Help w/ graphics card ..

[cypherkin]

Hi guys,

I might seem stupid for doing this; but I was totally caught unawares. I have a HP desktop at home. Its one of those Pentium 4 2.8GHZ HT; with 250 watt Power Supppy, 200gig hard drive etc etc. I had a ATI 9600 card previous; and jsut recently decided that I need to upgrade my video card if nothing else . Ofcourse, after reading the forumz and going to various websites; I saw that 7600GS would fit my price range.

Being the impatient idiot that I am, I ended up being the Card, and as soon as I got my hands on it; tried to fix into into the computer.

Lo and behold; my computer would not boot up; actually it did boot up but there was no image on the screen. Then I was going through the box and manual and it says that requirements = 400 watt power supply. Now the question that comes up next is; WHAT THE HELL KINDA power supply do i need to buy?

I am assuming a ATX power supply? is that right? Its the basic HP motherboard, but I need to buy a 400 watt powersupply. It would be very helpful if you can direct me to the right kind of ps, especially if i can get it in Radioshack or BestBuy or Circuit City, or sTAPLES ..etc...

thanks for your helps

 

[lunyone]

What is the model # of your computer? The model # will allow us to look up the specifications online and maybe be able to help you purchase the correct PSU for you.

 

[cypherkin]

Hey guys-

Sorry I missed that little detail; its HP Pavilion a350n.

That is the computer I have; hope that helps.

THanks.

 

[Crashman]

Nearly all HP power supplies are standard, yours appears to be the most common standard for ATX power supplies...the big one (PS/2 form factor).

Congrats, you can put in any standard full-sized power supply you want. A few odd models are over-length and might not fit, but it's unlikely you'll "pick wrong".

If you're looking for something quiet and efficient, I'd like to recommend the Cooler Master iGreen 500W, but the Fortron Source AX500-A is cheaper.

By the way, there's no way you really need 500W to run your system. The Fortron Source AX450-PN would easily do the job and cost around $50.

 

[raven_87]

I really dont have any experience with a cooler master....so I would lean toward FSP. Crash, you dug up or had anything with the CM supplies personally? or is it a safe route?

I just realized an important thing......your from michigan......huh. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: nevermind, I'll let it go.

 

[redwing]

Although in your case a new psu couldnt hurt (250 is kidna weak), dont rush into it just yet, since it's possible that you have a faulty video card.

I'm running a d805 @ 3.4 Ghz with two hard drives and an overclocked 7600gt. At full load (using a power meter), my system never goes above 235-240W. And thats the power being drawn by the PSU, so the actual power supplied to my system is likely something like 80% of that, or less. I know for a fact that a standard 7600GT consumes 65W at most. A 7600gs would consume less. All this to say, you should at least be able to boot and see a post screen.

I dont think it's a good idea to run your PSU so close to the edge of it's specs, but I dont think the PSU is your (main) problem.

I assume that you're not trying to ram a pci-e card into an agp slot
If your 7600gs is indeed agp, you could have an incompatibility as older motherboards supported AGP2x or 4x at most. THe latest AGP standard is AGP8x (I think), and it runs at a lower voltage, and this is incompatible with anything older than AGP4x. Make sure that your motherboard supports the version of AGP that your 7600gs is using (likely 8x).
From what I know, most 8x cards are backwards compabile with 4x .... but not all.

Good luck

p.s. Sorry had to edit since spelling was atrocious (cramming for a midterm, taking occasional breaks ... since it's 2am where I live, my brain is about to die .

Basically, in my opinion, your most likely causes are :

1. Incompatible version of agp (8x not supported by your motherboard).
2. Faulty card that needs RMA.
3. PSU issue - dont rush into buying things before you make sure that this is indeed your problem.

 

[Crashman]

I've been using the iGreen 600W for a few months now because its quiet and efficient, I haven't checked the efficiency specs on FSP for a while (though I'm confident in their quality).

 

[cypherkin]

Basically, in my opinion, your most likely causes are :

1. Incompatible version of agp (8x not supported by your motherboard).
2. Faulty card that needs RMA.
3. PSU issue - dont rush into buying things before you make sure that this is indeed your problem.

Well there is no issue when I use my ATI AIW 9600 Pro. It only occurs when I put this card in. Yes the card that I got is AGP .

How would I check up on whether or not my MB supports 8x or not? Any specific location I can check up on this, whether on the computer physically or if its on the web?

 

[redwing]

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00041542&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=371643%E2%8C%A9=en

Apparently your motherboard does support agp8x, so that cant be the issue.... I seriously doubt that a 280watt psu is the cause here, your system is not a power hog. In fact, since you say that it boots but simply doesnt display video, I'd be inclined to say that your video card needs to be RMA'd.

Just call their customer support and explain the situation, basically your main argument is that your PC works fine with your 9600, but doesnt display anything with the 7600gs. They'll likely dick around for some time and make you reboot/re-install your card until their shift is over, but make sure you get an RMA in the end

Getting a better/ more stable PSU is always a good idea, as long as you'll re-use it in another build later. From the description of your mb, it looks like a standard 20pin connector (not some proprietary HP crap), so you shouldnt have any issues replacing the PSU. Just be aware that sometimes system builders like Dell/HP like to wire the power connector directly to the PSU, so you might have some confusing wiring to deal with. Nothing that cant be solved tho.

One last thing that you should try (before RMA'ing) is to try to use your 7600gs in a friend's computer, see if it works.

 

[Anoobis]

You..uuhhh...did plug an available power connector into the card, didn't you?

I would also recommend the card be tested in another system. You can take it to a PC shop and have them drop it in one of their's if you have too. Hell, even CompUSA or Best Buy might be able to do it.

 

[redwing]

Low power 7xxx nvidia cards dont always have those. My 7600GT didnt, since it draws 65W peak power. The pci-e bus can provide 75.

But it's a good point, if you do have an extra power connector on your card, be sure to use it.

 

[sirheck]

does the 76gs have or need an extra power connect?

edit; nevermind, just looked it up and they do.
i did not know that

 

[Crashman]

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00041542&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=371643%E2%8C%A9=en

Apparently your motherboard does support agp8x, so that cant be the issue....

It couldn't be an issue anyway, because the card is 4x. All 8x cards are also 4x.

 

[Crashman]

I didn't know the 7600gs had a 4-pin power header, did you connect it?

 

[cypherkin]

does the 76gs have or need an extra power connect?

edit; nevermind, just looked it up and they do.
i did not know that

lol, ya.. i did plug in the power connector to it. Thats the issue; do I just ask for the RMA after going to through the generic stuff?

Lol, hmm I wonder if its going to fit into my friends LAPTOP .. lol unfortunately I am only guy stuck w desktop as of now.. haha

 

[sirheck]

wouldnt or shouldnt he get a warning message.

i have forgoten the power connect on my 68gt before
got a warning message for it?

 

[sirheck]

you should be able to get a psu for less than 50$ that will work fine.

 

[Anoobis]

The AGP models do, the PCI-E models don't.

 

[Crashman]

That makes sense, because PCI-E can carry more amperage than AGP (that's what AGP-Pro was invented for, but it never caught on in consumer parts). The same is true of AGP X1600-Pros.

 

[Anoobis]

That's what I figured but I always thought the AGP Pro was just a spec for Macintosh cards. I didn't know about the power difference.

Thanks for that bit of info.

 

[Crashman]

AGP Pro was for workstation cards and the difference was that it added power pins.