts out and will not restart until power to the motherboard is removed and replaced. I dont think the sound is even coming from the card, but if I change back to the Geforce2 I have no problems at all.

I thought that this may be the actual card, so I have obtained another Geforce 5950 ultra (from a different card manufactuer) and the exact same problem occurs with this new card.

Anyone have any ideas? I have tried a different power supply, changed memory, even hard disk etc but am out of ideas now.

PC Spec:
Pentium 4 (socket 478)
Asus P4S800 motherboard
FSP/Blue storm 460W power supply
768Mb RAM

Forgive me if this is the wrong forum.

Thanks

Alex

**oldmn** · 11-24-2005, 10:32 AM

It could be your heat sink on the chip set has been moved breaking the thermal bond loose allowing the chip set to overheat with the new card.
Also you may want to take a look at the row of capacitors beside the processor and see if one of them is bulging.
Happy Thanksgiving

alexmachell · 11-24-2005, 10:45 AM

Thansk for the ideas!

I thought it could be overheating, but I have tried 2 different 5950 cards and it happens with both. Also there doesn't appear to be that much heat coming from the card. Its the clicking that must be linked to the PC cutting out as it always starts just before it will cut out, but as i have said it does it for the 2 5950 cards, but not the Geforce2.

How much would the capacitors buldge by? I've had a quick look and there is nothing obvious.

**oldmn** · 11-24-2005, 10:53 AM

The Heat sink I was referring to is the one that sits at an angle between the Processor and the video card.
If the caps all look the same then they are ok.

alexmachell · 11-24-2005, 02:30 PM

ah, right ok. Had a look at that and it seems ok.

Just tried something new. I have unplugged the power cable to the grphics card. When windows loaded it told me that it has reduced it's perfomance so it will not overheat (fair enough). It now works ok though (all be it at a slower rate). You think this could be the power supply?

jflan · 11-25-2005, 04:12 PM

I would suspect that your power supply can't keep up with that beast(5950).

Search the forums here for recommended power supplies and how to choose them. Watch out for the junk, there's alot of it.

Regards,
JF

**oldmn** · 11-25-2005, 04:27 PM

ATX Power Supplies - Brands from A to Z

*** RATED BY QUALITY ***

Key
H = High Quality (Good Solid Reliable Brand)
L = Low Quality (Cheap Generic)
M = Medium Quality (In-between)
U = Unknown

A-Power................L
A-Top..................L
A+GPB..................L
AcBel..................L
AC Ryan (Ryanpower)....L
Aerocool...............U
AG.....................L
Ahanix.................L
Akasa..................L
Allied.................L
Antec..................M/H
AOpen..................L
APC....................L
Apex Allied............L
Aspire.................L/M
Astec..................L
Athena.................L
BFG....................L
Broadway Gaming........U
Channel Well...........L
CHAS...................L
Chenbro................U
Chieftec...............L
Coba...................L
Codegen................L
Conrad.................M
CoolerMaster...........H
CoolMax................M
Crystal................L
Dell...................L
Delta..................L
Diablo.................L
Eagle..................L
Echo Star..............L
Enermax................H
Engleking..............M
Enlight................M
Epson..................L
FDK....................L
Fortron (FSP)..........H
Gateway................L
Gazelle Multimedia.....L
Global Marketing.......L
GPower.................L
Guardian...............L
Herolchi...............M
Hipro..................L
HP/Compaq..............L
HPC International......L
Huntkey................L
I-Star.................L
IBM Redundant..........U (expensive)
Intel Redundant........U (expensive)
In Win.................L
Jaguar.................U
Kensington.............L
Kingwin................L
L&C....................L
Leadman................L
Levicom................L
LiteOn.................U
Logisys................U
Mad Dog................L/M
Maxtron................L
MGE....................L
MGE Vortec.............M
MorningStar............L
NEC....................L
Newton.................L
Nexus..................L
Noise Magic............L
NorthQ.................M
Nspire.................L
OCZ....................H
Omega..................L
Packard Bell...........L
PC Power & Cooling.....H
PC-World (PCW).........L
PCMCIS.................U
Power..................L
PowerStream............L
PowerTek...............L
PowerUp................L
PowMax.................L
PowMax XPower..........L
Premium................L
Pyramid................L
Q-Tec..................L
Q-Technology...........L
RaidMax................U
Real Power.............L
Rosewill...............L
SCS....................L
SeaSonic...............H
Shuttle................L
Silent Purepower.......U
SilenX.................L
Silverstone............H
Sky Hawk (Eagle Tech)..L
Sparkle................H
Star Micronics.........L
StarTech...............L
Sun....................L
SuperFlower............L
Supermicro.............L
Tagan..................H
Task...................L
ThermalTake............M
Topower................L
Tri-Mag................L
TSP....................L
Tyan Tiger.............L
TTGI...................L
Ultra-Power Computer...L
Ultra..................M
Ultra X-Connect........L
Vantec.................H
Verax..................H
Vigor..................U
Xion...................L
xPCgear................L
Zalman.................H
Zippy..................L

Thanks Whodat / for the link !!

alexmachell · 11-26-2005, 05:15 AM

Thanks for that list!
I think I may go back to the PSU manufacturers, as the FSP/Blue storm PSU that I have is actually made my Fortron, which I have heard great things about (and is rated high in your list). I would have thought that 460W is high enough for that setup though, so I'll see what they say.

