System crash when entering 3d with 2900 pro

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ryanjm

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I just installed the 2900 pro. It works fine in 2d, and the first game I tried was Bioshock, and it looks amazing and runs super smooth at 1280x1024 with everything on high. Then I tried CS: Source. Crashes right after startup. 3dmark05, crashes on startup, GTA: San Andreas, blank screen but sound is running.

Any ideas what the problem could be? My first thought is the dreaded insufficient PSU problem. My system:

e6300 at 2.8ghz
2gig ram
450W antec smartpower 2.0
ATI 2900 pro 512mb
Catalyst 7.9

The only reason I don't think it's the PSU is because Bioshock runs perfectly and that game is definitely straining my system to the max. Some sort of driver issue? Thanks.
 
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ryanjm

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Yeah, I tried re-cabling things to make sure nothing else is plugged into the cables it uses and still no dice. I guess it really does surprise me that it uses THAT much more power than my 1800xt did. Plus I don't get why Bioshock runs fine but nothing else...
 
emp

emp

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The Smartpower 2.0, Earthwatts, Basiq, and Phantom series from Antec are NOT made to support any gaming systems whatsoever. Try the Antec NeoHE series for single card setups or Antec TruePower Quattro for SLI/Crossfire setups.
 
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SteelZ

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Try Resitting the Card and swapping the 6pin pci-e plus with the other 1 which the PSU should have.
I had that problem yesterday and fixed it just by swapping cables!
I know it may sound weird but thats all i did...
 
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ryanjm

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I gave that a shot. Still a no-go. Thanks for the help guys. Looks like I'm gonna have to either suck it up over the weekend or make a trip to some local computer store if I can't wait. Stupid PSUs are cheap online and ridiculously overpriced in stores.
 
kpo6969

kpo6969

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Your not too much better, 25amps
 
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ryanjm

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Ya, I never was one for going all out on power supplies. After building my own computer for the last 5+ years, I've never needed a fancy uberpowerful psu. In my mind, PSUs either work or they don't, so what's the point in spending a lot of extra money on them? Before this card, I had an 1800xt and it ran like a champ with that card. Never a problem. I guess when you're on the absolute cutting edge these things eat up more power though.
 
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ryanjm

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I thought my psu has 32 amps? 15 + 17?

Link to review of it: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article260-page1.html
about halfway down it has the diagram of what the amperages are, etc...

I don't even understand what the 12v rail is and how I have two of them. I've got one huge cord that goes into my mobo, a bunch of sata connectors, a pci-e connector, and a bunch of other 4-prong connectors. I don't get how you can divide up the cords to make it so that they use their "share" of power. Is it possible I'm not using the full potential of my PSU because of how the cords are connected? Is the cord going into the mobo using all 300W of the 12v rails?
 
kpo6969

kpo6969

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Antec Basiq BP350 12amps
Antec Basiq BP500U 27amps
Antec EarthWatts EA 380 27amps
Antec EarthWatts EA 430 30amps
Antec EarthWatts EA 500 34amps
Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-350 17amps
Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-400 21amps
Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-450 22amps
Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 25amps

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=205763
 
nukemaster

nukemaster

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the PSU may have been getting pushed too hard, but its not as bad as people make it out to be....

Ran my old system fine...

P5W DH Deluxe
e6600 @ 2.93
2 Gigs of DDR2
4 hard drives - 2 x 250 and 2 x 320
X1900XT(with some minor OCin)
Audigy 2zs
WinTV PVR 250
DVD-+R(W)

It was still not near overloading or it would have got allot louder. I forget the exact amount of power it took from the wall, but it was still not near full load....

In fact the only reason i replaced it was because of its piss poor efficiency(under 70% at my load). I did not want to waste extra power....

Is the 2900pro not just 19watts(1.6 amps) more then a X1900xt. maybe i was right on the edge....

http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/forums.asp?s=2&c=7&t=9354&p=0
 
MrCommunistGen

MrCommunistGen

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From the guru3d thread noted above:
Also some of these figures (the Antec Smartpowers and all the Aspire units) are extrapolated from limited information provided and are merely the known minimum and I should have put an asterisk next to those but I didn't. The Smartpowers probably are capable of significantly more...
Click to expand...
Not saying that they're great gaming PSUs but I think that they're probably more capable than we're giving them credit for.

-mcg
 
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Vandalz

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I don't think you should worry too much before you have tried the card on your system.
I got mine 2900 Pro yesterday and it works just fine with my Fortron Blue Storm II 500W PSU. The only thing that disturbs me with this card is the noise. Otherwise it's just great
 
kpo6969

kpo6969

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I wouldn't worry too much either if my psu had 31amps and running that card like you are.
 
kpo6969

kpo6969

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What I meant was a 31amp psu running a 2900Pro as opposed to a 22 or 25amp psu with the same card as was the subject of this thread. I was making a comparison to your 500w psu (31a) as opposed to the Antec SP 2.0 500w psu (25a) one of the above poster's has.
Watts without amps may be the difference of your psu having no issues as opposed to the other poster's. You did state this, correct?
"I got mine 2900 Pro yesterday and it works just fine with my Fortron Blue Storm II 500W PSU"
In this case 500w = 500w Not so
No offense intended, just trying to show the poster the differences between your two situations.
 
MrCommunistGen

MrCommunistGen

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Forgot to mention this earlier, but it might indeed be something as simple as drivers. My friend just got a laptop with a HD2600 in it and it won't run any of the 3DMark series (03,05,06) but ran the outdated Aquamark3 just fine. With new cards they might have new problems that can be fixed with drivers even if the card is essentially a downclocked 2900XT. Also, what OS are you using?

You could test to see if power is a problem by unplugging any unneeded devices (extra opticals, hard drives or anything else you can think of) and by running your CPU at stock clock speeds. This should reduce the power draw and heat production and can help system stability. If the issue is still there I'd say its less likely (although certainly still possible) that it is the PSU. Thankfully you can get some pretty decent ones for under $100 these days.

-mcg
 
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Vandalz

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No offense taken.
Thanks for explaining :)

As to the drivers, i've seen some problems with them myself. nothing big, but when i browse the net with firefox, sometimes black artefacts appear on top of the screen, but they go away as soon as i move my mouse over them. But games run just fine.

I'm confident that the next release of catalyst drivers will fix this issue.

Another thing. Anyone got any info on when a new verson of ATi tray tools may be available. I want to reduce the fan speed when not playing games so the sound of the card isn't that hearable.
 
emp

emp

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I'm not saying the Smartpower 2.0 series are bad units for what they are intended, and that is entry level units for PCs with low power demands, however when you step up to a high-power demanding system you can't expect a cheaper unit to perform as well as the better quality units would.
 
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