X1950 AGP Help!

[switch495]

I'm going from a 9600se to the powercolor X1950agp. Big upgrade.

I installed it, set it up, and my system loads up. Wipe old drivers, reinstall ATI cat. blah blah

I go into games, and it performs like total crap. Chop, stutter, jump. I'm worried that mabe I'm not giving it enough power --- is that the effect it would have?

I mean, even on medium settings, its chopping as bad as my old card would at that level.

System specs:

Intel P4ht 3.0
1gig DDR400
1 SATA HD
1 IDE HD (disconnected at the moment, to save power)
1 CDrom
3x case fans

ANTEC True power 380S -- came with my case.

The card is connected through a 6 pin adapter, the line I hooked it upto has nothing else on it.

I'm really bummed here, i didn't think i was using much power on my system and figured with a decent name brand psu i'd be able to pull it off. I've read other people are using 380's. Whats going wrong?

Possible just a bad card?

 

[CallumN]

Set the game running, then eject one of the CD drives (assuming its not the drive with the game CD if one is needed. If the fans slow then your low on juice.

 

[randomizer]

What is the 12V amperage on the combined 12V rails?

 

[pmr]

yes yes yes.

Don't need the 30A as stated by the manufacturers, but a good 22 or 24 are needed.

 

[switch495]

Here's what it says on the psu:

Antec True380s

+5V 35A
+12V 18A
+3.3V 28A
-5V 0.5A
-12V 10A
+5V S8 2.0A

Combined rails?

There is only one power connector going to the video card.

As far as fan slowing down -- do you mean the fan on the video card or one of the case fans?

The case fans are silent, 3 120's, so unless they slow down significantly, it'll be tough to notice. The fan on the video card is facing down and in part of the big fancy heat sink, not visible.

 

[CallumN]

Give a it a go. There should be atleast some noise from the comp. Listen for a slight drop in tone from the hum.

Callum.

 

[pmr]

Here's what it says on the psu:

Antec True380s

+5V 35A
+12V 18A
+3.3V 28A
-5V 0.5A
-12V 10A
+5V S8 2.0A

Combined rails?

There is only one power connector going to the video card.

As far as fan slowing down -- do you mean the fan on the video card or one of the case fans?

The case fans are silent, 3 120's, so unless they slow down significantly, it'll be tough to notice. The fan on the video card is facing down and in part of the big fancy heat sink, not visible.

18A isn't enough. pitty

 

[switch495]

Alright, in that case i'll be getting a new PSU.
Though the fans didnt slow....
1: Any good quality inexpensive suggestions
2: Is there any chance i've damaged the card by underpowering it?

1a: I realize it may be worth getting an expensive psu for my next build, but i spent all my dough on the video card
2a: If yes, just say so and I'll return it for a new one.

 

[pmr]

some ocz 600W for few more than $100. Good one to put 2 8800gtx in sli

 

[randomizer]

Look at fortron (fsp group) psus. They are good quality and are dirt cheap. At least in the US anyway. Not so much in AUS, its about $80 here for the cheapest 430W with one stamped out fan grill and 80mm fan (the generic look)

 

[jackieboy]

Its the power.......you do need at least a 500watt supply to keep the card happy......replace the power supply asap before you toast your new card

 

[pmr]

Its the power.......you do need at least a 500watt

go learn something about psus, then, post

 

[mguilicutty]

Could just be lack of RAM. Battlefield2 even on medium visual settings needs more than a 1GB. Check your memory usage during the game to see if this is the problem. Also, is your drive access light going nuts in the games? I would think that if it were a power issue your system would just crash in 3d apps.

 

[switch495]

Its not the ram --- i've been running with 1gig with a worse card, and getting better performance. Not to mention, this card has twice as much onboard than my old one. 256, not 128.

Anyway, i went and bought coolermaster extreme power 600w

Hoping this does the trick.

During my install and validation (turning it on and off, etc etc, making sure all is good) i ended up getting a billion windows updates... talk about annoying.

Anyway, now my freaking service host is hogging 50%. Nice update microsoft.

Hoping this will fix itself in one of the 'hotfixes' that always follows an update.

 

[kaotao]

yes yes yes.

Don't need the 30A as stated by the manufacturers, but a good 22 or 24 are needed.

You may or may not be ok with a good 22-24 amps on the 12V rail. IMO better safe than sorry.

 

[pmr]

I just said it because I know several guys who have the same card with 22A psus. But, yes, if upgrading a good 100 bucks psu delivering combined 40A is a good option.

 

[kaotao]

Yeah, I know of one here on the forumz that says he's got one running with a 380W PSU with 22amps.

 

[blade85]

I just said it because I know several guys who have the same card with 22A psus. But, yes, if upgrading a good 100 bucks psu delivering combined 40A is a good option.

Yeah, I know of one here on the forumz that says he's got one running with a 380W PSU with 22amps.

i run it with a 22A 380 watt psu ( This tagan psu , It is 22A )


system: E6600, 2 gigs ram, X1950 pro AGP (sapphire), 250 Gb hdd, 2 DVDRW, 5 fans (directly connected to the psu), and a couple of other peripherals that use the power directly from the mobo

 

[kaotao]

I was referring to you, but I wasn't totally sure.

 

[moogles]

Its the power.......you do need at least a 500watt supply to keep the card happy......replace the power supply asap before you toast your new card

how can you toast a new card, if your psu cant supply enough amps....
it will either not POST or the psu will blow.

 

[randomizer]

I'm running mine with an 18A 430w psu. Some guy had his on a 15A I think. I undervolt my 3700 tho to save power, and underclock it when playing oblivion coz I get crashes and restarts otherwise.

 

[pauldh]

I undervolt my 3700 tho to save power, and underclock it when playing oblivion coz I get crashes and restarts otherwise.

It would be such a pity to upgrade power supplies and meet your systems needs. (sorry couldn't resist)

 

[switch495]

I'm still having issues with this card and BF2.

Quake 4 looks good with settings on high... very little stuttering, smooth.

Fear looks good and runs well enough on high settings.

Bf2 chops and stutters and lags on freaking medium.

I'm going to start another post and see what happens when i mix those two in a title... maybe others have issues.

 

[darkstar782]

Yes that old 380W PSU had a large +5V rail, and a weak +12V rail. Older PSUs have this as older Motherboards (Athlon XP era) supplied the CPU from the +5V Rail.

BF2 is the game that you say has issues now, butBF2 is an evil evil ram hog (just like BF2142 which I play alot).

It is one of the few games that like 2GB ram, this may be your issue.

Also, is that 3.0GHz P4 on a 533MHz or 800MHz FSB?

 

[switch495]

I know 2 gigs is better than 1, but the game should play medium find with this video card.. its as high end as it gets for agp, with 256 on board... twice as much as my old card, which could pull of medium in the same stutteryness.


The game crashes on occasion too, locking up during attempts to change video settings (not immediately, but while loading into map)