Sapphire Radeon x1950 Pro

coilaman

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Jan 13, 2011
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Hi guys,
I have a problem and need help. I have an HP Compaq dx2300 computer. It's a 1.8 GHz E2160 Pentium Dual Core processor, 2.5GB DDR2 RAM, 320GB HDD, Winfast nVidia 6600 GT graphics card and running Windows 7 Professional 32-bit version. I wanted to upgrade the graphics card and decided on getting a manufacturer refurbished Sapphire Radeon x1950 Pro 256MB VRAM.

This card originally had a fan on it, but Sapphire decided to put only heat sinks everywhere on it during refurbishing process. It has a 6-pin connection port for power, but it also has a 3 pin connector with 1 pin missing on the Graphics board itself. I guess that was used before for plugging in the fan or is it something else? Do I have to plug something in there?

I found out I needed a better power supply as the original one was only 250W so I got a used Antec 450W Smart Power 2.0. Sapphire recommends 450W minimum for X1950 Pro, but is it really enough? I can't get the computer to complete the booting. It gets to 'Starting Windows' and then my monitor goes black and into sleep mode. I uninstalled the nVidia drivers and I checked the BIOS to make sure the priority for booting is set on PCI-E. What to do in order to make this card work?

Thanks a lot guys and I really appreciate your help.
 
Solution
Either the card is bad or your power supply is not getting it enough power, which can happen even with good brands. PSU could be faulty, but since you got a rebuilt video card, the issue is more likely with that.

I'd just return the card and buy a new Radeon 5670, which should match your CPU pretty well. If you want an upgrade to run games, that's about the lowest card you'd want to get.

I'm a bit suprized that they did not put a fan on the 1950, that was a pretty high-end card when it came out, I don't think it will run cool enough to be fanless.
The 3 pin on the PCB would be where the fan should plug in.From what your saying what they did was turn it into a passive heatsink.Those heatsinks don't use fans and are silent although they usually yield higher temps,but still normal.

Why get a x1950 anyway? Their's far better cards for about $30 and don't consume anywhere near as much power.

It's possible the card you got is DOA.

What is the make/model of your motherboard?
 

myowaiwin

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i've used fanless cards and they do have the 3 pin fan connector

i think it's because thay use the same PCB for both fan and fanless model of the same gpu.

so don't worry about that provided sapphire sold the fanless model, the card can operate with fan. if u have some worry, u can also give good ventilation of your case or provide direct blow on the heat sink or test with open case.

if ur mobo have graphic output, try without graphic card to rule out the problem of the graphic card.

 
Either the card is bad or your power supply is not getting it enough power, which can happen even with good brands. PSU could be faulty, but since you got a rebuilt video card, the issue is more likely with that.

I'd just return the card and buy a new Radeon 5670, which should match your CPU pretty well. If you want an upgrade to run games, that's about the lowest card you'd want to get.

I'm a bit suprized that they did not put a fan on the 1950, that was a pretty high-end card when it came out, I don't think it will run cool enough to be fanless.
 
Solution

coilaman

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Yeah, the 5670 is very good and I don't need it for gaming, but for running Adobe CS 5.5 web and graphic design applications (Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Flash Professional). I want this card because it will take a full advantage of the Pentium E2160 processor and it's not an overkill for that CPU either. It's perfect for the Adobe products I use.

I will return the Sapphire X1950 Pro as everything is pointing to it as the problem. The used PSU Antec 450W I got recently, is just fine and very quiet. It's a 32A PSU and runs my Winfast nVidia 6600GT and the rest of the components with no issues. I love it.

Thank you guys for your help and suggestions. I really appreciate it.