My 7800GTX Explode!

X

xerus`

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Dec 22, 2005
Messages
1,159
I think I know that the videocard is the only thing broken in the computer, but just to make sure I want to get some second opinions. I'll start from the beginning.

You probably want to know the specs now:
Asus A8N SLI Premium
7800gtx
2gb OCZ platinum ram
Athlon 64 3700+ (running at 2.7ghz)
520w OCZ Modular PSU

Mid-june I purchased Trackmania United, and I was playing it nightly. During one of those nights, I noticed that my FPS dropped down to like 15 or 20, when its usually getting 60 or 70. I noticed that nVidia control panel popped up and told me that it dropped the videocard's clockspeed due to an incredibly hot temperature reading on the GPU. I thought this was pretty strange, I mean it wasnt particularly hot in my apartment and this is the first time I've seen this, and there was no overclocking going on in the video card at all. The only thing that I had done was update the video drivers from 80 somethings (I dont remember the exact number) to the latest ones, and this one had the new control panel and what not, and everything was different. I didnt mess with any settings or do anything stupid though.

So now its the week of the 4th of July and nothing has happened since that incident. My video card was working fine as far as I knew, Trackmania and UT2k4 were both working fine. Then last night I noticed that Trackmania was running with a pretty low framerate. I thought that was pretty strange, and I was going to check the video card temps but I forgot and ended up just going to bed.

Now I wake up today, and notice that my computer is in that wierd "half off" state, like something shorted out somewhere. Power was still flowing to the computer, but the power supply was off. Son of a bitch ,I thought, this computer has been perfect since I built it (Christmas 06) and now it decides to destroy itself? So I turn off the power supply, turn it back on, and hit the power on the computer. The power supply kicked on for about 2 seconds then turned off, but power was still going to the computer. At this point I thought it could be anything, in fact I was afraid that maybe a moth flew in and landed on something and got fried. I blew out the case with compressed air and what not, but still nothing.

I then noticed that the sticker on my video card's heatsink was hanging off. It actually looked like a piece of metal hanging down and I thought "Holy shit did my GPU blow the heatsink off or something?" but it was just a silver sticker... ;P I removed the video card, and turned on the computer. Without the video card in the PCI-E slot, it turns on and boots up then gives me the POST error code for no video card, which would be normal behavior at this point.

I'm not able to test hardware, because this is the only PCI-E video card I own, and the only PCI-E motherboard I own. I think I can safely assume that its the video card based off of the fact that the computer acts normal without this video card in, and wont even turn on when it is in...

So-- would you reach the same conclusion and just go for a new video card? I'm not really interested in building a whole new rig right now... and I've been looking for an excuse to get an 8800 something lately.

Thanks guys ;D
 
Sounds like the card has died. Do you have an old PCI video card hanging around? If so, put that in to at least see if the MB completes POST. (I have an old card I hung onto just for that reason).
 
yeah ..time for a new HD2900XT to go in there ...

...doesn't trackmania contain starforce? ...that's probably what killed your vidcard!
 
8800gts ftw, just rma the thing, sounds liek your heatsink lost contact with the core and than the thing throttled down, or something got in the way of your gpu fan. If i was you I would have opened my case right after you had problems, in any case...... 8800gts ftw :D
 
Well I went out and got an 8800gts at CompUSA. I would wait and order online and all that jazz, but I really dont have the time unfortunately. I need to get my PC back up and running ASAP.

I plan to RMA the card as soon as possible, once I remember which company I actually bought it from. Its got a "D" like logo on the fan, and sorta V like stripes down the plastic over the heatsink... I feel like the name of the company is right there but I just cant remember it. I bought it December 06 ... if I can get an RMA for it, I'll probably keep that one around for emergencies (like this) or I'll sell it to someone. I'm about to try and turn on my PC With the new 8800gts in there.. (this is the first double stacked video card I've used, damn this thing is huge o_o) we'll see how it works out.
 
xerus` said:
Well I went out and got an 8800gts at CompUSA. I would wait and order online and all that jazz, but I really dont have the time unfortunately. I need to get my PC back up and running ASAP.

