*BiGBonES** February 27, 2006 Share *BiGBonES** Member February 27, 2006 I just got my graphics card back from a lengthy RMA procedure, and put it in the machine and it started working fine. I was really happy because my machine is finally finished, something that should have been done by christmas day at the very latest. I've been playing a bit of rome total war and it works fine. The graphics are sweet and the game runs on high settings. About an hour ago I installed the expansion pack, rome total war barbarian invasion. I boot up the game, start a new game and play a few battles (winning them ofcourse ) and then all of a sudden my monitor goes blank and the machine slowly crashes or restarts. I repeated this a few times, with similar results. I know this is not an over heating issue as I had my case fully open, with all the fans on 100% full blast. I also tried it on the far cry demo, and as soon as the game booted up it restarted or crashed - once again the screen going blank first as the monitor turned itself off. I've put the internal graphics card back on (the thing thats built into the motherboard) and the games run fine. Not that I can play them as far cry is just a mix of blue textures and rome total war is really slow Am I looking at another graphics card problem here? I dont see how it could be. Its brand new, straight from leadtek HQ and worked well since last night when i put it in. Now i install a new game and it fails Its so disheartening to find that something has gone wrong yet again. I dont understadn why these things happen to me. Well heres another question that may be relevent - what temperatures is it safe to run a geforce nvidia 6600GT graphics card in? The system usually runs at about 45-50 degrees celcius whilst in games. Could this temperate have caused the card to stop working? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kruten February 27, 2006 Share Kruten Member February 27, 2006 Can tell you right now it's not overheating. My BFG 6800/GT's ran around 50C idle with a NVSilencer. Also if you go find Iceberge's threads about his video card problem with his idling in I think the 70s, that's just more to say the cards can handle more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mookie February 27, 2006 Share mookie GC Alumni February 27, 2006 What PSU do you have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cujo February 27, 2006 Share Cujo Member February 27, 2006 i'll echo mookie's question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*BiGBonES** February 27, 2006 Author Share *BiGBonES** Member February 27, 2006 I have a 220 watt PSU. I'm using the asus s-presso barebone system. You guys advised me against it a while ago, but I read some reviews and looked at some benchmarks and they turned out fine. The reviewers were running 6800gt's whilst benchmarking the system, so the power supply should have no problem in running a 6600gt. Also, if its a PSU problem, then why could the system run the graphics card for about a day, and then suddenly conk out? Hmmmm I'm going to try and stick the card in someone elses computer and see if the problem is with the card itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batman February 27, 2006 Share Batman Member February 27, 2006 Oh wow you need more than 220 watt's.. If you look at your graphics card book and your mobo/cpu books you will find they all recommend 300watts or higher.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheReverend(c) February 27, 2006 Share TheReverend(c) Member February 27, 2006 Yea id say the PS. 220 watts!? I just bought a 7800gt, dual core cpu and someother stuff. My previouse PS was an Antec 430. Its great but I decided to get the Antec 550. Thatll run justabout anything and the setup you have nicely. That PSU was about 90$ american but Id advise around 400watts or better for that hardware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackieChan February 27, 2006 Share JackieChan GC Alumni February 27, 2006 (edited) Most definately the PS. Get a decent but inexpensive 500+ watt one. The one I have for my compy is a 550w one and it costed around like 50 dollars. Some games require you to have a good PS in order to function properly. Edited February 27, 2006 by JackieChan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preacher February 27, 2006 Share Preacher Member February 27, 2006 uh guys, he's using the spresso case so he needs a SFF PS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cujo February 27, 2006 Share Cujo Member February 27, 2006 (edited) or he needs a new case. that thing is ugly anyway. we haven't sold one of those yet. htpc cases are not meant for gaming or stress. the randomness of the crashing indicates a psu problem. obviously the easiest way to solve a problem is through