Problems replaing a video card in a desktop

Chumpski

Hi all,

Hoping somebody here can help me.

I am trying to replace my graphics card in my desktop from a ATI Radeon HD x1600 to a Nvidia ASUS GTX 460. Both are PCIe cards. I've never done this myself before and im having problems. Heres what i did:

- Uninstalled ATI catlyst center and display driver and cleared the c:/temp directory as per ATIs instructions.
- Powered off the PC and replaced the ATI card with the Nvidia.
- When I power on, I hear three beeps and then a pause and it repeats for a few seconds. The BIOS startup screen does not display on the monitor.

I put back in the ATI card and it starts up fine.

The min spec for the Nvidia card is from the box "2GB RAM, 450W power supply, 2 free power connectors and a PCIe express slot plus the correct driver for the motherboard".

Im a little lost here. What do you think? Im not sure about my power supply, it might not have enough power maybe? Or maybe update my BIOS or motherboard drivers?

Thanks.

dreamers75

You need to plug 2 6 pin connectors into the GTX, do you have a 450w power supply?

If your pc doesnt have them, you can buy connectors for 12v.

This is what you need, these are the connectors they use 12v which your PSU should have a few off.




If your Power supply doesnt have them as standard.

this is them as standard



Maplin will have everything you need quickly or internet if you want ti cheap

Antar Bolaeisk

I'd suspect the power supply as well, especially since it's a major jump from an X1600 to a gtx 460.

What computer do you have? If you do have to buy a new power supply then you'll need to make sure it's the correct form factor. For instance, Dell used the use the BTX standard (I think) which made it a pain in the rear end trying to get a replacement psu from anyone but them. Not sure what they're like now though. Also, this might get more of a responce in the upraging forum.

Chumpski

dreamers75 wrote: »

You need to plug 2 6 pin connectors into the GTX,

Sorry, i forgot to mention that 1 of those 6 pin connectors came with the GTX card and i dont have any others. There are 2 6 pin slots on the GTX card so i figured i would try using the upper or lower one but neither worked.

Lets say i need 2 6 pin connectors as you say, I only have 2 free 4 pin power supply connectors (EDIT: I think they are floppy drive power cables by the looks of them ) which i was using for 1 of the 6 pin connectors to the GTX card, so i guess I would need to do a bit of rewiring and add extra connectors to get it going? Or maybe change the power supply (This would be a little too much for me as i dont have much experience with this...)

dreamers75 wrote: »

do you have a 450w power supply?

I will check if my PC has a 450 W power supply. I'm not sure about that.
It might be the case that i need to change that too i suppose... Thanks.

Chumpski

Antar Bolaeisk wrote: »

I'd suspect the power supply as well, especially since it's a major jump from an X1600 to a gtx 460.

What computer do you have? If you do have to buy a new power supply then you'll need to make sure it's the correct form factor. For instance, Dell used the use the BTX standard (I think) which made it a pain in the rear end trying to get a replacement psu from anyone but them. Not sure what they're like now though. Also, this might get more of a responce in the upraging forum.

Yeah its a major jump and normally i wouldnt be too bothered for gaming but im learning to use OpenGL and i need a GL 3.3 or greater card to run and learn the latest version of OGL.

Yeah i will try posting there as well, thanks.

My desktop is a HP pavillion with Windows XP media centre. I should probably get the type of motherboard and BIOS version as well maybe for getting some help. Also i must get the type of power supply. Thanks guys, i will be back with that information soon.

Monotype

Chumpski wrote: »

I will check if my PC has a 450 W power supply. I'm not sure about that.
It might be the case that i need to change that too i suppose... Thanks.

Tell us the make as well, or better yet, could you post a picture of writing on the side with all the details?

Chumpski wrote: »

Or maybe change the power supply (This would be a little too much for me as i dont have much experience with this...)

If you can open up your case, then you can put in a new PSU. It only involves a few screws and making sure that every item has power after that.

Chumpski

Found the problem with all your help. Thanks.

The PSU is a HIPRO HP-D3057F3p (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817174025).

Its a 300W power supply so I need to get a new one. Also the GTX-460 card does need 2 6pin connectors, connected to the PSU. They only put one 6 pin in the box! I guess when the BIOS didnt find any graphics card or when there was too much draw on the power, it failed to boot up.

Monotype

Whatever you do now, please don't run out and buy a crappy PSU. There's a lot of them on sale that that say they're 500W when they're not capable of half of that and can really damage your components. If you need any recommendations, I can help you pick one out, or you can ask anyone in the building & upgrading forum.

Chumpski

Im reading this guide on what to look out for in a PSU.
http://www.wikihow.com/Buy-a-Power-Supply

What do you think about this one, Monotype?

http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ZKB_01COM/29_PSU/01_PSU/productdetails/15342789/Antec_TruePower_Quattro_850_EC_Power_supply_%28/0761345_07850_4/default.aspx

or this one:

http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ZKB_01COM/29_PSU/01_PSU/productdetails/15355432/ZALMAN_ZM750_HP_Power_supply_%28_internal_%29_/ZM750_HP/default.aspx

Both Antec and Zalman seem to be good manufacturers, right?