I plan to RMA the card as soon as possible, once I remember which company I actually bought it from. Its got a "D" like logo on the fan, and sorta V like stripes down the plastic over the heatsink... I feel like the name of the company is right there but I just cant remember it. I bought it December 06 ... if I can get an RMA for it, I'll probably keep that one around for emergencies (like this) or I'll sell it to someone. I'm about to try and turn on my PC With the new 8800gts in there.. (this is the first double stacked video card I've used, damn this thing is huge o_o) we'll see how it works out.
Click to expand...

death or no death, I'd use that as an excuse to get an 8800GTS, haha.
 
Woo... I'm up and running on the 8800GTS. It looks like the nvidia control panel has changed even more... what the hell is up with the GPU Temperature monitor? I had to install nTune shit to get to it, and now the nvidia control panel is loaded with stuff that I wish it wasnt. Why would I want to change my motherboard settings with this thing?

Man, I miss the old nVidia control panel. Simple and effective, I just clicked a button there was my gpu temp... but now I have no idea how to get to it.
 
Wouldn't happen to be an EVGA card would it? My 7800GTX 512 died all the sudden while playing STALKER. I RMA'd it and EVGA sent me another broken 7800GTX 512. I had to pay the cost of shipping on both cards until they finally sent me something that works. Needless to say I will never buy another EVGA product. My last 5 cards have all been EVGA but their quality has really dropped over the last year.
 
I thought it might've been, but I just remembered that its a Leadtek, and the sticker that melted off the card reveals this. I tried leadtek.com but it seems to be dead, and every other google search for "leadtek" just leads me to review sites. Any ideas on how to contact them?
 
Leadtek
46723 Fremont Blvd
Fremont ,CA 94538
USA
Telephone Numbers:
Customer Service: 510-490-8076
Tech Support: 510-490-8076
Manufacturer's Fax: 510-490-7759

Email:
Customer Service Email: [email protected]
Tech Support Email: [email protected]
Tech Support URL: www.leadtek.com

Dude, I tried calling them to check if the phone is still active. The numbers are DISCONNECTED. That sucks.

EDIT: Here's their UPDATED USA WEBSITE.
 
Alright well I'm going to see what they say. It turns out I lied, I meant to say December 05 is when I got it, but their warranty seems to be 36 months, so that should work out.
 
peacetilence said:
Wouldn't happen to be an EVGA card would it? My 7800GTX 512 died all the sudden while playing STALKER. I RMA'd it and EVGA sent me another broken 7800GTX 512. I had to pay the cost of shipping on both cards until they finally sent me something that works. Needless to say I will never buy another EVGA product. My last 5 cards have all been EVGA but their quality has really dropped over the last year.
Click to expand...

I am sorry to hear that, but evga cards are all the same cores as everyone else and the same memory and the same PCB. I really suggest that you give evga another chance to make things right.
 
ThreeDee said:
...doesn't trackmania contain starforce? ...that's probably what killed your vidcard!
Click to expand...

While Starforce has damaged a DVD-burner of mine, I dont think it was responsible for the video card. ;P
 
peacetilence said:
Wouldn't happen to be an EVGA card would it? My 7800GTX 512 died all the sudden while playing STALKER. I RMA'd it and EVGA sent me another broken 7800GTX 512. I had to pay the cost of shipping on both cards until they finally sent me something that works. Needless to say I will never buy another EVGA product. My last 5 cards have all been EVGA but their quality has really dropped over the last year.
Click to expand...

Calm down man, sometimes they will have a bad card thats just the way technology works. I say give them another chance.
 
xerus` said:
I thought it might've been, but I just remembered that its a Leadtek, and the sticker that melted off the card reveals this. I tried leadtek.com but it seems to be dead, and every other google search for "leadtek" just leads me to review sites. Any ideas on how to contact them?
Click to expand...

I used to have the same problems.. it wasn't the card, it was my powersupply. Sounds like you are having the same problem.
 
ThreeDee said:
yeah ..time for a new HD2900XT to go in there ...

...doesn't trackmania contain starforce? ...that's probably what killed your vidcard!
Click to expand...


bah get a 8800 GTS and its on Steam now :D no crap copy protection :D
 
I was going to say -- not one of the "big 3" (EVGA, XFX, BFG) but certainly not bankrupt and impossible to contact, either...
 
yea go ahead and get a 8800gts well you may experience some bottlenecking though.

