9 replies to this topic

[dervishx5]

I recently purchased a Sapphire 6850 at a very good price to replace my old Gigabyte 9800. When I plugged it into my motherboard, the whole computer initially refused to boot. After some time it did. I should note that my onboard ethernet adapter no longer works and I had to install a wireless one I had laying around.

However, outside of Safe Mode, the 6850 refuses to run when the drivers are installed. I've managed to get it to the Windows login screen, but the screen is covered in artifacts (lots of miscolored dots and lines everywhere). After entering my password the computer simply goes to a black screen and does nothing else.

My question is, is this because of a shoddy card, or because my 3 year old 650 watt power supply is dying? Either way, I'm in for some investment. But I really hope it's the power supply and not the typical Radeon crappiness I've experienced in the past.

Anyway, let me know what you think.

Edited by dervishx5, 26 June 2012 - 08:09 AM.

[Hellgardia]

What is your power supply? Not just wattage but brand/model etc..?

[RenegadeMaster]

dervishx5, on 26 June 2012 - 08:03 AM, said:

I recently purchased a Sapphire 6850 at a very good price to replace my old Gigabyte 9800. When I plugged it into my motherboard, the whole computer initially refused to boot. After some time it did. I should note that my onboard ethernet adapter no longer works and I had to install a wireless one I had laying around.

However, outside of Safe Mode, the 6850 refuses to run when the drivers are installed. I've managed to get it to the Windows login screen, but the screen is covered in artifacts (lots of miscolored dots and lines everywhere). After entering my password the computer simply goes to a black screen and does nothing else.

My question is, is this because of a shoddy card, or because my 3 year old 650 watt power supply is dying? Either way, I'm in for some investment. But I really hope it's the power supply and not the typical Radeon crappiness I've experienced in the past.

Anyway, let me know what you think.

Have you checked the voltage reading that the BIOS gives for the main motherboard connections? If those are significantly off from the expected voltages, that could be one way of determining that the PSU is dying.

If there are no artifacts during safe mode, I am slightly more inclined to think that this is a video card or PSU issue. I am assuming that you've downloaded & installed the latest drivers from the video card manufacturer's web site as opposed to using the ones that came on a CD, correct?

[dervishx5]

Antec EA-650

RenegadeMaster, on 26 June 2012 - 08:26 AM, said:

If there are no artifacts during safe mode, I am slightly more inclined to think that this is a video card or PSU issue. I am assuming that you've downloaded & installed the latest drivers from the video card manufacturer's web site as opposed to using the ones that came on a CD, correct?

Yes, different versions in as many different ways as possible. It's not a driver issue at this point.

Edited by dervishx5, 26 June 2012 - 08:29 AM.

[Catamount]

From what I understand, reading voltages just off of motherboard sensors is horrendously inaccurate, but Renegademaster is right to suggest it as a first step. If they're a little off, don't worry about it, but if the 12v rail is just wildly off (like it's reading 10v or something), then yeah your PSU is bad. Although that kind of test is a longshot, imo.

What I'd do is pop into safe mode and load up the CPU alone with Prime95, leave the CPU out of it. Your CPU at load will draw more power than your CPU and GPU will just on the desktop. If Prime95 crashes or you get a BSOD/black screen or lockup, it's your PSU; If you don't, it's not. That's about the most definitive test you can do.


You can always try another power cable to the GPU as well to keep that base covered, though I doubt it'll help anything.


If it's not the PSU, assume a faulty GPU and replace it.

[Oderint dum Metuant]

Catamount, on 26 June 2012 - 10:25 AM, said:

From what I understand, reading voltages just off of motherboard sensors is horrendously inaccurate, but Renegademaster is right to suggest it as a first step. If they're a little off, don't worry about it, but if the 12v rail is just wildly off (like it's reading 10v or something), then yeah your PSU is bad. Although that kind of test is a longshot, imo.

What I'd do is pop into safe mode and load up the CPU alone with Prime95, leave the CPU out of it. Your CPU at load will draw more power than your CPU and GPU will just on the desktop. If Prime95 crashes or you get a BSOD/black screen or lockup, it's your PSU; If you don't, it's not. That's about the most definitive test you can do.


You can always try another power cable to the GPU as well to keep that base covered, though I doubt it'll help anything.


If it's not the PSU, assume a faulty GPU and replace it.

This.

[Romulus Stahl]

Are you trying to put a new card into a system with an existing load? Or are you installing from scratch?

[dervishx5]

I'm at a shop one of my friends owns. Used a Power Supply checker to test the PSU. Readings came back fine. So I'm thinking either the card is drawing too much power (not impossible), or the card is dead.

Tried it with another power supply and got the same thing, but the wattage was lower. Will try the prime 95 thing.

Unfortunately I have no access to another high end computer to test the video card itself.

Edited by dervishx5, 26 June 2012 - 11:28 AM.

[Romulus Stahl]

dervishx5, on 26 June 2012 - 11:25 AM, said:

I'm at a shop one of my friends owns. Used a Power Supply checker to test the PSU. Readings came back fine. So I'm thinking either the card is drawing too much power (not impossible), or the card is dead.

Tried it with another power supply and got the same thing, but the wattage was lower. Will try the prime 95 thing.

Unfortunately I have no access to another high end computer to test the video card itself.

Have you done this testing as a clean install or are you simply swapping cards?

[cipher]

I haven't seen this question asked yet, so let's ask the "doh" question: did you plug in the PCI-Express power connectors on this card when you installed it? After all, you went from a "9800". You didn't specify ATI Radeon 9800 or NVIDIA GeForce 9800. One is from 2003/2004 and the other from 2008/2009. I assume you meant NVIDIA 9800 since the ATI one is AGP.

Your Antec PSU is a pretty cheap line (EarthWatts), but its amp ratings are good for 22A, 22a, and 25A on the 12V rails. That should be plenty of power, but then again this PSU is three years old, so with capacitor aging you've lost a little of its max. You said you had it tested, so we'll have to trust that. And you've seen the same results with another power supply.

So either there is something wrong with your PC (motherboard, etc.) or the video card is faulty.

If you haven't done so already, one last troubleshooting step would be to reset your BIOS to defaults (ie: reset CMOS). Depending upon your motherboard, there should be a jumper or a button to reset it. Give that a shot.