DOA Video Card ?

stevenmu

Hi All,

I just recieved a 6800 from OC'ers and when I boot with it I get weird corrupt looking characters all over the screen, when it gets as far as windows I can make out the screen but there's funny multi coloured stationary lines going down it. AFAIK this is probably down to zapped memory but I just wanted to see if anybody can think of anything else. It says it's AGP 4x/8x, my board only handles up to 4x but that should be ok right ? I'm going to try a BIOS update just in case that helps but I doubt it somehow. I've a 350w psu and I've tried it on a cable on it's own with all my drives disconnected so it shouldn't be a power problem either right ?

It probably is dodgy mem but I don't want to have to go through all the waiting of an RMA only to find that it was a problem with my system after all so any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Steve.

Mixie

stevenmu wrote:

I've a 350w psu

I'm in the same boat myself, and was going to order one this morning until I seen the 460w PSU 'requirement'. If you get it working on your 350, make sure you reply to this thread so I can go ahead and order myself one

Inspector Gadget

The lines and colours and stuff almost sound like what happens when a CRT monitor is being driven at a higher refresh rate than it can handle (and isn't smart enough to go to standby to prevent damage to itself)...

Question:
Does your boot screen (i.e. where the BIOS reports what hardware etc. you have) come up okay, or does that have odd characters on it too?

While I'm at it, I assume you have a relatively recent monitor plugged into this beast (CRT or LCD?)

Gadget

stevenmu

Mixie: The specs I've seen were from 300w to 350w, this is just a plain 6800 though maybe you're looking at a GT or Ultra ?

Inspector Gadget: I've seen the refresh rate problem myself and it's nothing like that, at the bios and os select screens it's like I can almost make out the text but there's other random characters overlaid on them. When windows loads up the lines appear, they're in groups of 5 or 6 going down the screen they change in colour from top to bottom, ie each line has different colours going down it, and they don't seem to move. The monitors I've tried are all fairly recent and easily handle common refresh rates and resolutions

I've spotted elsewhere a guy had problems after hooking up a second monitor to the DVI using the VGA adaptor, which was how I tried mine first, and he had the same make/model (Galaxy glacier) so it could be a common problem with the cards. It's a pity if it is, it seems like one of the better 6800s out there. They come fitted with an Arctic rev 4 cooler and 2.2ns Hynix ram for about €350 delivered.

Stephen

Have you got the extra molex power connector(s) connected? I forgot to connect one to my 9800pro the first time i installed it

I understand that a system with a 6800 installed will boot (somewhat) without the molex power connected, but may have funny results like you've got.

Sir Random

Corruption in the BIOS usually means borked ram, but could be a power issue. Is it a good quality 350w psu (enermax/antec/tagan)?

Even if your psu is a good make, I'd try it with another psu if possible, before rma'ing.

Inspector Gadget

Right, if it's happening right away (rather than after a resolution change) then it's not a monitor refresh problem - could well be a power problem. While nVidia now say a decent 350W supply (with a strong +12v rail) would do a 6800 at stock clock, the card I think you have ( http://www.gfe.com.hk/product/Geforce_6800.htm ) is overclocked slightly, which might not help. What brand is the PSU? If there's one thing I am sure of here, it's that not all power supplies are created equal...

Gadget

stevenmu

The PSU is a Jeantech, AFAIK they're nothing special but not too bad either. I haven't used the hardware monitor in a while but I remember the voltages were pretty consistent. I've tried the card without the molex connected and got no display at all, so it is getting at least some power through it when connected. I have another 350w in another case so I'm going to try connecting up that just for 6800 on it's own (I'll leave it in it's current case so I don't have rewire anything until I know if it'll do any good). I'll try falshing the mobo's BIOS aswell just in case and report back.

Thanks for the help guys.

halenger

Slightly off topic but I was looking at a 6800GT and thinking/planning/hoping to get it at some stage not too far in the future.

Min specs it says are 300W though. This is the PNY one I think. Will the 300W be ok or should I just buy a 450W PSU at the same time.

Oh and are PSUs fairly compatible for installing? As in I've an AOpen case (hush), will a decent 450W Antec fit it ok? Or even a cheaper more generic 450 PSU?

stevenmu

Ok, tried a seperate psu for just the card and a few other things but no joy so RMA'ing now

Halenger: From what I've seen you'll only be ok with 300w if it's a good make of PSU and you're not running too much other stuff

P.S. For people thinking of getting the GT there's a rumour going around that the next version of RivaTuner can re-enable the 4 pipelines disabled on the standard 6800, giving you essentially a slower clocked GT. Get one with decent ram and sort out a good cooling solution and ....