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movax

2[H]4U
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So...I just purchased a 7900GT CO from an upstanding member here in the forums.

Put it in, reinstalled drivers...all good, until I try to go 3D, BAM crash (screen goes all garbly, etc). Even in the nv control panel with the spinning logo, the card just dies.

So I decided to unplug the 6-pin PCIe power connector for shits and giggles (to see if the card would spit out a warning).

It works, and I have no idea why. Played a good 2 hours of BF2 loading on the card and it didn't hiccup once.

Is this normal behavior? Should I RMA this with eVGA anyways? (And contact the seller about shipping costs to eVGA?).
 
Doesn't sound normal to me... quick question, did your 6-pin PCI-e power cable work properly with another card? Just thinking it might be the power supply... do you have a volt meter to check it?
 
I actually don't have another card that uses the connector (a 7300 :p ), but I'll check it with my DMM. What should I be reading, 12V, right? TBH, it is a pretty lame PSU (Ultra 500W), but it's supported my hardware for a little over a year and a half now.

But even then, is the card drawing its power through the PCIe lanes then?
 
Don't you usually get an error message somewhere when you forget to plug in the power to the card?

Do you have another computer to try the card in?
 
ewb302 said:
Don't you usually get an error message somewhere when you forget to plug in the power to the card?

Do you have another computer to try the card in?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was expecting the error at bootup; I used to get a warning from my X700 when I forgot to plug in the floppy power connector.

No, I don't have another setup to test on unfortunately. I guess I will stress out the card tonight and examine the voltages I'm getting from the PSU to see if replacement is necessary. Just struck me as odd that the card was living under load without the 6-pin.
 
Ultra PSU's are a mixed bag, depending on the model - some are good, and some are really, really bad. Definitely check to make sure the voltage isn't fluctuating too much. Your mobo probably stabilizes voltage going through the PCI-e slot, but obviously it couldn't if it was straight from the 6-pin plug. The video card itself has power regulators too, which would have an additive effect on the stabilization already done by the mobo.

It wouldn't hurt to look up a review for your PSU from JohnnyGuru or another legit source (assuming you haven't done that already).
 
Over...

Whiskey...Tango...Foxtrot, Over..

Sorry, couldn't resist, anywho like an above member mentioned, Ultra PSU's are a mixed bag, and since you've never used it, definitely check the 6pin.
 
Running the card on low power might also slowly be hurting the card too, so I wouldnt do that too too much.....might wanna try using the 2 x molex to 1 x pci-e adapter for your power, any video card company would have them cheap...see if that gets same results!
 
Oooh yeah, I did see one of those Molex -> PCIe adapters laying around on my floor, I'll give that a shot.

Played like 8 hours of Oblivion straight last night (BIG difference from playing @ 800x600 very low, 7300 GS), no stability problems. I didn't realize it would be hurting the card though (maybe just increasing current draw through the traces on the mobo?), so I'll definitely be sure to get it PCIe power somehow.
 
Low power wont necessarily hurt your vid card, you might just see some weird shit, or reboot/crash if the card is really pushed. Really you would straining the mobo, cause there would be a higher amp draw through the socket/traces.
 
Could just be that your mobo is nice and juicy in the pci-e power dept.. I think that in general, pci-e video cards draw most of their power from the slot, where as with agp cards, they tapped the slot power out pretty fast and really needed the extra power from the 4 pin molex.. Now, if you went SLI I highly doubt you'd be able to do that.. I think with the one card you're prolly just barely getting away with it.. might be underpowering the card a little.. I bet you can't OC it too much, if at all.
 
revenant said:
I think that in general, pci-e video cards draw most of their power from the slot, where as with agp cards, they tapped the slot power out pretty fast and really needed the extra power from the 4 pin molex..
Click to expand...


Is that really an accurate statement?
I thought that PCIe could only supply 75w from the slot and any over had to come from the PSU directly, less for AGP. Hence the reason my 8800GTX needs two PCIe 6pin connections to run.

My wife's 7600gt doesn't need power from the PSU, but the 7900gt does.
 
