Problem with gfx card(6600 gt)

[HellGuardian]

I've use the gfx card XFX geforce 6600gt 128mb ddr3, for two days. the computer goes blank when i run games at high settings. my smps power is 300w. it seems that temp. is the culprit, as it does not happen during q3a or doom 3 but during games like nfs ug, seriuos sam and painkiller. what do i do? the temp. shown in nvidia properties is 51-52 when i checked it during nfs ug. what is limit for the temp. of gfx card?

[quad master]

Friend i feel nothings wrong with the 6600 GPU its your power supply its
low on Power i feel a 300Watts power supply is not sufficient for for such a power hungry GPU.

Please post your entire system config they help to answer better.
Also wanted to know is there proper ventilation in your cabinet.

Let others also give there views i have given you my opinion as what i felt.

Go for a 400W Power Supply - Power Safe Gold Plated Rs 1500.
If you are going to use it. OR try that GPU at a friends place who has
400W or more powersupply.

All i feel is the Power Supply is the problem.
Is your 300W PS a branded one or a local PS

[HellGuardian]

my system config is:

Athlon 64 2800+
MSI K8M Neo-V motherboard
seagate 160 GB pata hdd
creative 5200 5.1
microsoft keyboard+basic optical mouse
philips monitor(107E5)
Sony dvd-cdrw combo
ibox grabit cabinet (300 W)
XFX Geforce 6600 GT (agp 8x)
512 MB Simtronics ddrram(400 Mhz)

the cabinet is iBox Grabit, i tried to open the system and then play but the the temp. reached 50 degrees. It seems the power supply is the main culprit because the game(nfs ug, painkiller) hangs at high setting(1024*768, 32-bit, all settings full). But i could play nfs ug for sometime (two races) before the screen went blank and the power led of monitor started blinking as if there was no signal. will changing smps to 400W work?

is 50 degrees okay for the graphics card?

[quad master]

Well you have a power hungry system and i dont know how it used
to work at 300W PS

I too advice you to wait for others views into the matter.

But i still feel that its the PS.

Remember go for a good PS because it is the one which feeds your PC.
A Power Safe Gold Plated 400W Rs 1500 is good.

[fnatic@play]

Nooo... u r TOOO low on ur SMPS power... get a 350.. that wil be comfortable...

and good ventilation... on a personal note.. i keep my side cover open wen play games at insane settings... i use the same cabinet.. jus changed the SMPS...

the card runs at around 60c after running doom3 at high settings + 8x Aniso n 8x FSAA for around 1 hour or so.... normal working at ournd 50 c... its allrity there!!

CHANGE THE SMPS.... thats all

my config is 3500+, asus a8n sli, 6600GT (pci-e) 1 GB ram... 350 is recommended for me... and for any PC running cards like a 6600.. so get it changed.

peace bro.

[Geforce]

For my AMD64 2800+, MSI K8N Neo Platinum, Geforce4 Ti4200, DvD ROM, CD-RW, 2x HDD, Creative Soundcard, Modem, 4 - Cooling Fans

I bought 450W PSU. I don't think its from a known brand.

I had a 300W PS which did not have a separate connector to supply power to the CPU which is required for AMD64 2800+.

Could it have been possible to run this CPU+MB combination without the extra power connector to CPU.

Please comment.

[blade_runner]

Originally Posted by HellGuardian

my system config is:

Athlon 64 2800+
MSI K8M Neo-V motherboard
seagate 160 GB pata hdd
creative 5200 5.1
microsoft keyboard+basic optical mouse
philips monitor(107E5)
Sony dvd-cdrw combo
ibox grabit cabinet (300 W)
XFX Geforce 6600 GT (agp 8x)
512 MB Simtronics ddrram(400 Mhz)

the cabinet is iBox Grabit, i tried to open the system and then play but the the temp. reached 50 degrees. It seems the power supply is the main culprit because the game(nfs ug, painkiller) hangs at high setting(1024*768, 32-bit, all settings full). But i could play nfs ug for sometime (two races) before the screen went blank and the power led of monitor started blinking as if there was no signal. will changing smps to 400W work?

is 50 degrees okay for the graphics card?

Seems like a PSU issue mostly .............and btw ibox psus suck so even if its not a PSU issue i suggest that you get a VIP/Powersafe PSU 400 W for 1600/ or 500W for 3k immediately. Antec ones are more costly but if u have the dough then nuthin like those ................

[pimpom]

I like the appearance of iBox cabinets - nice external finish and a roomy inside, at a very reasonable price. BUT, yeah, their PSU's suck. With any brand of PSU, you can't just go blindly by the sticker rating. A good 300W PSU that can actually supply 300W should be enough to run your rig, but having used dozens of iBoxes, I've found that their PSUs have these flaws -

1. They use a 15 or 20 Amp rectifier on the 5-volt rail which is supposed to be able to supply upto 30 Amps.

2. The rectifiers and transistors are often not firmly screwed on to their respective heatsinks, resulting in poor thermal contact, overheating and eventual failure, especially of the 5-volt rectifier diode.

