Sapphire Radeon 6870, No video & Fan stuck at 100% when trying to boot up!

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lucky88shp

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Hello,

I just upgraded my PC with a Phenom II X6 and a Sapphire Radeon 6870. Before I was using Athlon X2 6000+ and Radeon 4850. I used two pci express 6pin to molex converters to connect the video card. The computer booted fine did all the driver updates, did some game testing, and everything was fine. Then next morning I turn on the computer and the video card fan runs 100%(sounds like a blow dryer) and get no display on the monitor. The motherboard beeps just fine. Then when I and turn it off, turn off the psu via its power button and then turn it back on followed by turning on the PC, it boots up just fine with perfect display and fan speed on the video card! Its like when I let the PC cooldown completely, and turn it back on after 8+ hours, it does that. But once it boots up fine it does not do that until the next time I turn it on after a long time. I dont know what the problem is, my best guess is the PSU, it probably is not enough wattage. Here's my full PC specs in detail(everything at stock speeds):

ASRock 780GXE/128M Mobo
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T
Sapphire Radeon 6870 1GB (100314-3L)
4GB G.Skill DDR2 PC2-6400 800Mhz RAM
Thermaltake 500W PSU(Model: ISO-P500L)

Plzz reply with any suggestions ASAP, any help would be highly appreciated. Thanx
 
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Supernova1138

Supernova1138

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I'd say it's probably your PSU. 500 Watts should be enough for your system, but your PSU may not be able to actually deliver that much, I don't think the Thermaltake units are known for being high quality. Can you post the specs on the sticker on the side of your PSU? Particularly how many amps are on the +12V rail. It's possible that you are running the power supply up to its absolute limits, and it is having trouble keeping the voltages stable at that load, especially after being inactive for a while. You can also check to see what voltages you are getting in the BIOS. Anything below 11.4 on your +12V rail is not good.

If you have another power supply that can cope with your system, try swapping it out and see what happens.
 
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lucky88shp

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It says,
+12V1 - 14A
+12V2 - 15A

I dont have any other psu more powerful than this on hand to test, and if I can figure out for sure if that is the problem, I will buy a new one! I will check the voltages in bios and will post soon....Thnx for reply
 
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lucky88shp

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Ok so in the mobo bios, the H/W monitor shows

VCore

+12V @ a steady switching between 12.148V and 12.196V. Is that ok, I dont have much knowledge about PSU and power dissipation/consumption...
 
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Supernova1138

Supernova1138

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Your voltages are a bit high, but are within specifications. I think your problem is you are overloading one of your +12V rails. Neither of the rails has enough power to run the entire system on its own, and I think the way your system is currently wired has most of the power coming from one of the two rails. I would recommend that you have one rail power your CPU, and put your auxillary graphics power on the other +12V rail. You're going to have to find out which molex connectors are wired to which rail, and make sure your PCI-E adapters are not sharing the same rail as your CPU.

The wires should be colour coded, with yellow likely to be +12V1. See if you can find some molex connectors that do not share the same wire colour as your 4 pin P4 connector. Try looking at your PSU's documentation if you need any more help in identifying the rails.
 
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lucky88shp

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I was thinking, I should rather just buy a new PSU, what do you think? Do you suspect this most likely is PSU problem? What is the best PSU for 600-700W range at reasonable price?
 
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Supernova1138

Supernova1138

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You don't need a 600 to 700 Watt PSU, not unless you intend on adding another 6870 into the mix. Your PSU while advertised as a 500 Watt unit, is actually closer to a 350 Watt in practical terms, as there is only about 350 watts between your +12V rails. A good quality 500 watt power supply would be fine if you do want to get a new one. Some good brands are Antec, Seasonic and Corsair. You may want to look for one that only has one +12V rail if you want to keep things simple when connecting all your components.
 
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Supernova1138

Supernova1138

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He said it beeps just fine, which I take to mean that he gets the regular post beep, and not an error beep code. Is it one short beep everytime it starts, or do you get multiple beeps? In any case, this does seem more likely to be a PSU issue, as aside from this problem, his video card seems to be working okay, and is showing no signs of overheating or any other problems.
 
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lucky88shp

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Yup I meant the post beep, IT IS JUST FINE! The computer is booting just fine too even when there is no display, and I can say that because when i do get the display, I get the message, "Your computer did not shutdown properly last time" and gives me the options of booting in Safe mode or Normally....
Man, I thought Thermaltake was a decent PSU, but I guess not! I will look up for one from the above mentioned makers. But if you still are aware of some specific model, please lemme know, Thanx!
 
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lucky88shp

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Supernova1138

Supernova1138

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Any of those PSUs will be more than enough to power your system. The one with the multiple +12V rails is the cheapest one, so go for that if you are looking for the cheapest option. If you want to keep things simple, and not have to worry about connecting components to different rails, you can go for any of the others.
 
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lucky88shp

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I ended up going with the Antec 550W PSU because of its great reviews and modular design! But I will consider this case solved once I test the new PSU and it solves the problem! Now i just gotta way about 5 days to receive it, that always sux!! :(
 
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lucky88shp

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OK so after replacing the PSU, got the Antec 550W, the problem still persisted so I sent the Radeon 6870 for RMA and received a replacement that does the same exact thing..I dont know what is the problem! I called them today and they said they had tested the replacemetn for 2 days before sending it and I tried to push it for another replacement. I am receiving a Radeon 6970 tomorrow, and I will test it for couple of days and if it works fine, I will knwo that its the video card again, and will send it back for another replacement.
 
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broz0rs

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Funny, I have the exact same problem with my 6870 right now. My newly built CPU either boots fine with the 6870 fans on like a leaf blower, but Windows (Dxdiag) can not recognize the card. The other scenario is the CPU doesn't boot at all.

I think it's related to the PCI-e connectors. Here's all the possible scenarios:

BOOTS with 6870 fans in full speed
1. No PCI-e connectors from PSU to 6870
2. Only one PCI-e connectors attached from PSU to 6870

NO BOOT with only chassis fans on
1. Both PCI-e connectors attached from PSU to 6870

I use an Antec 550 as my PSU. What I'm exactly doing is I connect the first PCI-e connector to the 6870 and attach the 2nd modular red PCI-e connector to the red 12V3 rail. I know I have to get this configuration or there is no way I have a chance of getting the card to activate.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
 
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speedyneon76

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Don't mean to thread necro but just wondering if you found a solution to your problem? I installed a Sapphire 6870 yesterday into my system and it does the same thing.

Asrock a780gmh 128m
AthlonII X2 240 O/Cd to 3.5ghz
Sapphire Radeon 6870
4GB Crucial DDR2 800 RAM
Antec EA750 PSU

 
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lucky88shp

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Unfortunately, I didn't find a solution! I tried everything possible and even after buying new PSU it doesnt work! I did 2 RMA's without any luck. It looks like something specific about those cards clashes with the ASRock mobos causing it! I bought a XFX 6970 and it works flawless for past 2+ months! My suggestion, send it back and get some other card, perhaps a 6870 from XFX or MSi or some other manufacturer. Hope this helps...
 
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