GTX 260 GPU

[mindtraffic]

Hi, I just recently installed my new EVGA geforce GTX260 896 mb ddr3 PCI-E 2.0 about two days ago. today i get back from class to see my computer blank screened. I attempted to reboot but only the lights and fans would boot up...no beep, no BIOS. I currently reinstalled my old geforce 7900 GTX and the computer booted and runs just fine. My Question would be, is it just a shoddy GPU and i have to contanct the manufacturors to replace it? or are there other problems causing it not to work properly. My specs are:
Mobo: EVGA 780i sli
CPU: Intel core 2 Quad.
RAM: 2GB DDR2
GPU: (stated above)
Power: Antec 500w

 

[mindtraffic]

anyone?

 

[wathman]

an Antec 500W might not be enough to power your system effectively, depending on the specs of your parts, peripherals, and age of the PSU. I'd try seeing if a more powerful PSU, 650W or so, solves the problem.

 

[mavanhel]

an Antec 500W might not be enough to power your system effectively, depending on the specs of your parts, peripherals, and age of the PSU. I'd try seeing if a more powerful PSU, 650W or so, solves the problem.

Agreed. I just checked on the newegg PSU calculator and it says to run the 260 you need a 564W PSU, but they do assume that you need something higher than you actually do, just to be safe. It may be that your Antec just isn't efficient enough and isn't giving you the kind of power needed. Like wathman said, try out a 650W and hopefully it'll work out for you.

 

[dndhatcher]

The age and model of the PSU matters. The amperage on the 12V rail/s is as important as the total wattage. 500W is the minimum rating for a system with a GTX 260, but PSUs degrade so after a while they are less efficient than when first installed. Are you overclocking with a voltage increase? That also takes extra wattage.

 

[wathman]

The age and model of the PSU matters. The amperage on the 12V rail/s is as important as the total wattage. 500W is the minimum rating for a system with a GTX 260, but PSUs degrade so after a while they are less efficient than when first installed. Are you overclocking with a voltage increase? That also takes extra wattage.

Also going along with what DND said, older PSU's conformed to older ATX spec revisions, the later revisions reduced 5V rail amps, and allowed for increase to 12V rail amps. There's also the possible issues dealing with a split 12v rails that thankfully newer PSU's are getting away from.

 

[mindtraffic]

I'm assuming it's factory overclocked since I have the superclocked edition, side note* I am dual screeneing currently so a psu upgrade sounds most sensible. I attemped to boot the comp again with the 260 in and it loaded up single screen just fine. When I restarted my comp though the same problem occurred. I do have a noistaker 650w on hand but from what I remember it wasn't compatible with my motherboard.

 

[dndhatcher]

I was talking about the CPU being overclocked. I know that can burn as much as 100 watts, but I'm not sure how much it affects the 12v rails. Maybe someone else could answer if backing off a cpu overclock could free up 12v rail amperage.

It is also possible the 260 is bad. Got a friend with a nice system that would drop the card in to test it?

 

[mavanhel]

Well, it couldn't hurt to try. It would definitely be cheaper than buying a new PSU and finding out that you don't need it.

 

[mindless728]

which antec, basiq / earthwatts, kind of important, as the basiq may not be good enough, but the earthwatts are very good quality

@mavahel: the newegg PSU calculator is horrible

any good 500-550w PSU should be able to handle almost any single GPU

 

[mindtraffic]

CPU isn't overclocked and it's earthwatts

 

[konenavi]

CPU isn't overclocked and it's earthwatts

Well it shouldn't be the PSU, I mean I run a Core 216, PCI NIC, X-fi Three Harddrives, a Q9550, 4 sticks of RAM blah blah blah on the cheapest Coolermaster 500W PSU, is that a good idea? No not, really but it works.

 

[dndhatcher]

Either something is broke or something simple is wrong

You are putting the GTX 260 into a PCIE x16 slot?

You are plugging the two PCIE power cables into the GTX 260?

 

[mindtraffic]

well from what i thought, the 780i sli board has 3 pcie x16 slots so it shouldnt matter which one i put it in. if so, i have it in the first slot (closest to the cpu). and im plugging 2 6 pin power cables (those that fit) into the GTX, so i doubt its a problem on my end of the installation. When i get outta work in an hour i could try putting it in the middle slot and see what happens.

 

[dndhatcher]

Im going to point back to my previous post and suggest you find a friend with a good computer that would let you drop that 260 in it to see if it is broken.

 

[mindtraffic]

at the moment i cant think of anyone i know with the ability to test my 260- theyd either have an outdated motherboard or a generally old power supply. is there any way of testing it myself?

Secondly, i did run the computer overnight, it was running aion on one screen (afk shop) and a chat group on the other. Usually i leave my computer running a lot but that never affected my system. Like i said in an earlier post though, i plugged the GPU back in and it worked fine for a bit, when i restarted it, plugging the rest of my usb cords and what not in, it didnt get past the boot stage.
What about ventilation? currently everything is in an aspire case- not the greatest ventilation but from the on board readings, the case never went above 90 F and my room is generally warm. Its been like that for about 3 years (back when i was running a different botherboard and what not) so i doubt its a problem with ventilation, im just trying to rule out other possibilities.
the IT at my job recommended a volt test? can anyone give me any info on that?

 

[wathman]

The quick way to just get a general idea of your electrical usage, get a kill-a-watt and plug it in. It's not a precision device, but if your PSU is pulling in close to 500 watts under load, that's pretty good proof that you need more juice. There's also software tools that overclockers use to check voltages on systems, I think Rivatune is a good one that should check it, Speedfan is another one if your board's sensors are supported. CPU-Z might also, but not sure if it will measure voltage in real time. The last option is to get a multimeter and test the voltage at various points in the system.

 

[dndhatcher]

Like i said in an earlier post though, i plugged the GPU back in and it worked fine for a bit, when i restarted it, plugging the rest of my usb cords and what not in, it didnt get past the boot stage.

Maybe you accidentally bumped something when plugging the "usb and what not" in? Unplug everything then plug in the minimum you need to boot to take everything else out of the equation.


Were you measuring the CPU or GPU temperature?
Was that 90C not 90F? Does anything measure in F in a computer?

A 260 could get hotter than a 7900 and may have overheated. Have you checked that its fan spins?
You can download Precision from EVGA.com to monitor the 260s temperature and fan speed.

 

[mindtraffic]

hey just a little bit of an update, these cards are generally defective- it seems others who purchased the 260 GTX from newegg had similar problems. I did find someone else's computer to put the 260 GTX in and the same problem occurred after a reboot. Currently replacing mine with a new 260.

oh and sorry dnd for not replying right away. the fan kept spinning so thats not a surefire way to make sure ur card is a dud. i wouldnt be able to monitor the 260s temp since it wouldnt let me boot past BIOS.

 

[dndhatcher]

the fan kept spinning so thats not a surefire way to make sure ur card is a dud.

If the fan isnt spinning, its a guaranteed problem.