New video card, old problems.

[[DR]S|Cpt.KillerCow77]

I just got a Sapphire 4870 1 GB card today and after installing it and the drivers I went to play Crysis and after about two min of playing my computer just randomly shut down. I tried again with Crysis and got the same effect. Thinking it might be Crysis I tried Half Life 2 but still encountered the same problem. Also while researching the problem i was just on the web and it randomly shut down. So is the card bad or is there another factor that I am not seeing here?

[imported_Recon]

Re: New video card, old problems.

I think you need a higher power supply. One way to determine this is to check the leds on the back of your graphics card..

D1601 - Red LED On, shows critical temperature fault
D1602 - Red LED On, shows External power connector A was removed
D1603 - Red LED On, shows External power connector B was removed
D601 - Red LED On, shows critical Core power fault

Check to see if any of these light up when the card dies. If it is a power issue I think you would see the D601. Try it out.

[[DR]S|Cpt.KillerCow77]

Re: New video card, old problems.

Well I have a 730 Watt power supply and the card requires only a 500 Watt, so it doesnt seem like it would be a power issue. And the other thing is I have no idea when the comp will shut down so i cant really see what lights turn on.

[imported_Recon]

Re: New video card, old problems.

hmm ok,
is it overheating?

otherwise i can't think of anything else..

:google:

ok i googled and someone was having the same problem and they have a 800W Power Supply..
so you might not have enough tbh, but i don't know much about computers so i don't really know about the technical stuff :/

[Hellsent 2.0]

Re: New video card, old problems.

raidmax...might be the PSU tbh...Got a spare to put the mobo and HDD and stuff on and one for just the GPU?

[[21CW]HIVictim]

Re: New video card, old problems.

Remove all your sticks of RAM except for 1 Stick and see if the problem persists. If it does, swap that stick with one of the ones you removed and try again. This sounds like a memory issue. Sounds like one of your sticks has some bad corruption. See if you can isolate the problem to whatever stick (or sticks) is causing the issue.

[[DR]S|Cpt.KillerCow77]

Re: New video card, old problems.

Remove all your sticks of RAM except for 1 Stick and see if the problem persists. If it does, swap that stick with one of the ones you removed and try again. This sounds like a memory issue. Sounds like one of your sticks has some bad corruption. See if you can isolate the problem to whatever stick (or sticks) is causing the issue.

I will for sure try this, but why do you think that this problem would be occuring now right when I install a new GPU? Why wasnt I having any issues before? Yea I was wondering why it would just turn off without any warning of any kind, it just simply shuts down.

[Flt. Sgt. Powderhound]

Re: New video card, old problems.

Raidmax PSU looks like the likely problem.

[CptainCrunch]

Re: New video card, old problems.

Its the PSU or overheating. You changed 1 thing on your system, the video card. If you put your old card back, do you have problems? My guess will be no. Since the new card is new, its probably not bad, but needs more juice. Even though you have a 730watt power supply, is it a true 730watt? Does it guarantee 730watts?

Other things like power too so if you have a lot of cooling fans, a high CPU, dual dvd burners, soundcard, and so on, they like power.

You can check the RAM if you want, but you are looking at a factor that wasnt a problem before. If you want a quick way to check your RAM, go download memtest+ and run it.

Crunch

[Kreepy Kitteh =^o.O^=]

Re: New video card, old problems.

Yeah I'd get a new PSU.. If the problem has only just started after installing a new GPU then that's most likely the source of the issue.. If the PC is just shutting down then it's not a heat issue (afaik) heat issues normally result in a complete lock up and a manual restart.

I have the same GPU but I use a 1000 watt Antec Quattro..

[Busby, Paul (Bicci)]

Re: New video card, old problems.

did you make sure to sweep your computer of the old graphics drivers before you instaled the new card?

[=98=]

Re: New video card, old problems.

Yikes, don't trust Raidmax, they are a budget brand. Could either be a faulty card, but more likely a poor quality PSU.

Whatever the case, i'd get a better PSU, it could just save your PC from exploding one day!

[AlecJ32]

Re: New video card, old problems.

A good 730 watt power supply would be over-kill for a card like that. You really don't need anywhere near 730 watts for a card like that.

However, a common problem in the power supply industry is that many cheaper units, such as Raidmax power supplies, have lower quality electrical components, poorer load balancing, and are rated for their power outputs at lower temperatures, and might not be able to provide their actual power output. The power supply could be the cause of the issue, but it could also be driver related.

It could also be a heat issue, but unless you stuck the card in a µATX case with no case fans, or the heatsink isn't seated correctly (which would surprise me) there shouldn't be an issue with heat. Any decent sized case with at least 1 case fan is more than enough to cool a PC.

[Wizrdwarts]

Re: New video card, old problems.

Yeah I'd get a new PSU.. If the problem has only just started after installing a new GPU then that's most likely the source of the issue.. If the PC is just shutting down then it's not a heat issue (afaik) heat issues normally result in a complete lock up and a manual restart.

I have the same GPU but I use a 1000 watt Antec Quattro..

1kw is way overkill for a single 4870, a good 650w should be fine for a 4870. But if you're going to upgrade a PSU, you might want to get a more-than-enough one if you plan to upgrade to multi-GPU systems in the future. But I think 750w would be good enough forever if you stick to single GPUs.

[[DR]S|Cpt.KillerCow77]

Re: New video card, old problems.

Yes I did make sure I got rid of all old drivers, but now since it sounds like a PSU problem I pulled my new card out and put my 8600 GTS back in and all of a sudden the computer did the same thing, it just magical shut down. Now I think it is a little more serious than the PSU because I have never had any problems with this 8600 and now im screwed cause I really needed to use my computer for work, haha oh well.