GTX 260 Problems

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Fishzn

n00b
Joined
Jun 5, 2009
Messages
7
Hi guys

I'm new here but really desperate so I need some help please.

I had a GTX 260 that was working fine in my machine however I traded this card for a 8800GT (Don't game as much anymore) and gave my friend this card. However once he got and tried to use it he has had no luck. This is how he describes what is going on with the card:

"The card started up fine and then before it had even done it's initial install it stopped... Worked about 2 minutes literally... and now the fan doesn't even spin up when I switch on the machine. Tried various combinations of power connectors and clearing the bios on the mb, with no success."

"It posted and booted to windows, vista started automatically installing a driver and it asked to restart, I did so, it booted back up, into windows, and as I opened a folder from the desktop with a driver in it, the screen just went black with no sound or any kind of artifacting, I restarted the machine and it did an unusual post beep and the screen didn't react to the power coming on. I checked and noticed the fan was not spinning on the card, but is turning freely, and when I initially started up I checked that specifically, it was spinning fine and exhausting air out the case correctly. Since then I have used various combinations of power to the pci connections in case it's a rail problem, but has made no difference. I have left it off and unplugged for half an hour or so and then tried again. I tried removing the card and starting the machine with nothing in the slot, and the post sound is identical to when it is in. Lastly I tried resetting the bios with the mb jumper reset, and still nothing.
The card is a tight fit in the case but it fits fine I think and doesn't seem to be on any of the motherboard components, bar a minor passive heat sink which it may just touch but I don't see being a problem."

He has a Gigabyte P35C - DS3R motherboard and a Omega ISonic 600W PSU (its a local brand, 5V-28A, 3.3V-30A, 12V1-16A, 12V2-17A). Any ideas on what could be wrong and whether can get this working again? Is it the card thats has blown?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Brendan
 
I think the only way to tell for sure is to try the card in another PC, I would say PSU could be the problem as that PSU you list sounds dodgy, not a known brand
 
My money is on the PSU: Unknown brand, unknown info about the total amperage on the +12V rail, unknown actual manufacturer, unknown temperature and peak/continuous rating, etc.

If you can, retest the GPU in your system. In addition, if you can, take a picture of the PSU label on the side of the PSU. That should answer a few questions about who actually made the PSU and whether or not it has enough amperage on the +12V rail.
 
Hey guys

Thanks for the replies..I've also assumed it was the PSU..but can it blow the card so quickly after starting up? Does it draw max power so quickly? Basically all he did was pop it in, booted into Vista which then proceeded to install the drivers for him..On the next boot into Vista he just got onto the desktop and then all of a sudden black screen!

Heres a pic of the PSU's ratings:

dsc00113ynl.jpg
 
I'm pretty sure they recommend 36 amps on the 12v rail....
Im not sure if the card actually needs all that, but it may.
 
Fishzn said:
Hey guys

Thanks for the replies..I've also assumed it was the PSU..but can it blow the card so quickly after starting up? Does it draw max power so quickly? Basically all he did was pop it in, booted into Vista which then proceeded to install the drivers for him..On the next boot into Vista he just got onto the desktop and then all of a sudden black screen!
Click to expand...

Yes a poor quality PSU can damage a card in a very short amount of time.

As I suspected:
No mention whatsoever about the total amperage on the +12V rail.
No mention whatsoever who actually made the PSU
No mention of what temps and peak/continous it was rated at
 
Well I had it running on a PSU that output 32 amps on the 12V rails however it was a coolermaster Extremepower PSU. It ran with no problems for a long time. I suppose what the cheaper PSU's are rated for externally aren't necessarily true in terms of actual output. I guess it also has much to do with the quality and consistency of the amperage!

But thanks alot guys for the help with diagnosis. I will be able to test the card again tomorrow and check for myself if it is in fact the card that is blown. Just a quick question does the warranty of the card cover such things? Thanks again for the help even though I'm a newcomer!
 
