Bricked gigabyte radeon hd 6850 help

mjwong

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Nov 2, 2011
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hey i recently built a new computer

CPU : AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 6 Core Processor 3.2GHZ Socket AM3 Retail Box
PSU : Powercolor Gaming 500W Powersupply ATX 12V 80PLUS CrossFire SLI 120MM Fan Powersupply
GPU : Gigabyte Radeon HD 6850 Windforce 820MHZ 1GB 4.2GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI HDMI Display Port PCI-E Video Card
MOBO : MSI 870-G45 ATX AM3 870 DDR3 2PCI-E16 PCI-E1 3PCI SATA2 GBLAN Audio CrossFireX Motherboard
RAM : Mushkin Enhanced Silverline Stiletto 8GB 2X4GB PC3-10666 DDR3-1333 9-9-9-24 Dual Channel Memory Kit
CASE : Apex SK-393-C Mid Tower ATX Case Black 4X5.25 1X3.5 5X3.5INT 4 X Front USB 2 X Front

but after playing battlefield for 30 min, my comp shuts down and wont start up again. i systematically checked my components and found that when i disconnected my GPU from the PSU (6 pin) my computer starts but without the graphics. i put the GPU in my friends comp with a 750W PSU and his computer wouldnt start either. so i know that my Gigabyte Radeon HD 6850 is broken but i dont know why. i built the comp brand new a day ago and the same day it breaks. im still under warranty so im getting a new card but i dont want to put it in my system if it is only going to break again. so my question is basically, should i be worried because of my build or did i just run into bad luck with a badly manufactured card. please help
 

mjwong

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Nov 2, 2011
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the only thing i can think of is if the psu isn't providing enough power, that could cause the gpu to break but ive read everywhere and used psu calculators that say 500w is ample... am i wrong?
 

someguynamedmatt

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I'd have to say that you just ran into a bit of bad luck. 500w should be plenty of power for a single HD 6850... as long as everything was properly installed (which it was, if it did run for the time you said), then I see no reason for a sudden death like that other than a faulty card.

I can't rule out the power supply, though, as powercolor isn't exactly a high-quality manufacturer; if I were you, I'd try to get ahold of a different card to test it first and be sure that you didn't lose a rail on your PSU. If not, then all that's left is to pick up a replacement GPU and hope for the best.

Good luck. :)
 
just bad luck mate, video cards from any manufacturer rarely fail like that. Sounds like something in the card is shorted out, it should at least boot up, even with 300w. They dont use much power on boot up, only when rendering 3d. does your PSU look like this one http://www.kitguru.net/components/power-supplies/zardon/powercolor-gaming-600w-power-supply-review/5/ obviously not the 600w, but probably the same design, it got a good review so it should be fine.
 

mjwong

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Nov 2, 2011
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thanks for the replies guys... so i took matts advice and i borrowed another gpu from a friend... a radeon 5770. the computer powers up and it seems like it is just a faulty radeon hd 6850 gpu but when i plug in the dvi to dvi for my monitor as the card only has 2 dvi ports (no vga), i get no display! ... since i have no onboard graphics, the temprary video card is all ive got to work with... and i know that it works because it works in my friends computer... but why doesnt it display on my comp...