7900 GTX issue

[oreocookie]

I just recently purchased a nividia 7900 GTX (used). From the outside it seems to be fine, nothing wrong. However when I any games on it, it is not play correctly. It is either not loading the full image, or it flashes to black and back to normal quickly. I sometimes get vertical or horizontal lines that appear. I am lead to believe that it is not getting enough power. I am using a 350W power supply. Is this the issuse?

 

[fantastik250]

That seems to be the case. But, also have you updated your drivers? Also is it properly in the PCI-e slot? Also make sure you plugs and display plugs are properly plugged.

 

[oreocookie]

Yes i have updated the drivers. It is the proper PCI-e Slot.

Here is my motherboard : http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=2381#ov

Only thing about the plugs would be that i am using a dvi to vga adapter. I do know that the adapter is not 100% the same as the output. The out put is DVI-I, and the adapter iI have is a DVI-A to vga. I don't think this would cause the issue. But I could be wrong.

 

[fantastik250]

It could depend on the game settings. Is your card properly cooled? Or better question, does your computer case get enough cool air inside?

Heat can definitely have an effect on the graphics card if not cooled sufficiently. Also, with today's games you might try lower settings and see if it makes a difference.

 

[oreocookie]

Its on the lowest setting, I believe it is cooled well or well enough. Do you think the adapter could be causing the issue? I didn't think about it until i mentioned it.

 

[fantastik250]

Yea, it could possibly be in an issue if it gets worn down or something to that extent. Since you said it was used, it's hard to determine how the display ports have been used up.

 

[lemlo]

The 7900 gtx was the flagship of its time and is quite power hungry. I have read you will need 450w psu at the very least to power it, though I would recommend 500+w.

 

[oreocookie]

Thanks for the help, im going to try both to solve it. I will post if it fixed it or not once I get the parts replaced.

 

[oreocookie]

Well i got a new power supply, and a new adapter, and unfortunately that did not solve the problem. I wish I could just get free computer thats new hahaha. Any other suggestions?

 

[nforce4max]

What is the specs of the new unit? This card alone at full load draws roughly 125W but usual loads should be around 100w. Second these older cards are known to have thermal related issues that the bonding for the gpu and vram degrade over time. Try some very light games even very old ones and see if it produces artifacts. Also download msi afterburner or riva tuner and set the fan speed to 70% or higher to see if issues continue.

 

[oreocookie]

The new power supply, is a 460w. http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0360839

 

[nforce4max]

That is only a cheap generic unit, it is well documented that such units do not deliver their rated power and well known to fail especially at higher loads.