ATI 9800 pro possible problem

[ColdFire]

Hi all,
Problem i am having is...
Every now and then i will re-boot and i will get a red bar accross th screen, saying that i have not connected the power extension cable to my GFX card, which i have, and i have to fiddle with the cables to get it working.
A little while ago i looked at the molex on the GFX card, and the plastic around one of the pins has marks of heat damage on it, its burnt and slightly melted! Is this a GFX card problem, or a problem with my power supply do you think...
Thanks in advance,

Chris

[Coops]

Well thats a difficult one to answer as both items potential can cause that issue. A Faulty card or faulty PSU could quite easily starts off a burn situation.

If there is evidence of burning around that connector, there is something not right and it needs to be looked at.

Is it just the PSU molex Connector that is burned or is there damage to the graphics Card socket as well.

Could you provide details of your system spec and also information with regard to your PSU that you have. Make and Model and also 3.3 /5 and 12v Amp ratings.

[ColdFire]

Like i said, there is burning on the Molex on the graphics card itself.
But there is also damage to the pin on both of the PSU molex's, matching that of the graphics card.

Chris

Sys spec in sig hopefully.

[ColdFire]

Will need to check the PSU ratings when i get home from work...

[Coops]

Can you provide specfication of your PSU. Make / Model

[ColdFire]

+3.3v 20a
+5v 30a
+12 20a
-5 0.5a
-12v 0.8a
+5vsb 2.5a
Make: Colors it, Model: 400U
Rating: 400w

Thats the specs of the power supply :)

Chris

[Chewie]

Burn on the card and the molex? The molex isn't fitting right then, your power connection is arcing for some reason.

Do you have a spare molex you can use instead?

For a 400w those figures are closer to that of a 300w or lower PSU. and gold, hmmm, i bet you didn't pay over £25 for it too.

Recommend you check any and all drives power connections for similar burning/arcing.

Google search turned up lots of links in Russian?

The one company i could find selling these was AONE.co.uk, who want people to register before you can find out the price and they had no tech info on this psu.

From what I have seen, its all screaming *check your other connections, rip the swine out and get something better, that isn't gold* as this has all the hallmarks of a cheap psu.

How long have you had it and how long has it been gving you problems?

edit

Looking again at your spec, you definately want more than what that thing is giving out, with a sweet msi board and all your extra *glowing* things.
A 400w with those rails is way under strength for what you running.

[ColdFire]

Thanks for the advice mate... What would you recomend mate ? I would like a Hiper modular model, but will need a while to save up because i have some other stuff to get :( (non pc related, but more important)

Is that MSI board good, or are you being sarcastic lol :)

The PSU came with the case, and its probably about a year old i think, but im not sure... I noticed the red bar thing about 6 months ago, but i didn't take it apart much back then, didn't have time, but noticed the burning marks about 2 months or so ago...
The PSU only has 2 molex leads commming out ending in 3 molex's total iirc, and they have all been plugged into the GFX at some point, so all have the burning... But not on the other devices, HDD/Drives are all free from marks. Which i thought would have ment it was the GFX fault ?
What kind of stats am i looking for on a PSU ?
Cheers,

Chris

[Chewie]

Hehehe

No, im being serious about the MSI board (MSI are my preffered make, have yet to have a problem with them), they're good boards and with a solid reputation and great after sales advice forum, run by users who have experienced the problem rather than relying on the makers people to find time to answer questions that might just leave you more confused.

I know what your saying about prioritising, heck, if i could cut the funds free I'd have a top spec machine, but after my last bout of *sneaky purchases* as the better half puts it, she's bought the last 2 things so as to keep me in control (6600gt and the 200gb SATA) else i'd be having a new pc every year.

Ok, back on track. It seems from what you've put that the socket on the vga card is to blame on the burning issue. This is not going to go away with a new psu, although a better quality psu should have a better grade of molex on it, and should thus give a better firmer contact.

Make sure the connector is firmly seated if you intend to re-use this machine in the interim period before making any changes.
I recommend in this case that you also disconnect the vga card, remove it from the case, and while making sure you are securely earthed using a wrist strap and lead, take a small watch makers screwdriver (flat blade) and gently scrape off any tarnishing or black scorch marks on the pins of the connnector. Do this very slowly and gently, because if you deform it, it will mean tracking down a new socket to get soldered in place. on the card. And do the plugs too, as if all of them have been through the VGA card, i bet they all have some carbon deposits on them.

As for what sort of power requirements you should look for in a psu, just how many case fans and lights do you have? I currently am running 5x80mm fans (4 case, 1 psu), 3 hard drives, 2 DVD drives on my the 12v rail, which on my X-Pro 460 is rated at 30A, so you be looking at roughly 25A plus if your running a lot of items on the 12v rail like me.