Or why not get a 8600gts for now and save up for a new rig? :)
 
Elios said:
bah get a 8800 GTS and its on Steam now :D no crap copy protection :D
Click to expand...

hey now ...just because I run a BFG 8800GTS 640mb OC edition video card , doesn't mean that everybody should run 8800GTS's!!

:p
 
xerus` said:
While Starforce has damaged a DVD-burner of mine, I dont think it was responsible for the video card. ;P
Click to expand...


If you can prove that, the "wonderful" people at starforce will supposedly pay you $10,000. I'd love to see someone claim this. Link
 
xerus` said:
Woo... I'm up and running on the 8800GTS. It looks like the nvidia control panel has changed even more... what the hell is up with the GPU Temperature monitor? I had to install nTune shit to get to it, and now the nvidia control panel is loaded with stuff that I wish it wasnt. Why would I want to change my motherboard settings with this thing?

Man, I miss the old nVidia control panel. Simple and effective, I just clicked a button there was my gpu temp... but now I have no idea how to get to it.
Click to expand...

dump ntune, get rivatuner.
However in the ntune,select performance,then adjust GPU and there is the temp.
Another way is to ask it for NV Monitor which will display all sorts of temp data.
 
RussianHAXOR said:
I am sorry to hear that, but evga cards are all the same cores as everyone else and the same memory and the same PCB. I really suggest that you give evga another chance to make things right.
Click to expand...

Spoken like a guy who has direct ties to evga, if I'm not mistaken.:eek:

Evga has always been upstanding when I've had a problem (only twice).
 
RussianHAXOR said:
Am i lying?
Click to expand...

Are you paranoid???? Looking over your shoulder???? Have tin foil in your hat????

There was nothing said about lying, just a very zealous plea to give the company another chance.
I said they have always been professional with me.:D
 
ThreeDee said:
hey now ...just because I run a BFG 8800GTS 640mb OC edition video card , doesn't mean that everybody should run 8800GTS's!!

:p
Click to expand...

Yeah thats what I ended up getting actually. I wont really be playing any mega-demanding games until probably Crysis, or maybe UT3.. and I turn down the graphics so I can see better anyway. ;P

lloose said:
I used to have the same problems.. it wasn't the card, it was my powersupply. Sounds like you are having the same problem.
Click to expand...

It very could well be a power supply issue, but everything else in the computer has been running fine for a year and a half now. I probably need to get a bigger one though.. I'm running 4 hard drives and this 8800 gts now, but this thing has been quite the trooper, and OCZ is a pretty good brand and they've been extremely good to me as far tech support and product replacement goes, so if anything goes wrong with it I'll give them a ring as well.
 
you'll be happy with it as I am .. I figured if it starts chuggen too much down the road I can either pick up another one and run SLi or sell it and get whatever is second tier by then .. :cool:
 
Time for an 8800 GTX or GTS. I got the XFX Brand after my 7800 GTX's (Which were EVGA) I have never had any problems with Evga..Maybe I got lucky...
 
I did an rma with Leadtek probably about two years ago. Had to send back my 6800GT agp card. It was very easy and painless other than the fact I had to buy a 6600Gt to use in meantime. I wasn't expecting much other than a reman card, but the package seemed to be a brand new card which I still use without any problems.
 
Did you get any pictures of your exploded card? Post 'em up if ya did!
 
Xer...is there any chance that perhaps your powersupply caused your video to go bad? If it was me, I would replace that PSU asap.

I don't trust OCZ.

Just a siggestion.

~FID
 
Sounds like it could also be a power supply problem.

Has to be one of the two. Like if the PSU is crapping out, because it cannot properly power the Video card anymore. It seems odd to me that your PSU shuts off, I would think even if the card was bad you would get some error codes or beeping. (Not necessarily true though).

But since you were having issues with the video card (probably loose heatsink) I would also say that is most likely the problem.

When your video card said the core was too hot, did you check the temperature? My 7800GT runs hotter than my CPU.

Don't have an ancient PCI video card to try?
 
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