XFX 7900 GT problems. Can it be the PSU ?

[Chissler]

Hello guys. Just want to pop in a friendly warning, and then ask for some advice

It seems that my brand new xfx 7900gt has taken the plunge to scrapheaven only after 1 weeks use.My brother in law that has the exact same card just called me and said that his comp just stopped working, and he is getting a ticking noise from the GPU, so that card is most likely blown to bits. I am getting artifacts in EQ2, CS:S video stress test and other games. I get these errors even with a better fan and cooling for the memory on it. The artifacts in Eq2 comes almost instantly the moment I set the settings to over high quality. The picture starts "blinking" and then the pc just freezes. Now I have ordered a new PSU, just in case its just that the GPU aint getting enough power, but I am not optimistic about the outcome. My brother in law also have a weak psu. Can you get artifacts just because your PSU aint got enouh "umph" ?

What I want to do is return the 7900gt and replace it with a x1900xt 256mb version. The x1900xt is a better card from what I have read, though I may be wrong. What do you guys think ?

Thank you in advance.

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

Im waiting for the 1900 256 also,as Ive been reading tons of reviews....alot were on the very 7900 youre talking about...many reviewers/owners there on new egg and other sites said the same thing,that the 7900 was oc'd to the max and it just has such an edge that itll crap out quick or right outta the box...also you should mention your psu and what power its sporting,besides the rest of your rig so others can take a edjamakated guess if thats your prob or its the 7900

 

[Anoobis]

From what I've read the, PC would just shut down or restart if its a power supply issue.

Your artifacts are most likey an issue with the cards itself. There has been a few reports of issues with the 7900GT cards, especially the OC versions from manufacturers.

My guess is to just RMA the card and return the PSU if you don't need it.

 

[knupxfon]

I hate XFX and will never buy any card from them ever. I had nothing but trouble with 2 of there 7800gt's and their customer service sux. If you ever have to send in for an RMA they will send you used cards. The ones they sent back to me were all scratched and coated in dust. If it's only been a week, get a refund and buy something else.

 

[kwalker]

the x1900xt is a great card but as robsX2 said the psu is a must.
if your having issues related to the psu the x1900xt will give you hell

 

[pauldh]

Hate to tell ya, but there have been a huge number of artifact/overheating issues with the 7900's. eVGA's forums are loaded with hundreds of failed cards reported, XFX forums were shut down after large number of complaints(coincidence or not?), other forums are full of 7900GT issues, and some review sites like [H] have even done articles about it. http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTA2OSwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

Seems you are one of the unlucky ones.

 

[knupxfon]

i've got 2 Evga 7900gt CO SC cards in one machine, 1 regular Evga 7900gt in one system, and have had absolutely no problems with any of them.

 

[pauldh]

Most people, including you, get lucky. But that doesn't change the fact they have had a huge failure rate compared to other cards. And it's worse for people who buy overclocked cards or overclock themselves. Shoot, I've seen at least 10 mentions of bad 7900's on Toms alone. But check out evga's forums for threads like this one, and you will see it's been no small problem.

http://www.evga.com/community/messageboard/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=15366