Well, more.. not most.. more then AGP and apparently enough to run a 7900GT at default clocks.. maybe a bit underpowered.. I would not try that with an 8800 of any flavor.. I know for a fact that some motherboards pump more voltage through their pci-e slots and some have extra power molexs for supplying/keeping the pci-e voltage high and stable.. case and point, but old MSI Neo4 Plat.. I couldn't OC my 6800GTs worth a shit on that mobo.. then when I changed to a DFI SLI-DR I could OC them like nuts.. the extra power coming through the pci-e slots made all the difference..
 
If you're running the card without the PCI-E aux power connector plugged in, then it will boot and run just fine but at a reduced clock rate - sort of a 'limp mode'. You should actually have recieved a popup warning from the nVidia drivers when you boot up without the connector plugged in.

I would definately try a different PSU if possible. I'm not saying Ultra PSU's are bad at all in fact most of them are quite decent so long as you stay away from the ones that come with their cases, but it still might be at fault.

Also if you are using a 4-pin molex to PCI-E power adapter and your PSU has multiple 12v rails, make sure you're using the rail that's loaded the least.
 
Right-o, I'll be sure to try that out as soon as I get home from work.

It's a eVGA CO, so it already is running at higher-clocks, and doing fine, but I was planning on pushing it a bit further as well. I'll probably have it share the same power rail as my DVD burner or something tiny. ForceWare didn't inform me of the missing PCIe connector.

The mobo is a P5N32-E with 3 PCIe slots, so maybe that's why I'm getting away with running the card off the mobo...still, can't be too healthy, and I'll try running it off molex. If problem persists, I should look into a new PSU. It's the Ultra 500/520 that was FAR awhile ago.

On a side note, are their charts or similar somewhere where I can see the performance of my card in different titles? I've been using some of the reviews of the 7900GT as a baseline, but like for Bioshock, I can't seem to find much data on it. (Other than my probably-correct expectation of 1280x800 w/ medium settings, no AA).
 
FWIW, I also use one of the Ultra X-Finity 500W power supplies that were FAR. I have been using it for about a year now, and it is currently powering the computer in my signature. It has been reliable from day one. Maybe you have one that is gong bad, but I suspect something different, especially since you are not getting the error message from the nvidia drivers about the power plug not being connected.
 
Good luck on RMAing that card to EVGA unless you have a receipt. I bought one for my work and the accounting dept promptly lost the receipt. No amount of phone calls/emails helped. I don't plan on buying any more cards from EVGA.
 
tfbit said:
Good luck on RMAing that card to EVGA unless you have a receipt. I bought one for my work and the accounting dept promptly lost the receipt. No amount of phone calls/emails helped. I don't plan on buying any more cards from EVGA.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I hear they are real dicks about that...and unfortunately, I don't even have a damn box for it.

Hooked it up btw with the molex -> PCIe adapter, running fine now! :D
 
movax said:
Yeah, I hear they are real dicks about that...and unfortunately, I don't even have a damn box for it.

Hooked it up btw with the molex -> PCIe adapter, running fine now! :D
Click to expand...
I really think that a company with balls would always provide warranty support when the call comes in before the release date + warranty period. They are like "We released the card yesterday but because your dog chewed up the receipt, F@CK U!" I guess canadiun cumpanys DONT HAVE BALLS! Yeah, I'm still pissed about it...
 
Well, I guess it wasn't as stable as I thought. I don't see a problem with 2D clocks at all, and I dropped the 3D clocks down to below stock clocks for the moment until I can get a new PSU. I don't think that'll hurt anything, and I should get a new PSU soon (I'll try to stay all 2D), so this "problem" should go away. :D Don't want to take any risks with a company that won't repair my card. (For future reference, I believe BFG and XFX have top-rate customer service / lifetime warranties?)
 
tfbit said:
Good luck on RMAing that card to EVGA unless you have a receipt. I bought one for my work and the accounting dept promptly lost the receipt. No amount of phone calls/emails helped. I don't plan on buying any more cards from EVGA.
Click to expand...