Cheapest while still remaining high power and with some decency at the moment is the Jeantech 350 from novatech, http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/spec ... l?JEA-350P (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?JEA-350P) which you can see here , has more on the 12V rail than your 400w currently does from your description.
http://www.jeantech.com/350.htm
This unit has the universally accepted change now of dual 12v lines. Neither putting out as much as your single does(20a), but combined giving more than it does (15a + 18a = approx 28a. yea , my maths works fine, total output on a dual rail psu is never the sum of each rail, its normally 3-5a below it)
Comes in at a cheapish £21 for this lil box, but should be better power wise than your current one, if you decide to go down that route anytime soon.
The cost you pay for a psu normally speaks for itself (as does for any item that you can have in either budget or reasonabley priced). 600W for £22.32 and no makers details beyond its novatech, or £60+ for any of the branded ones above 550w available here which you can find out what your getting for your money by visiting their website.

Which speaks to you as a more reliable and safe option, the no name, low price, high power and blingy model (eg, its gold OOOOHHHH AAAAAAAAHHHHH) or the named, slightly more pricey and better built model. Because in this game, price equals quality of components used, and cleanliness/quality/profesionality of the facility in which its made.

dam, don't i go on :twisted:

Ok, almost done.

Your 9800 is going to require quite a lot of power, so having the error message stating that its disconnected, should have prompted you to look into upgrading the PSU sooner.

In general, look for:
+3v 25A and above
+5v 25A and above
+12 30A and above (or if its a dual rail, with at least 15A on both 12v1 and 12v2)
If its *Gold*, look at something thats not so obvious in trying to part you with your cash on looks alone, and a wimsical promise of high power.
Look around, compare the main 3 rails, of different machines. 1 machine may say its a 450w, but will have an actual ability of only a 350w from another brand. (Just look at the Q-tec line for example)

[ColdFire]

Thanks a lot for that lenghthy post mate :) Much apreciated...
Setup is:
5 Case fans with LED's, CPU Fan, GFX Fan. 2 HDD's, 2 Optical Drives and a simple analogue monitor panel on the front, with LED's.
So long story short, carefully remove as much charring as possible, from the GFX card, then get a new decent PSU. with some decent output on the rails... Like the ones you linked to :)
I plan to get a new GFX card in a couple of months, but can't afford to atm, and im not sure there is much need. Just want to get away from AGP, but it means i need a new board to go with it lol...
Cheers,

Chris

[ColdFire]

Also would the 450W Jeantech PSU be better in the long term...
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/spec ... ?JEA-450AP (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?JEA-450AP)
http://www.jeantech.com/450.htm
The ratings are slightly lower though, on the +5v and the 12v1&2. ?

So i was also checking out the Enermax PSU's...
This one looks very good to me. Output seams great, and its modular, which is a big plus for me because, i know i am going to have to move things around when i get new hardware/move my case. And it also has SLI for that upgrade i said about earlier :)
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/spec ... -el400&P=1 (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?ene-el400&P=1)
http://www.enermax.co.uk/products/psu/l ... /index.asp (http://www.enermax.co.uk/products/psu/liberty/ELT400AWT/index.asp)
Specifications
DC Output Rating:
+3.3V 26A 150W
+5V 28A
+12V1 20A 360W (30A)
+12V2 20A
+3.3V, +5V, +12V1, +12V2 Combined 377.8W
-12V 0.6A 22.2W
+5Vsb 3A
Total Power 400W

What do you think ?
Cheers,

Chris

[Chewie]

Yup, as you pointed out, long term planning pays off. Getting a 450w instead for the even better rails would make sense.

However this is the trap, you can see that the 450 has better 3.3 than the 350, but at the cost of the dual 12's.

If it was me, i'd go for a good psu now, then consider the AGP change as a whole system upgrade, as by the time you get round to that, it will mean VGA/MoBo/CPU and most likely a RAM upgrade what with the current changes being coming about.

I pointed to the Jeantech350, as it had good 12v rails for the price, and is still a half decent brand. Personally I'd go with either a Hiper/Nexus/Thermaltake/Enermax of 450W or more. More power now is better than not enough later.

At this time I'd go for the Type R 480w http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/spec ... HYP-425TRS (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?HYP-425TRS)
http://www.hipergroup.com/English/produ ... 4k480.html (http://www.hipergroup.com/English/products/hpu-4k480.html)
Should cope with all your needs, and still be good enough in 2 years time (guess based on how things have advanced) unless you splash out for a system containg 4 SATA2's, 2 optical drives, 2 120mm fans, a 120mm fan based cpu cooler, and 2 of the current latest 7950GX2's, in which case, you might wanna go for a tagan 900w model :twisted:

[ColdFire]

Guys,

Just added a new thread for a thread about my choice of power supplies.
Also this GFX has just started giving artifacts ? Huge triangles of **** when looking at a light source in CSS and some random colourfull bits everywhere, and generaly the environent has gone batty.
Not just CS, but dosn't happen in windows as far as i can see.....
Is this something to do with power ?

Also i keep getting a freeze up in CSS and when i check the even log, its co-inciding with my SATA (EV says SCSI) HDD saying its been removed without being removed properly, and things like failed to flush data from device, ***** like that. the SATA drive is not the one CSS is loaded on, but its nott very old at all... Do you think its that the power could be dipping out on it ?
Cheers again guys,

Chris