Video problem (black-outs)

E

Emret

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 18, 2004
Messages
342
hey guys.. i need some help here..

my screen has been going black out of nowhere for a week or so.. It'll just go black&come back like a refresh rate change, it almost is a simulation of a refreshrate change only it happens midgame-desktop whenever...

I also see some black horizontal flickers once in a while ( and sometimes before the blackout happens)


I have a bfg 6800U + neo power 480watt and 21" dell trinitron.

I've tried reinstalling drivers and defaulting, didnt fix it.. I will try another monitor (hopefully soon if i can borrow it) but I'm afraid this might be a video card issue.

I will format as a last resort but I would but I would like to know if anyone has an idea what might cause this...


thnx alot guys
 
I just lost my BFG 6800 NU this weekend. The screen went black and all computer activity stopped, although the power light and hard drive activity light were on. I shut off the hard-power switch on the PSU for a few seconds and turned it back on, then hit the soft-switch. I was greeted by a loud pop and the smell of burning circuit board. It took me a while to find the damage--on the underside of the card opposite some capacitors on the topside.

I took the card to Best Buy to see if they could do a warranty exchange for me rather than having to go through the mail with BFG. They no longer had any NU's in stock, but they were willing to crossgrade me to a GT if I paid the difference. I went for it, and when I got back home and installed the card, I noticed that some of the white powder from the "blow out" was on the power connector that I had plugged into the NU and was now plugging into the GT.

Aha! I says to myself, I vaguely remember a post on [H] way back about molex connectors working their way loose over time. I bet the molex plugged into my NU kept working its way loose (heat-related expansion and contraction) until the current suddenly dropped, causing my blackout. Then when I powered it back up, it was still close enough to arc from the molex pins to the connector, blowing out the card.

All that to say, especially since your Ultra requires TWO molex connectors, make sure they are plugged in snug and tight, and see if that makes the problem go away. With the power off, of course!

To everyone else: does my theory on my own card hold water, did I remember right about other people having this problem, and are there any suggestions about keeping those Molex plugs locked down, short of supergluing them in? :cool:
 
good point Commander. I'll be looking at my molexes tonight, since I had some odd behavior in Riddick in the locker room area when using eyeshine.
 
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