testing. swap components. try plugging in a different psu. jackie, never suggest a cheap psu. 550w for 50 bucks means that it's a piece of crap. games don't require a good psu. they just stress your computer more. good quality psu gains you efficiency, stability, low noise, longevity, durability, upgradability and lots of little connectors. Edited February 27, 2006 by Cujo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*BiGBonES** February 27, 2006 Author Share *BiGBonES** Member February 27, 2006 So if its the psu then why did it work well for about 5 hours of gaming or something like that? If it couldn't handle the demand for power in the first place then surely it wouldnt have worked full stop? Well I'm off to seak a refund of the s-presso machine then as its clearly not up to the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mookie February 27, 2006 Share mookie GC Alumni February 27, 2006 The PSU will probably get worse is time goes on, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*BiGBonES** February 27, 2006 Author Share *BiGBonES** Member February 27, 2006 Well my RMA request has been sent back to the suppliers. Hopefully I can still return it, if not I'm going to have to write a letter pretending to be a famous lawyer threatening to sue them. I have another question reguarding me sending back this system: I've got an intel CPU in there underneath the heatsink. When I installed the cpu, I put the heatsink on top of it, but there was some type of sticky material on the heatsink that clearly sticks to the cpu (perhaps for improved heatloss?). If I'm going to take the heatsink and fan off from ontop of the cpu, I'm guessing its going to involve a bit of force to get the two things seperated. Will this damage the cpu as the pins are still in the motherboard and they may bend or be wrenched out etc... So how do i get the heatsink off the cpu? x20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mookie February 27, 2006 Share mookie GC Alumni February 27, 2006 It shouldn't be that tough to remove. Their should either be some grey goop (in which case it'll come off easily) or a sticky pad, which you can peel/scrape off the CPU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*BiGBonES** February 27, 2006 Author Share *BiGBonES** Member February 27, 2006 Does anyone fancy choosing some computer parts for me? I don't think I feel up to the task, i feel depressed and what ever I choose will not work so if anyone wants to search for some parts here is what I need: One case - doesn't need to look l337, just needs good air flow and prefably not ugly One PSU - must be about 450W so I dont have power problems for a long long time One motherboard - Must do the job! Compatability etc: I've got an Intel P4 Prescott 3.0 [1MB cache,socket 478] I have 2 x 512mb pc3200 ddr400mhz ram nvidia geforce 6600GT AGP graphics card a maxtor hard drive and a dvd re-writter. I need at least 4 usb slots for printer, mouse, keyboard and portable tv cards. budget £120 Mobo options - http://www.aria.co.uk/productsList.asp?Cat...2&Submit=submit PSU options - http://www.aria.co.uk/productsList.asp?Cat...6&Submit=submit http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Onl...pplies_123.html Case options - http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductsList.asp?Cat...ge=100&SortBy=1 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Onl...ue_Cases_7.html Well, now im off to cry and dream about a computer that will work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scourge February 27, 2006 Share Scourge Member February 27, 2006 I can't say enough good things about the Antec Sonata 2. It comes with a 450w PSU. It's their smart power 2.0. I run a s754 amd, bfg 6600gt oc, 2 120mm fans, 1 92mm fan, 2 80mm fans, and a zalman vf700 off of it with no problems what so ever. I also have a SB audigy 2, wireless net, dvd burner, 80gig ata 133 HD, and a 250gig Sata HD. -George Does anyone fancy choosing some computer parts for me? I don't think I feel up to the task, i feel depressed and what ever I choose will not work so if anyone wants to search for some parts here is what I need: One case - doesn't need to look l337, just needs good air flow and prefably not ugly One PSU - must be about 450W so I dont have power problems for a long long time One motherboard - Must do the job! Compatability etc: I've got an Intel P4 Prescott 3.0 [1MB cache,socket 478] I have 2 x 512mb pc3200 ddr400mhz ram nvidia geforce 6600GT AGP graphics card a maxtor hard drive and a dvd re-writter. I need at least 4 usb slots for printer, mouse, keyboard and portable tv cards. budget £120 Mobo options - http://www.aria.co.uk/productsList.asp?Cat...2&Submit=submit PSU options - http://www.aria.co.uk/productsList.asp?Cat...6&Submit=submit