Wierd Sli Problem

[yathing]

hey guys i have a old lga775 rig and used to run sli (2 X gts250's) with a core 2 duo 2.93, then i decided to upgrade by getting a quad core q9550, i installed the processor and now my sli is going crazy , any game i run flickers, changes colors, randomly pauses, but videos run fine. I tried various things to fix the problem but didn't help therefore i reinstalled windows and drivers but still gave me the exact same problem and i don't think its my power supply because i have a 550w 'extreme power'. I even checked my cards individually but both of them seem to be working fine Please can some one tell me whats wrong

 

[thestrangebrew]

Min power for 1 gts 250 is 450w: http://www.nvidia.com/object/product_geforce_gts_250_us.html

That's for 1 gts250. You're 550w psu is prob. struggling to power both cards along with other hardware components. I'd look at investing some money in another PSU. What brand psu is it? Corsair and Antec is usually what I stick with.

 

[yathing]

my psu is called 'extreme power' plus by 'cooler master' but i used a psu calculator and it said optimum power is 400 at max

 

[yathing]

plus my psu has 2 PCI-e connectors (therefore its made for sli i think)

 

[Guest]

my psu is called 'extreme power' plus by 'cooler master' but i used a psu calculator and it said optimum power is 400 at max

the Coolermaster "extreme power" psu is garbage, read this review to see what I'm talking about http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-eXtreme-Power-Plus-550-W-Power-Supply-Review/969/7

 

[yathing]

but it says maximum they could get out of it was 400 , and that seems to be eonough for my setup

 

[festerovic]

GTS 250 requires around 100 watt per card. Do the math on the rest of the system and tell us if its over 400 watt. If it is, the PSU is not worthy, get a new one around 600 watt or more.

 

[yathing]

i recaculated it max cpu load and it showed 405w, i guess its the psu then , i cant belive i have to get another psu so soon , thanks anyway guys !!!!!
can anyone recommend a psu ?? i want it to be future prooof too thanx

 

[yathing]

wait i looked at the psu details again and it said max out was 500 and my rig runs max 398 according to http://www.thermaltake.outervision.com/Power

 

[festerovic]

What's your budget?

This one is rad supposedly.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021&Tpk=750%20corsair

 

[yathing]

Thanks i will check it out

 

[festerovic]

If you are more budgeted, something like this is cool too.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371048

Also, almost all mid range and high end cards now have 2 x PCIe 6 pin connectors on the card. Most PSUs under $100 come with only 2 x pcie 6 pin power connectors. You are okay for now but if you hope to reuse this PSU later the trend is to need more PCIe connectors. Maybe better to find one that is modular or has 4x.

 

[yathing]

i had a psu issue beofre and the effects were - random reboots, blue screen of death(dumping physical memory), and pc not turning on for some time
the funny thing is i experience nothing of this now , Isn't this a bit wierd???

 

[Guest]

i had a psu issue beofre and the effects were - random reboots, blue screen of death(dumping physical memory), and pc not turning on for some time
the funny thing is i experience nothing of this now , Isn't this a bit wierd???

Try just running the single card.

 

[yathing]

wtf is happening it used to run single card fine suddenly right now i checked single card and im getting force closes and stuttering frames what the hell is going on , are my video cards broken

 

[memadmax]

It's the PSU...

 

[ko888]

For a system using two GeForce GTX 250 graphics cards in 2-way SLI mode NVIDIA specifies a minimum of a 600 Watt or greater power supply that has a combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 42 Amps or greater and that has at least two 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors.

The Cooler Master Extreme Power Plus 550W (RS-550-PCAR-E3), with its combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 39 Amps while still staying with ATX12V specifications and with its two (6+2)-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors, is insufficient to properly power your system configuration.

What would happen if your PSU can't cope with the load:
• bad 3D performance
• crashing games
• spontaneous reset or imminent shutdown of the PC
• freezing during game play
• PSU overload may cause it to fail/self-destruct

Your Core2 Quad Q9550 will draw up to 2.5 Amps or more from the +12V rail(s) than your previous Core2 Duo E7500. That was probably enough to exceed your PSU's capability to provide sufficient power.

Total Power Supply Wattage is NOT a crucial factor in power supply selection!!! Total Continuous Amperage Available on the +12V Rail(s) is the most important.