I think it's a power issue

E

extragoode

n00b
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Jul 22, 2004
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I built myself a computer a couple of years ago. It's an Athlon XP 1600+, 2x512 DDR2100, asus A7V266E mobo. Initially I had an asus 32MB GeForce2 MX 400 Dual Head and a 425 watt PS. I recently had the opportunity to upgrade and the GeForce2 wouldn't let me run my two 19" at their 1600x1200 max desktop space. So, I grabbed a gainward 256MB GeForceFX 5700 for cheap.

That worked great for a month or so, then I started getting this screen with a bunch of diagonal lines in multiple colors that popped up when I switched into 3D mode. Then it started happening right after windows started. Gainward said it was a driver issue, that I could only use their drivers, and not the nvidia ones. So I got theirs and no difference.

I started taking apart the computer and found a dark spot on the ATX connector, so I thought the PS bit it. It was only $25 2 years ago, so sure why not. I had an extra 350w lying around so I put it in. Still the same problem even with the 2 HDDs and 2 CD-ROMs unplugged (cause I wasn't sure if the 350w was enough for that FX5700.

Now it runs semi-stable when I underclock it about 30%, but still locks solid in 3D mode. I've underclocked the vid card so the 3D settings are the same as the 2D ones, and I've tried powering everything I can off of another 200w PS I've got and just let the 350w power the mobo, just to see if that helped anything and it didn't.

Any ideas?
 
I agree with Ace, i would check the card..and the 425 should be more then enough for what hardware u mentioned..just reseat the card and the plug to see if that helps..but i dont think itz ur power
 
Can you test the video card in another system?

I thought of that. I tried the card in SOYO board with a XP 2500+ Barton and a 350w PS and it worked just fine. I played Perimeter with the max settings on it for about an hour and everything worked fine. Card didn't even seem hot.
 
My first thought would be a damaged motherboard; especially if there is a scorch mark on the ATX power connector. Before thinking the worst, I would do the following (if you have not already done so):

1. Shut the computer down,
2. Follow the manufacturer's procedures to reset the CMOS,
3. Power up the computer, go into the BIOS and set performance defaults,
4. Save settings and reboot the computer,
5. Go back into the BIOS BEFORE it gets to booting off the hard drive and,
6. Adjust the BIOS back to the custom settings you had before (if you did in the first place).
 
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