BFG 6800 GT Installation problems...

V

Vashek

n00b
Joined
Oct 27, 2004
Messages
16
Just wanted to get your guy's thoughts...

I bought and installed a BFG GeForce 6800 GT the other day. I hooked it up, powered my comp on and my screen was all distorted. Colors flashing, kinda like the computer screens in "The Matrix." (burning?) I went and bought an ATI x800 Pro, installed it no problem. I'd much rather have the 6800 GT, so debating on repurchasing it. I called BFG tech support, they guessed it was a defective card. What do you guys think? I'm thinking it may be the power supply. Because when I booted it up the 1st time, the system shut itself off and wouldnt restart for a minute.

I've got a 500watt power supply...although it came with my aspire case. Hearing that power supplies/case combos are a joke.


P4 2.4Ghz Northwood
Radeon X800 Pro
Shuttle AV49VN Motherboard
1GB RAM
Sound Blaster Audigy X-Gamer
Windows XP
Aspire X-Navigator Case
 
If it is a no-name psu, you got your answer yourself. Get a name-brand psu like the Antec NeoPower 480w and test again. The symptoms you indicate points clearly to the psu.

The GeForce 6800GT and Ultra are power hungry and require at least 20 amp on the +12v line in the psu to run stable.
 
You're looking at maybe a 10W difference between a 6800GT and X800 Pro. May I ask what your previous card was (and the drivers used). That seems to be the problem here, not the PSU. You also may have a defective 6800GT.
 
To this day the "get a new PSU" comments amaze me.
I have a 250 watt PSU in my Soltek Cube.
What's in it?

3.0C @3.6
Gig of Corsair XMS PC3200
BFG6800GT-OC
Raptor Boot
300 Gig SATA Storage
DVD Burner
Turtle Beach Santa Cruz sound card
Cold Cathodes, LED's, 92mm SmartFan II on top of the other fans.
Do the SFF PSU's just ahve better voltage regulation?

I have NO problems with stability. Try reseating the card. If it is the PSU, I'm glad I'm a cube owner :D
 
I was running a GeForce 3 Ti200, I'm not sure which nvidia drivers I was using. They were current as of August, so fairly new drivers.
 
typhoon43 said:
To this day the "get a new PSU" comments amaze me.
Click to expand...
And the day that you or another with your PS fails, and burns out all your components, I dont think it will amaze you! Spending a couple extra tens of dollars on a PS can help the stability, longevity, and overclockingability that we all desire. You spent that much on your computer, why not its heart (power supply)?
 
I checked on outpost.com, I've got the $59.99 Aspire Acrylic 500watt power supply. Cant be horrible. I called BFG again tonite, the tech said he doubted it was the power supply, because I would have still seen the windows start up screen regardless if the video card didnt have enough power. Since it was burning to start with, he guesses it was a defective card. Especially if the Radeon is running fine.

Now the tricky part....getting Frys Electronics to exchange the card since they didnt give me the new receipt, only the invoice. Didnt notice that till just now. Argh
 
Vashek said:
I checked on outpost.com, I've got the $59.99 Aspire Acrylic 500watt power supply. Cant be horrible. I called BFG again tonite, the tech said he doubted it was the power supply, because I would have still seen the windows start up screen regardless if the video card didnt have enough power. Since it was burning to start with, he guesses it was a defective card. Especially if the Radeon is running fine.

Now the tricky part....getting Frys Electronics to exchange the card since they didnt give me the new receipt, only the invoice. Didnt notice that till just now. Argh
Click to expand...
Go through BFG if Fry's won't... Just remember if your deadset on getting a new PSU find one with at least 18A on the 12V rail...
 
Vashek said:
I've got the $59.99 Aspire Acrylic 500watt power supply. Cant be horrible.
Click to expand...
Yes It can be! If it only puts out around 200W, you're going to want to pay for an actual PS!

Anyone can claim XXXW PS, there are only so many that can prove it.
 
Hehe, problem is the card I have now is the Radeon x800 Pro....which I think is inferior. So getting an exchange from the ATI to the GeForce without the receipt should be interesting. =/

Just incase I will be pickin up an Antec 480W PS when I try to exchange =p
 
I have the 500W Aspire power supply and have no problems with it. It supplies 34 amps on the 12V rail, which is sufficient for systems.
 
1) Those PSUs tend to work over the spec at hotter temp. It is not uncommon to see power related failure in system.

2) PSU in SFF tends to be of higher quality than Generic PSU. Often PSU rated in SFF for 250W can handle 300W before shutting down. However, Generic PSU rated 500W might be worse off than 300W quality ones. I have had total of 10 PSU over last 2 years and can confirm to that. (current fav is OCZ 520W powerstream which is based off on quite decent PSU anyway, next is enermax noisetaker line). - And yes, I've had 2 Shuttles and 2 solteks in between as well.

3) Cube is nice for only one thing in my opinion as it isn't quieter, cooler, nor more capable. It is SMALL. Great for tight spaces and lan partying. I've loved cube while I had it for it's sleak look but the limitation was too much over time. PSU is not one of it's prowess for sure when it is the loudest thing in your system which you can't do much about. (especially toward shuttle ones... soltek at least has 80x15mm fan in there... but this psu is hotter than even shuttle...) I would start worrying about longevity of components when the ambient temp is 10-15c higher than typical system. Even worse when over clocked. Let's hope your HDD do last. (especially with raptor in there... ouch).

TO ORIGINAL POSTER: I would look into something of higher 12v rail than Antec for your future need. You will be fine while in P4 game... but once you move over to A64, 12v is all that matters... and 6800GT do demand on 12v rail.

typhoon43 said:
To this day the "get a new PSU" comments amaze me.
I have a 250 watt PSU in my Soltek Cube.
What's in it?

3.0C @3.6
Gig of Corsair XMS PC3200
BFG6800GT-OC
Raptor Boot
300 Gig SATA Storage
DVD Burner
Turtle Beach Santa Cruz sound card
Cold Cathodes, LED's, 92mm SmartFan II on top of the other fans.
Do the SFF PSU's just ahve better voltage regulation?

I have NO problems with stability. Try reseating the card. If it is the PSU, I'm glad I'm a cube owner :D
Click to expand...
 
I had the same issue with a BFG 6800 oc (128). After numerous checks and tests (placing it in two diferent rigs) I determined this is a card defect. I also have a BFG 6800 GT oc which does not have any problems and runs on a generic 350w and my TT 480w.
 
typhoon43 said:
To this day the "get a new PSU" comments amaze me.
I have a 250 watt PSU in my Soltek Cube.
What's in it?

3.0C @3.6
Gig of Corsair XMS PC3200
BFG6800GT-OC
Raptor Boot
300 Gig SATA Storage
DVD Burner
Turtle Beach Santa Cruz sound card
Cold Cathodes, LED's, 92mm SmartFan II on top of the other fans.
Do the SFF PSU's just ahve better voltage regulation?

I have NO problems with stability. Try reseating the card. If it is the PSU, I'm glad I'm a cube owner :D
Click to expand...

buuutttt ur psu in a cube.. though small.. it is very high quality :) and his 350w psu may not give off as much power as urs ..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top