**linderman** · 11-26-2005, 06:13 AM

unfortunately there are alot more considerations than just wattage / just such amp output on the dual 12V rails / thats why I like to shoot for 550 watt psu's and higher / they generally have in excess of 16amps on each rail ???? check your psu specs

also download and run Sandra lite (in my signature >>> free DL) once you are running the program / do some multi taking to "work" the system

run system defrag, anti virus scanner, spyware scanner and play some music files all at the same time / after 15 minutes check your cpu temps, mobo temp / after 30 minutes of hard work post your system temps in here for tech evaulaution

regards

joe

alexmachell · 11-26-2005, 08:17 AM

Thanks Joe,

BTW CPU is water cooled:

Normal temp
CPU temp 25C
Board temp 24C

After 30mins of hard abuse:
CPU temp 32.5C
Board temp 25C

I can't see it being a heat issue as it will happen if I immediately go into a game for example as soon as the PC is switch on. It happens when the graphics card is heavily needed.

This is my PSU
http://www.fsp-group.com.tw/english/...d=49&proid=179

11-24-2005, 10:10 AM	#1 (permalink)
alexmachell Registered User Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 5 OS: XP	Graphics card problems Hi, I recently have upgraded my graphics card from a G-force2 to a Geforce 5950Ultra however it is having problems when put under any pressure. It will enable me to load windows, surf the net etc without any problems what so ever, but when I load any game that has even moderate graphics in it a strange clicking sound starts and after a while the PC simply cuts out and will not restart until power to the motherboard is removed and replaced. I dont think the sound is even coming from the card, but if I change back to the Geforce2 I have no problems at all. I thought that this may be the actual card, so I have obtained another Geforce 5950 ultra (from a different card manufactuer) and the exact same problem occurs with this new card. Anyone have any ideas? I have tried a different power supply, changed memory, even hard disk etc but am out of ideas now. PC Spec: Pentium 4 (socket 478) Asus P4S800 motherboard FSP/Blue storm 460W power supply 768Mb RAM Forgive me if this is the wrong forum. Thanks Alex

11-24-2005, 10:32 AM	#2 (permalink)
oldmn TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Gig Harbor Wa Posts: 2,150 OS: XP Pro SP3 X 3 My System	Welcome to TSF It could be your heat sink on the chip set has been moved breaking the thermal bond loose allowing the chip set to overheat with the new card. Also you may want to take a look at the row of capacitors beside the processor and see if one of them is bulging. Happy Thanksgiving __________________ AVG \| MEMTEST86 \| Zone Alarm \| XXCLONE \| Adaware \| Beyond Compare \| Everest If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Sorry no PM's for problems.[/center]

11-24-2005, 10:53 AM	#4 (permalink)
oldmn TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Gig Harbor Wa Posts: 2,150 OS: XP Pro SP3 X 3 My System	The Heat sink I was referring to is the one that sits at an angle between the Processor and the video card. If the caps all look the same then they are ok. __________________ AVG \| MEMTEST86 \| Zone Alarm \| XXCLONE \| Adaware \| Beyond Compare \| Everest If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Sorry no PM's for problems.[/center] Last edited by oldmn; 11-24-2005 at 10:54 AM.

