Card failure?

[Junior2k4]

I built myself a new computer with a gigabyte mobo and a radeon 4870. I installed all the parts and got windows up and running and everything was beautiful for about a day. After I installed the graphics drivers and I restarted my computer I started experiencing graphics corruption at the POST screen. When the screen went black to switch to the windows loading screen it stayed black. I've tried letting my computer sit for a while before turning it on and unplugging everything except for the video card and the primary hdd and I'm still having the same problem. I'm using a 500w psu, is it likely that the card was ruined by the psu or is it just a bad card?
I'm thinking that i may need to get a new psu anyways since I plugged in my usb headset and got a message stating that there was a power surge in the usb port, but i would like to know if i need to RMA that video card or not.

 

[coozie7]

Post screen graphic errors are not due to the drivers, they are are due to hardware problems.
Sounds like it is a PSU problem, and I'm bit concerned about the power surge warning, if it is surging to the USB ports it is probably doing so to the rest of the system, which could fry the lot.
If you have a local small computer store, try taking the card and PSU there to be tested if you cannot test them on another system.

 

[Junior2k4]

Yea, I'm going to order a corsair 750w PSU today. I tried the card with just one HDD and it is still doing the same thing, so I think I will try to RMA it on monday.
Thanks for getting back to me, I was beginning to think that no one was going to offer advice.

 

[Gin Fushicho]

Did you try waiting for a while after your screen went black? Mine goes black for about 15 seconds before the loading screen pops up , but its loaded right after it pops up.

 

[g3force]

Did you try waiting for a while after your screen went black? Mine goes black for about 15 seconds before the loading screen pops up , but its loaded right after it pops up.

He's experiencing artifacts during the POST cycle, which points to a hardware failure.

 

[Dustpuppy]

Probably a hardware failure, but if you've not tried clearing the CMOS I'd give that a shot for kicks before going through the trouble of an RMA.

I don't know why it would fix your problem, but it's one of the things I always do when troubleshooting a mobo.

 

[Junior2k4]

clearing CMOS was actually one of the first things that I did

I let my computer sit for a good minute or two before I turned it off.

Thank you guys for responding. It is nice to know that I am following the right track.