3. The PSU fan often fails after a short while, and without it, other components fry, again its most often the 5-volt diode.

If you're a non-techie, go buy yourself a better PSU. If you're a DIY enthusiast with some experience in electronics, open the PSU with power off and the power cord disconnected from the mains. Replace the 5-volt rectifier with a 40-Amp diode, replace the fan and make sure all diodes and transistors are firmly screwed on. This way you can save some money (the parts will cost a total of about Rs.150) and have the satisfaction of doing something yourself.

[quad master]

@ pimpom
Thats a great peice of info you have.

[Sourabh]

hey dude mr. Hellguardian

i already told u this thing even before u got this prob day before yesterday if i m not mistaken before u posted this

heres the link

http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14497

lol

[darklord]

Also dont forget to install latest drivers from nvidia site and DX9.0C
It is better to use DX 9.0C as it supports shader model 3.

Also a 400 Watt SMPS [decent one] is sufficient.

Also,keep your case well ventilated.

[pimpom]

Originally Posted by quad master

@ pimpom
Thats a great peice of info you have.

I'm glad you found it informative. I sent my findings and suggestions to the company some time ago. Don't know if they'll take any action. I also sent suggestions to Samsung on how to improve their *#@*% CD-ROM drives, but they're still churning out the same piece of ****.

[supersaiyan]

power supply prob. didn't u read the manual for the 6600gt. it clearly says that u must have a 350w minimum power supply and to be on the safer side a 400w. if u want to experience the best of the graphpics card then a 400w is a must. try vip. if u can spend more money try antec. best thing. also i recommend good ventilation so tie up all the wires inside with somethig. for more tips u can go to techtree.com and click on the guides section.

[Major-Minor]

Check out this graph which shows power consumption for the 6600GT Card (I know its a PCIe one, but the power consumption should not differ much from AGP).

http://www.gamepc.com/labs/view_cont...50xtpt&page=12

130W when Idle and 212W at full Load
Even I have purchased the 6600GT recently and I am planning to get a 400W-450W PSU soon (currently on a 300W).

[pimpom]

Those figures are for the whole system including CPU, motherboard, HDD, RAM, etc., and NOT for the graphics card alone. So, based on these figures, a good 300W PSU is more than adequate to run the whole show.

Also look at the config they used to run the test: A64 4000+, 1GB RAM, SLI mobo, 10,000 rpm HDD...... - a more power-hungry system than Hellguardian's setup.

Even with TWO 6600GT gfx cards in SLI mode running at full stretch, the maximum system power consumption is still only 258W.

[quad master]

@ pimpom
how do youfind out how much amount of power from your power supply
is currently used from your power supply
Is there any software

[pimpom]

I don't know of any such software and I'm pretty sure it doesn't exist because it would require some form of embedded current sensor.

Theoretically speaking, if motherboard manufacturers integrated a current sensor in the motherboard power input buses (somewhat like the embedded temperature-sensing diode), it should be a simple matter to develop software to measure power consumed by all devices that draw their power requirement from the motherboard, including RAM, CPU, graphics and other expansion cards, USB devices, keyboard, mouse..... Even then, it still would not account for those devices that take their power directly from the PSU such as hard disks, CD/DVD drives, etc.

As things stand now, the only way to measure power consumption would be to measure the current flowing in each PSU output line, multiply them with the respective voltages, and add them up. A rather complex operation. A somewhat simpler method would be to measure the AC current at the INPUT to the PSU.

A post script to my earlier comments that a good 300W PSU is enough : It's true, but don't get me wrong - I'm not against anyone getting a PSU of higher rating. A 400W PSU for example, will leave that much more headroom, especially if you have tons of RAM and several hard disks running. What I meant was that a good 300W PSU that can actually deliver 300W is perfectly adequate to run the more usual single-HDD config with a 6600GT.

[indro]

the issue lies in the Power Supply , and not in the software ,

[borg]

Man I am also facing a similar prob. I got this 9600 gfx card & the system hangs regularly when playing doom3 . It just freezes & I have to reset. Is this a power supply issue too. I have a 300 watt psu. My config is Athlon xp 2000+ , 640 MB DDR RAM, Asus A7N266VM motherboard, two CDROMS . Is this a PSU issue too?.

[quad master]

Does your GPU require Power from the Power supply.

IF yes it can be a PS Problem.

Go for a 400W PowerSafe PS

[Sourabh]

update ur drivers borg
i m very sure u r running the drivers which are given from the manufacturers CD

if u have the latest drivers then mebbe its a PSU problem

btw try OMEGA drivers once they are the best

and which card do u have 9600 NP, 9600 SE, 9600 Pro which one?