Not related to the post - sry - but Ive been wondering about this for a while. Good to know.
 
tfbit said:
I guess canadiun cumpanys DONT HAVE BALLS! Yeah, I'm still pissed about it...
Click to expand...

Misinformed much?
about_01.jpg


And it's not hard to get around warranty restrictions if you're smooth on the phone... Seriously. I've never mailed a recipt in.

"I don't have the recipt anymore... I sent it in with a rebate and now the company I bought the card from went out of business" works 99% of the time

If it doesn't, hang up and try again. BFD.
 
movax said:
Yeah, I hear they are real dicks about that...and unfortunately, I don't even have a damn box for it.

Hooked it up btw with the molex -> PCIe adapter, running fine now! :D
Click to expand...

How is it that they are being "dicks"? ..I bought an x1800xt off of ebay and it died 2 weeks later...so I was SOL since I didn't buy it new..but that doesnt mean that the company blows just because they wont fix a 2nd hand product...If your worried about a warranty then buy your card new next time and hold onto the receipt... I learned from my mistake and hopefully you learned from yours..:p
 
Cowboy420 said:
How is it that they are being "dicks"? ..I bought an x1800xt off of ebay and it died 2 weeks later...so I was SOL since I didn't buy it new..but that doesnt mean that the company blows just because they wont fix a 2nd hand product...If your worried about a warranty then buy your card new next time and hold onto the receipt... I learned from my mistake and hopefully you learned from yours..:p
Click to expand...

Well, with lifetime warranties for RAM, I've gotten no-questions asked "send it to us" and get new RAM back (obviously if the RAM wasn't killed by removing heatspreaders and stuff". Given, that's RAM, but I was under the impression that lifetime warranties still apply to video cards even with transfer of ownership. (I thought I remember seeing a company that actually had some kind of form to indicate the card had been sold/traded).

I have no doubts that I could probably BS/smooth-talk eVGA into RMA'ing the card perhaps, but the fact that I'd need to go that far kinda sucks. :(
 
movax said:
So...I just purchased a 7900GT CO from an upstanding member here in the forums.

Put it in, reinstalled drivers...all good, until I try to go 3D, BAM crash (screen goes all garbly, etc). Even in the nv control panel with the spinning logo, the card just dies.

So I decided to unplug the 6-pin PCIe power connector for shits and giggles (to see if the card would spit out a warning).

It works, and I have no idea why. Played a good 2 hours of BF2 loading on the card and it didn't hiccup once.

Is this normal behavior? Should I RMA this with eVGA anyways? (And contact the seller about shipping costs to eVGA?).
Click to expand...

Congratulations.. you've just shortened the life span of your graphics card by running without the extra power plug!

I'd RMA that for sure. If it wasn't fucked up before, it is now.
 
Sr7 said:
Congratulations.. you've just severely shortened the life span of your graphics card and motherboard by running without the extra power plug!

I'd RMA that for sure. If they weren't fucked up before, they are now.
Click to expand...

Fixed.
 
azuldenial said:
You both are on crack. The most he would have done is strain the pci-e bus/slot. The mobo had to supply the power to card. A card with lack of power will either reboot/crash or generate some other randomness.
Click to expand...

SERIOUSLY :rolleyes: if it were bad at all, it would be unstable. im guessing it might have been bad regulation on the card... itd be a good idea to RMA if possible...
 
Yeah, in the interim I have the card eating the extra power from a different PSU entirely, so any "stress" at all is now gone...

AFAIK, all the lack of 6-pin power was doing was causing increased current draw over the motherboard traces, resulting in possibly increased heat generation. I fail to see how that would affect the card, firstly, and second, taking a probe to my mobo, surface PCB temperature was +/- 1C off of case ambient (its winter). Either way, it's running "as it should" now, though now I'm finally getting those damn CTDs in BF2, only online. :(
 
Well, I've been "lucky" and only gotten them occasionally, but these happen consistently (as I can't play online). Only thing I remember doing before they started happening (since it was running OK earlier) was upping Textures to High and AA to 4x...and there were some reports that dropping Textures to 'Low' fixed it...go figure. :rolleyes:
 
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