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6950 BSOD confusion

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cesium666

Supreme [H]ardness
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I bought a used 6950 off a member here, looks physically fine and was promised to be in perfect condition (I do not doubt this in any way).

I replaced my 5850 with the card, and as soon as it gets to desktop it BSODs. I reset my mobo bios to default settings (resetting cpu to stock) and suddenly there are no problems. It works fine (even when my CPU is OCd) in safe mode no matter what.

I've tried both my mobos slots, did a bunch of driver shenanigans, etc, but can't figure out why these BSODs are happening when my CPU is OCd (even if only oc'd to say 3.33ghz instead of my usual 3.8ghz). However, when I do only OC to 3.33ghz then the desktop loads up but there is intermittent artifcating and it eventually freezes and BSODs.

The issue with it OCd leads me to suspect power as the issue, but I feel like my hx620 should be hefty enough to support the 6950. My 5850 was heavily OCd and overvolted, so I don't think it would end up using much less power than a stock 6950.

Any ideas?

EDIT: the card just artifacted/froze at desktop with stock bios settings. maybe the card is just doa?
 
id say 1.5yrs or so at the most. card is an msi twin frozr ii

EDIT: just swapped mobo slots again, so card is on the bottom. it booted fine to desktop and so far seems to be working alright. CPU is at stock. confirmed that the video cards fans are spinning, so thats not it

EDIT2: im pretty sure its not directly the video cards problem. have been running the msi kombustor stress test thing for 5 minutes and its purring along perfectly. not sure why i can't oc my cpu at all though...
 
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The BSODs do sound like a power issue, but I would not be 100% sure.

The HX620 is a solid PSU, but an overclocked i7 uses about 258w at load and the shader unlocked 6950 uses probably about 100w more than the 5850 (yup, it really is that much). Combined it's about 508w and with system components you might be hitting the load on the PSU. Might still be okay, but if you are only having problems while overclocking, then it probably is a power issue.

Is that safe mode of the BIOS or Windows?
 
Safe mode in windows works fine. Just played a round of BC2 with the i7 at stock and the 6950 at a mild OC (maxed out CCC) with absolutely no problems. 100% convinced the card itself is okay cuz of that.

I am leaning towards a power issue especially since the PSU seemed to start buzzing a bit while playing BC2. I smacked it a few times and it went away LOL.
 
Lol, gotta show the hardware who is boss! Well let me know if you have any other issues.
 
Yup! Filed an RMA request with corsair, so once I get a new PSU hopefully everything will be fixed.
 
Will the RMA after 1.5 years? You going to get the same PSU or a better one? I'm about 95% sure your issue is power.

620 really should be enough for your average single card system but that depends what else you've got under the hood. If I was you, I'd go over to the local electronics store, buy yourself a PSU at 750 watts or higher just to see if you still have this issue and then return the PSU.
 
Yep it has a 5yr warranty. It seems that my model has been discontinued, so perhaps the 650W replacement will be offered. I'll see what corsair says, otherwise i may hit up microcenter around here.
 
Well it's working in that it hasn't blown up, but its buzzing continuously at idle, something that it never did before.
 
The buzzing may be a nuisance, and if they'll replace it great, but in all likelihood it has no impact on - nor is it a symptom of - your problem. I'm not sure what the policies are when it comes to RMAing as I've never had to do it yet...do they only swap it for the same product or are they willing to give you credit towards something better?
 
While it may not be a symptom of this specific problem, I would not call it normal operation of a PSU in anyway. I think they replace it with the same or similar product.
 
cesium666 said:
While it may not be a symptom of this specific problem, I would not call it normal operation of a PSU in anyway.
Click to expand...

Sure, they shouldn't be buzzing so if they ought to replace it. I would just be concerned that you'll still experience this issue when you get the new one. I don't believe microcenters have re-stocking fees so again I'd suggest picking up a stronger PSU just to test with for a day and return it. Can't tell you how many times Frye's has helped me troubleshoot my system. ;)
 
I got an advanced RMA from corsair and a bump to a 650HX, so I'll have the replacement soon and hopefully it will fix it. If not, I will then hit up microcenter.
 
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