Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > Second 8800GT Problem
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fumblehero   07-23-2008 at 10:45:39 PM

I built my PC back at the end of May with a friend of mine. Here are the specs:

OCZ 700w GameXStream Power Supply
OCZ SLI 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz
XFX nForce 780i SLI Socket 775 Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3Ghz 6MB 1333FSB
XFX GeForce 8800 GT 512MB Zalman Ed

Since we built it it has run excellent and I have had no problems with it.

Today however I went to install a second 8800gt (The same exact version as above) to SLI my machine and got the hardware installed fine and everything. I made sure it was connected to the power supply, I placed the bridge on correctly. It went well.

I then powered on my machine installed the newest set of drivers and enabled SLI mode. I than began messing around in some games and browsing the internet. Then after around 10-15 minutes of this the PC just shut down. It will not start back up now either. Only A small blue and yellow LED light are on on my motherboard.

I am not a genius when it comes to hardware and such so I am at a loss as to what the problem can be.

Thanks for any suggestions as to what the problem is and how to fix it.

(P.S. Sorry if this is in the wrong section but it seems like it is the right place to ask about this.)

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helios2052   07-24-2008 at 12:04:59 AM
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It sounds like a PowerSupply problem, but that psu is more than capable of driving two 8800gt's so that seems strange.

Check the motherboard for shorts or physical damage (Did you drop a screw on the motherboard when installing the second 8800GT?)

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fumblehero   07-24-2008 at 12:25:00 AM
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I made sure I grounded myself by touching the powersupply before installation. I also made very sure that I did not drop any screws or anything like that on the motherboard before plugging it back in. Is there any way that I could double check to make sure nothing is fried?

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B-Unit   07-24-2008 at 12:28:25 AM
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Quick and easy method is pull the second card back out and see if you can boot.

 

Although first, unplug your power supply from the wall, then hold your power button for 5-10 seconds, release and plug back in, occasionally a capacitor will act strange and the preceding actions can clear that up.


Message edited by B-Unit on 07-24-2008 at 12:31:41 AM
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helios2052   07-24-2008 at 01:29:20 AM
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Yea like B-unit said pull the second card out and try it again after unplugging the power supply.

If that doesn't work and you have an extra psu lying around, disconnect all non essential components (harddrives, gpu, sound cards...) and try to at least get it to power on. If it does, keep adding parts back.

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fumblehero   07-24-2008 at 02:37:22 AM
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I uninstalled the second card and that did the trick.

Does anyone have any idea what could have caused it to just die like that after 10 or so minutes? It was working beautifully. I was getting an extra 100+ frames in some of the games I was playing. What would make the card stop working and my PC just power off like that?

Thanks for the advice however. Saved me some grief. I guess now all I have to do is send this one back and wait for the new one to arrive and hope it works for longer than the last one. :sweat:

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helios2052   07-24-2008 at 03:59:15 AM
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Yea, send it back and if your new one does the same thing it may be time to consider the power supply the culprit.

Anyway, best of luck with that and let us know how it goes.

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efeat   07-24-2008 at 05:08:38 AM
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Before you send the 2nd card back, did you try running it on its own as a single card? If that doesn't work, then it's gotta be your card. However, if both video cards work fine on their own, but things go bonkers when you put them together, then you're probably looking at a PSU/motherboard problem.

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spathotan   07-24-2008 at 05:58:11 AM
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efeat is right on. Try the card on its own, if it works then look into the power supply, although the wattage is there, its possible that 2nd connector is on a bad rail or what not, or the PSU is just dying period.

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fumblehero   07-24-2008 at 04:19:53 PM
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I'll try putting the card into the first slot later today. If it does work is there anyway I could find out if it is my power supply or my motherboard?

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efeat   07-24-2008 at 11:30:06 PM
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There is, but I'm not sure how much your motherboard would like this. If both cards work in the 1st slot, you could try running each card by itself in the 2nd slot. If both cards work in both slots, it's almost assuredly a PSU issue.

If the cards don't work in the 2nd slot, that slot might be damaged, or it might just be your motherboard not wanting to use that slot unless the 1st is filled. It's not a guaranteed method, but it might work...

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