Hey guys

Well I just got the card back and this is what I found. It booted again when it was in my machine..the fan spun up and it was working. But once again like it did for my friend once I rebooted into windows after it installed the driver..the screen just went blank...the cards fan stopped working and when I shut down and tried to reboot it doesn't want to post anymore. The thing is in the interim I've changed my PSU from a 750W coolermaster to a 550W coolermaster extreme power.

So could it just be that the card is not getting enough power to run ..however this only happens once windows installs a driver. I think I should test it in a machine with a bigger PSU rating. Thanks for any help :)
 
Where are you located?
If not the U.S, do you know of any online stores in your country that sells power supplies?
What's your budget for a new PSU in local currency?

EDIT:
A few things wrong with that Vantec Ion PSU:
- Only has 37A on the +12V rail which is really low for a 620W PSU (typical is 50A on the +12V rail).
- Somewhat heavy on the +5 and +3.3V rail meaning that it's more suited towards older systems.
- Topower made IIRC but judging from the specs, definitely one of Topower's low quality models.
- Zero, and I mean ZERO, mention of what temps it was rated at and whether or not it was rated at peak or continuous
 
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Hi Danny Bui

You have been a great help mate! Thanks

Anyway I am in South Africa. There are many stores which sell PSU's in my country online however our hardware is very expensive. This PSU in rands is R850 and works out in dollars to $106. However you say that it is rated at 37A on the 12V rail..but according to their site its rated at 22A on each of its 12V rails bringing the total to 44A. Am I incorrect in saying this?

The next PSU in this price range is the Vantec Ion2+ A 600W
http://www.rebeltech.co.za/product_info.php?cPath=93_759&products_id=7564

It is also rated at 44 amps on the 12V rail..I've mailed to find out whether it will run this card.

Thanks for all the help Danny :)
 
Fishzn said:
However you say that it is rated at 37A on the 12V rail..but according to their site its rated at 22A on each of its 12V rails bringing the total to 44A. Am I incorrect in saying this?
Click to expand...

Yes you are incorrect in saying that. You determine the amperage on the +12V rails by first finding out what's the total combined, max load, combined or max wattage set aside for the +12V rails/section alone. Then divide that total by 12 and you get how much amps the PSU has on the +12V rail.

That's the correct way to find out how much amps a power supply has. Don't add up the amps on the +12V rail to figure out the amperage. Doesn't work that way. If the total combined or max wattage can't be found on the power supply, check the manufacturer's site page for that PSU for that info. If the manufacturer doesn't provide that information, it's generally a good sign for you to drop that power supply from consideration.

In this case, at Vantec's own website, they list the total wattage available on the +12V rail as 444W. So 444W divided by 12 is 37A on the +12V rail. So yeah, don't add up the rails like that.

Oh and what CPU does your friend's PC have? And is it overclocked?

Assuming a Quad-Core CPU OC'd past 30% + the GTX 260 + two HDD, the Corsair 450VX, with 33A on the +12V rail, will be enough for that setup:
http://www.rebeltech.co.za/product_info.php?cPath=93_391&products_id=3584

So try and and see if you can spring the extra cash. In case you're wondering why I'm recommending the more expensive 450W PSU with 33A on the +12V rail over the cheaper 620W PSU with 37A on the +12V rail, it's based on the following factors:
- I know with 100% absolute certainty that the Corsair can actually provide 33A. I'm only 20% sure that the Vantec is capable of providing 37A.
- In my experience, PSUs with a significantly lower amperage than other similar wattage PSUs (like the Vantec) tend to be of very very low quality. In some cases, they're pretty much some of the shittiest PSUs out there
- The lack of info about what temps it was rated at and whether or not it was rated at peak or continuous is why I'm 20% sure that the Vantec is capable of providing 37A.

If it's still unclear, let me put it another way: Would you go with the woman you know for sure is a woman (Corsair) or the woman that you're 20% sure is a woman (Vantec)?
 
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