Wierd artifacts on a GTX560, suspecting the PS

Darck

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Dec 1, 2011
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Hello everyone,

As you might know, most GTX 460 were replaced with GTX 560 so we had to install those cards in all the new computers we built.

Problem is, since we've done that, about 6-7 users have reported their drivers crashing and recovering... or not. We tested the cards and they seemed fine, unplugging the power and unslotting/reslotting the video cards or simply changing them seems to fix the problem but I still don't know if this will ever happen again.

The system setup is currently 12 gigs of ram (6X2) along with a w3550 xeon processor , 3 hard drivers and a 475w power supply.

Since nothing was changed , other than the video card, between the old config (gtx460) and the new one (gtx560) I suspect the power supply to be the problem, having a hard time giving power to the video card over long periods of time... our users reboot their computers about once a week...

What do you guys think?

Thanks
 
The Gtx 560 consumes about 50 watts more (peak power) than the Gtx 460, so you might be on the edge of power requirements, but not sure. Would need more detailed information about the PSU to be a little more definitive in my answer.
 

cuecuemore

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Woooaaah, let's back up. If we're talking about the regular 560, (no ti or anything), it will use less power than the 460. This isn't to say that it couldn't be a PSU issue, a 475w PSU without proper 12v rail allocation could easily be acting up.
 

Well according to this chart

The GTX 460 1gb is about 155w (peak) and the GTX 560 is about 212w (peak). I'm not 100% sure which brand they used for reference, but it appears to be by nVidia's reference specs.
 

COLGeek

Cybernaut
Moderator
This really does appear to be a PSU issue. As we all know, not all PSUs are created equally and some 475w PSUs are significantly better than others, thus the earlier question about make/model.

Also, in addition to the possible wattage shortage, a maxed out PSU will also generate more heat than a properly operating PSU. Heat is the other major culprit when investigating artifacting GPUs.

The OP needs to clarify before we can help solve this issue.
 
The 560 Ti is listed as a 197w (peak) part and the plain vanilla 560 is listed at 212w (peak) by their charts. I'm not sure if this is just their tests or compiled from different review sites or by manufacturers specs. If you just use their chart as a reference, you can see the small differences between the different GPU's.

Typical 3d power consumption (by their chart) has the 560 Ti as 155w and the vanilla 560 at 165w. The 460 1gb is listed at 132w with typical power consumption, so I'd bet it's closer to about 30w difference between the 460 1gb and the vanilla 560, but I'm just going off of the charts.
 

cuecuemore

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Yes, you are. You contradicted me, and I let it slide, but now you're arguing with THE forum authority on such things, so good luck with that. Official Nvidia spec states that TDP for 460 = 160w, compared to 150w for the 560, btw.
 
I wasn't trying to prove anything, I was just referencing their charts. You mileage may vary. I'm not trying to argue with "THE" forum authority on anything, I'm just stating where I got my facts from. Most people don't even show the links to where they got their information from, so I feel I went the extra mile in listing where I got my information from. It doesn't mean that my information is correct, but what is correct on the internet these days?? By listing all of the details and the links for the items in question, one can make an informed and educated guess from that.
 

I'm betting that the reference #'s on nVidia's site is the best case scenario and the ones that I listed from the charts are possibly a more realistic value and/or with a different stock card. I'm not sure, but it's good to know any and all information out there, so one can make an informed decision. As with all forms of chips, no one is exactly the same performance and temperature.
 

Darck

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Dec 1, 2011
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Hey guys, sorry for the late reply, been pretty busy at work lately and just got an email saying there was replies to this thread which I'm not used to in other forums :)

The power supply is a pretty standard one, actually the whole workstation is an HP Z400 so the stock PS is in there, here's a couple of specifications: http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=c01709672#A1

The video card is an Asus GTX 560 exactly like the one here: http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/NVIDIA_Series/ENGTX560_DC2DI1GD5/

I'll look for correct model of the power supply tommorow and I'll be more on the look for replies :)

Thanks
 

Darck

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Thanks for the suggestion but I'm not sure if this would fit an HP computer, having read somewhere else that an after market PS wouldn't work since some wires were inverted (HP protection against third party -_-).