[Major-Minor]

@ pimpom - hey thanks for the information, and sorry for my inadvertence about the power consumption.
Here is some information I found -

2nd Revision = Good


1st Revision = Bad



More info - http://www.xfxforce.com/pinetechnotes/Fan%20Update.pdf

[pimpom]

Originally Posted by borg

Man I am also facing a similar prob. I got this 9600 gfx card & the system hangs regularly when playing doom3 . It just freezes & I have to reset. Is this a power supply issue too. I have a 300 watt psu. My config is Athlon xp 2000+ , 640 MB DDR RAM, Asus A7N266VM motherboard, two CDROMS . Is this a PSU issue too?.

It could be the PSU, and it may not be. At face value, a 300W unit is enough to run your setup, but some so-called 300W PSUs will start to choke when called upon to deliver more than 200W. Which brand are you using ?

There are various possibilities that could cause the problem you have. As others have already pointed out, it could be a software problem. Maybe your PSU was a good one when new, but may have weakened due to age - from your config, I guess your system is about 2-2 1/2 yrs old.

It could also be your RAMs. They may have developed a problem - test them with memtest86. Or they could just need to be reseated. Pull them out, clean the contacts and put them in again firmly.

Another possibility is CPU overheating. Do you have a utility software with which you can check the CPU temperature ? Are the CPU and GPU fans running properly ?

Have you cleaned the CPU heatsink after it was installed ? If not, the heatsink fins could be choked with dust. If that's the case, not only will it reduce airflow over the fins, but it will also coat the fins with a layer of dust which is a bad conductor and radiator of heat.

Check that all power and data cables are firmly attached.

Run a surface scan of your hard disk to make sure you don't have a bad sector. Check that you have a sufficient amount of swapfile/pagefile.

[borg]

Whooaa . That were a lot of possibilities pimpom. Anyways, my computer is about 1- 1 1/2 years old. I am using a mercury smps. Also, my gfx card dosn't draw power directly from the smps. That is, its just connected to the motherboard.

Man I face this problem only when playing doom 3 . I haven't faced this problem at any other time as far as i have seen. My card is a xpertvision 9600 (Non pro). I am using the drivers provided on the CD, cause when I updated to the latest drivers, the system became even more unstable. I used to get errors like "the gfx card has stopped accepting commands from the gfx driver" & things like that. The display also would get garbled up. I had to revert back to the older drivers. I keep the Cabinet open, so that optimum cooling takes place.

[blade_runner]

Originally Posted by borg

Man I am also facing a similar prob. I got this 9600 gfx card & the system hangs regularly when playing doom3 . It just freezes & I have to reset. Is this a power supply issue too. I have a 300 watt psu. My config is Athlon xp 2000+ , 640 MB DDR RAM, Asus A7N266VM motherboard, two CDROMS . Is this a PSU issue too?.

Well seems to be a issue with Catalysts and d3, i think u will have to re-install doom3 everytime you install a new version of cats. Re-install d3 and i think your issue will get resolved.

[blade_runner]

Originally Posted by borg

Whooaa . That were a lot of possibilities pimpom. Anyways, my computer is about 1- 1 1/2 years old. I am using a mercury smps. Also, my gfx card dosn't draw power directly from the smps. That is, its just connected to the motherboard.

Man I face this problem only when playing doom 3 . I haven't faced this problem at any other time as far as i have seen. My card is a xpertvision 9600 (Non pro). I am using the drivers provided on the CD, cause when I updated to the latest drivers, the system became even more unstable. I used to get errors like "the gfx card has stopped accepting commands from the gfx driver" & things like that. The display also would get garbled up. I had to revert back to the older drivers. I keep the Cabinet open, so that optimum cooling takes place.

Dude get your card replaced cuz afaik cards that dont accept WHQL Catalysts drivers are screwed up in the first place. ST Labs have such cards that dont work with ne other drivers other than the ones supplied with the card. If i were you i'd get a replacement this very second.

[borg]

Man, i got this card with a great difficulty. Availability is a major issue in my place. If I ask for replacement, what do i replace this card with???.

Also I reduced the resolution to 800*600 & it seems the problem has reduced. But not completely solved.

[blade_runner]

Originally Posted by borg

Man, i got this card with a great difficulty. Availability is a major issue in my place. If I ask for replacement, what do i replace this card with???.

Also I reduced the resolution to 800*600 & it seems the problem has reduced. But not completely solved.

Well it was my duty 2 inform u, the rest is upto you. I remember a similar issue with ST labs 9600 cards where the card simply refused to work with any drivers other than the ones that came along with the card. However it was later discovered that the 9600 was a fake with some 8mb vram.

[borg]

Yeah, I understand that u are giving me the info. Thanks for that. I don't think this card is fake though cause if it were, then D3 would not run on it at all. Also XP recognises it immediately as a 9600.

[icecoolz]

borg, where did you get ur card from ? I am in Bangalore and I know of a reliable dealer whom I have been dealing with for the past two years and havent faced any issues. I know he has a 9600 XT and also 9800 XT's. He can get a lot of stuff. Where did you get urs from ?