11-25-2005, 04:27 PM	#7 (permalink)
oldmn TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Gig Harbor Wa Posts: 2,150 OS: XP Pro SP3 X 3 My System	ATX Power Supplies - Brands from A to Z * RATED BY QUALITY * Key H = High Quality (Good Solid Reliable Brand) L = Low Quality (Cheap Generic) M = Medium Quality (In-between) U = Unknown A-Power................L A-Top..................L A+GPB..................L AcBel..................L AC Ryan (Ryanpower)....L Aerocool...............U AG.....................L Ahanix.................L Akasa..................L Allied.................L Antec..................M/H AOpen..................L APC....................L Apex Allied............L Aspire.................L/M Astec..................L Athena.................L BFG....................L Broadway Gaming........U Channel Well...........L CHAS...................L Chenbro................U Chieftec...............L Coba...................L Codegen................L Conrad.................M CoolerMaster...........H CoolMax................M Crystal................L Dell...................L Delta..................L Diablo.................L Eagle..................L Echo Star..............L Enermax................H Engleking..............M Enlight................M Epson..................L FDK....................L Fortron (FSP)..........H Gateway................L Gazelle Multimedia.....L Global Marketing.......L GPower.................L Guardian...............L Herolchi...............M Hipro..................L HP/Compaq..............L HPC International......L Huntkey................L I-Star.................L IBM Redundant..........U (expensive) Intel Redundant........U (expensive) In Win.................L Jaguar.................U Kensington.............L Kingwin................L L&C....................L Leadman................L Levicom................L LiteOn.................U Logisys................U Mad Dog................L/M Maxtron................L MGE....................L MGE Vortec.............M MorningStar............L NEC....................L Newton.................L Nexus..................L Noise Magic............L NorthQ.................M Nspire.................L OCZ....................H Omega..................L Packard Bell...........L PC Power & Cooling.....H PC-World (PCW).........L PCMCIS.................U Power..................L PowerStream............L PowerTek...............L PowerUp................L PowMax.................L PowMax XPower..........L Premium................L Pyramid................L Q-Tec..................L Q-Technology...........L RaidMax................U Real Power.............L Rosewill...............L SCS....................L SeaSonic...............H Shuttle................L Silent Purepower.......U SilenX.................L Silverstone............H Sky Hawk (Eagle Tech)..L Sparkle................H Star Micronics.........L StarTech...............L Sun....................L SuperFlower............L Supermicro.............L Tagan..................H Task...................L ThermalTake............M Topower................L Tri-Mag................L TSP....................L Tyan Tiger.............L TTGI...................L Ultra-Power Computer...L Ultra..................M Ultra X-Connect........L Vantec.................H Verax..................H Vigor..................U Xion...................L xPCgear................L Zalman.................H Zippy..................L Thanks Whodat / for the link !! __________________ AVG \| MEMTEST86 \| Zone Alarm \| XXCLONE \| Adaware \| Beyond Compare \| Everest If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Sorry no PM's for problems.[/center]

11-26-2005, 06:13 AM	#9 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 20,442 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	unfortunately there are alot more considerations than just wattage / just such amp output on the dual 12V rails / thats why I like to shoot for 550 watt psu's and higher / they generally have in excess of 16amps on each rail ???? check your psu specs also download and run Sandra lite (in my signature >>> free DL) once you are running the program / do some multi taking to "work" the system run system defrag, anti virus scanner, spyware scanner and play some music files all at the same time / after 15 minutes check your cpu temps, mobo temp / after 30 minutes of hard work post your system temps in here for tech evaulaution regards joe __________________ I still know nothing and I respect that fact, striving to improve and, along the way, help anyone that comes from the place that I used to be! Power Supply Selection LEARN TO BACK-UP YOUR DATA FREE & EASY YouTube - Runtime Software DriveImage XML tutorial

11-24-2005, 10:45 AM	#3 (permalink)
alexmachell Registered User Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 5 OS: XP	Thansk for the ideas! I thought it could be overheating, but I have tried 2 different 5950 cards and it happens with both. Also there doesn't appear to be that much heat coming from the card. Its the clicking that must be linked to the PC cutting out as it always starts just before it will cut out, but as i have said it does it for the 2 5950 cards, but not the Geforce2. How much would the capacitors buldge by? I've had a quick look and there is nothing obvious.

11-24-2005, 02:30 PM	#5 (permalink)
alexmachell Registered User Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 5 OS: XP	ah, right ok. Had a look at that and it seems ok. Just tried something new. I have unplugged the power cable to the grphics card. When windows loaded it told me that it has reduced it's perfomance so it will not overheat (fair enough). It now works ok though (all be it at a slower rate). You think this could be the power supply?

11-25-2005, 04:12 PM	#6 (permalink)
jflan Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Location: Vancouver, WA Posts: 935 OS: XP/Puppy 2.14	I would suspect that your power supply can't keep up with that beast(5950). Search the forums here for recommended power supplies and how to choose them. Watch out for the junk, there's alot of it. Regards, JF

11-26-2005, 05:15 AM	#8 (permalink)
alexmachell Registered User Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 5 OS: XP	Thanks for that list! I think I may go back to the PSU manufacturers, as the FSP/Blue storm PSU that I have is actually made my Fortron, which I have heard great things about (and is rated high in your list). I would have thought that 460W is high enough for that setup though, so I'll see what they say.

11-26-2005, 08:17 AM	#10 (permalink)
alexmachell Registered User Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 5 OS: XP	Thanks Joe, BTW CPU is water cooled: Normal temp CPU temp 25C Board temp 24C After 30mins of hard abuse: CPU temp 32.5C Board temp 25C I can't see it being a heat issue as it will happen if I immediately go into a game for example as soon as the PC is switch on. It happens when the graphics card is heavily needed. This is my PSU http://www.fsp-group.com.tw/english/...d=49&proid=179