Anything else i should look out for besides reliability/wattage output in a PSU? Dimensions of it maybe, number of connectors, etc.?

Monotype

That's most a good guide, but I'd nearly put the bit about the crappy manufacturers first, instead of in the tips. Their categories need a bit of revision too.

Both of those are excellent PSUs, but you really don't need to spend that much on it. You could get something cheaper or maybe reuse it when you build a new computer next year? Antec mostly have good PSUs (some of their cheap ones are mediocre) and some very good PSUs (as above).

The PSU you linked earlier was an ATX PSU which is generally standard size, but they can vary a little, so maybe search for the model number of your computer to see if anyone else had any problems with installing a new PSU.

I think you're OK for connectors. The zalman has a 6 pin and 8 pin (detachable to 6+2) connectors for your card. The quattro has 2x6pins and 2x8pins which is enough for two cards.

The other connectors you should consider is for your motherboard. Newer boards need 1x24pin and 1x8pin (different than PCI-E 8pin above).
Your PSU lists
1 x Main connector (20Pin)
1 x 12V (P4) (This is 4-pin)

Both those PSUs come with 20+4 pin connectors (i.e., detachable 4-pins), and either the a separate 4 pin/4+4 pin.

Er... that's a lot of me saying pins. Bottom line: yes, they will work.

Jonny7

Chumpski wrote: »

Im reading this guide on what to look out for in a PSU.
http://www.wikihow.com/Buy-a-Power-Supply

What do you think about this one, Monotype?

http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ZKB_01COM/29_PSU/01_PSU/productdetails/15342789/Antec_TruePower_Quattro_850_EC_Power_supply_%28/0761345_07850_4/default.aspx

or this one:

http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ZKB_01COM/29_PSU/01_PSU/productdetails/15355432/ZALMAN_ZM750_HP_Power_supply_%28_internal_%29_/ZM750_HP/default.aspx

Both Antec and Zalman seem to be good manufacturers, right?

Anything else i should look out for besides reliability/wattage output in a PSU? Dimensions of it maybe, number of connectors, etc.?

I have a HP pavillion, lord knows how you are squeezing everything in there

Those are good PSU's, but you really do not need to spend so much

Corsair PSU's are very popular now. The 550 watt model should be more than enough to power your system.

Overheal

Monotype wrote: »

Whatever you do now, please don't run out and buy a crappy PSU. There's a lot of them on sale that that say they're 500W when they're not capable of half of that and can really damage your components. If you need any recommendations, I can help you pick one out, or you can ask anyone in the building & upgrading forum.

And actually, if you want it to last you many years from now, I'd suggest a supply with more watts than needed. My Corsair 750W for example has capacitors rated for 10,000 hours at full load, or 100,000 hours at half load. And keeping it at around 60% is where I achieve peak efficiency anyway. Anything higher and you lose efficiency, the PSU gets hot, and the fan kicks on high, the **** gets noisy, etc. etc.

Chumpski

I will take all your advice into account lads, thanks!

I hope to f i can get that GTX card working as im under pressure to learn opengl as well and as fast as i can and i am stuck using version 2.1 at the moment as thats all the ATI card supports!

Jonny7 wrote: »

I have a HP pavillion, lord knows how you are squeezing everything in there

thats exactly why im not confident about doing it myself! I think ill get somebody to do it for me. Everything is packed in so tightly. Youd have to rip out everything to get the PSU out. I had a nightmare today getting the GTX card in as it takes up the width of 2 PCI slots plus theres a fan on the side of it so i thought it safer to leave a gap beside it as well

dreamers75

Fairly sure on the building upgrading forum theres tonnes of people who would help you, i would for a certain amount of cans of bulmers others may ask for money tho

Tbh if i was you i would go for an Antec/Case Elara do reasonable prices on a case with PSU for around 80ish.

Remove all your PC insides and place them into a new case with a decent PSU, as your mobo supports PCIE it may either support some sort of decent AMD or INTEL CPU (dual core etc) upgrade in the future.

As you learning Opengl you may need a decent CPU to power your decent GPU, they go hand in hand.

TerrorFirmer

X1600 is quite ancient at this stage, so chances are you've got a processor that's too slow as well. You can get a decent reliable corsair psu for about 70 euro.

Chumpski

I have a dual core intel 2.4GHz chip. I think that should be just about okay for the card hopefully. I'm not overly concerned about performance, just that i can work on learning OpenGL 3.3 and learn to write shaders, etc. If the frame rates i get playing the latest titles are low then thats okay, i dont play many PC games anyway...

Ordered the Corsair 650W from komplett, 93 euro, not too bad.