http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Onl...pplies_123.html Case options - http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductsList.asp?Cat...ge=100&SortBy=1 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Onl...ue_Cases_7.html Well, now im off to cry and dream about a computer that will work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mookie February 27, 2006 Share mookie GC Alumni February 27, 2006 For a quick fix you can just get the PSU and leave the case open with cables running everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cujo February 28, 2006 Share Cujo Member February 28, 2006 (edited) ideally you take this opportunity to upgrade everything but being on a budget means you're stuck with your old stuff. in that case, a sonata 2 like scourge said is a great deal. that and just find a cheap s478 mobo. asus p4p 800 se is a decent board to get you through. Edited February 28, 2006 by Cujo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*BiGBonES** February 28, 2006 Author Share *BiGBonES** Member February 28, 2006 (edited) I doubt I'll be able to send this current barebone system back so I'm going to try and sell it with everything included apart from the graphics card and hopefully get all my money back, which will leave me a big budget start building my computer all over again. Edit- do you guys think I'll be able to return the goods under a breach of contract because on the site it tells me that: Just like a cup of Espresso, this all-new desktop solution is compact and rich in flavor. The ASUS S-presso provides excellent support for quality 3D graphics, multimedia entertainment and high-speed processing all in a stylish casing. I'm particulary interested in the slightly ambiguous "ASUS S-presso provides excellent support for quality 3D graphics". Should I be able to claim a refund because the system does not provide excellent support for quality 3D graphics - because it does not have enough power to run my graphics card that is the source of quality graphics... or.... are they trying to tell me that the onboard graphics are of a quality nature? I believe I should be entitled to a refund which ever way this ambiguous statement goes: 1) the machine cannot support my card 2) the onboard graphics clearly are not 'quality' because when I attempt to play far cry, a game which is older than the release of this machine, all i see is blue textures. Are my arguements good or bad? and should I be able to ge a refund? Edited February 28, 2006 by *BiGBonES** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cujo March 1, 2006 Share Cujo Member March 1, 2006 have you asked them what they think? whether they believe it should work or what the problem is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*BiGBonES** March 1, 2006 Author Share *BiGBonES** Member March 1, 2006 After we had made sure the S-presso S1 can serve well as an ordinary home PC, we thought if it would be possible to transform this barebone into a high-performance gaming station capable of running the latest 3D titles. So we dismantled the system and replaced the feeble RADEON 9600 PRO with a GeForce 6800 Ultra and installed fast memory from GeIL (two sticks, 512MB each). This was going to be a hardest trial for the ASUS SL-22A power supply: a Pentium 4 3.0GHz and a GeForce 6800 Ultra are almost the maximum this PSU can sustain. The power supply didn’t falter: there was not a single failure during our rather long tests. Moreover, all the voltages remained within acceptable ranges even in the hardest operation modes. As for the performance of the computer, here’s a table for you... http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mobile/di...-spresso_6.html I'm confused Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cujo March 1, 2006 Share Cujo Member March 1, 2006 (edited) well let's pretend for a moment that it's not the power supply. aside from swapping the vid card what else have you tried? have you even tried swapping the power supply? also, try testing each of your ram sticks on it's own. what was the problem with the first vid card? it could very well be that you got a bum card. http://www.xbitlabs.com/misc/picture/?src=...sso/p11.jpg&1=1 that is a VERY weak psu. it was probably near max load with their 6800 ultra in it. Edited March 1, 2006 by Cujo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*BiGBonES** March 3, 2006 Author Share *BiGBonES** Member March 3, 2006 I contacts their technical support and they told me that the s-presso does not support my card. Now i'm going to have to sell the machine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cujo March 4, 2006 Share Cujo Member March 4, 2006 tough break. that sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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