Graphics card won't show in high res. Red dots on low res.

wtothex

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Dec 26, 2012
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Received a new graphics card yesterday and whenever I switch my display to 1920x1080(p), the monitor goes blank. Sometimes, it'll show perfectly for a few seconds before going blank again. Although it displays in 1280x720, there are noticeable red dots in dark areas. Note that the monitor works fine with the integrated graphics at 1920x1080(p), so its not the monitor.

Specs: http://i.imgur.com/k7nCx.png?1
CPUID: http://i.imgur.com/rk4Ux.png

I'm at my wits end here.




 

ikaz

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You may want to check the refresh rate that is being set on your graphic card. First put in your new card and and boot into VGA mode (via F8 on boot up). Then set the resolution at some thing lower than 1080p like 720p but also make sure the refresh rate is set to 60Hz and reboot. Now it should up boot fine in the lower rez mode @60hz. At this point try to change it to 1080p the screen should flash and if it work you will see a message asking to keep the change other wise if it does act up it should switch back to the 720p resolution. Let us know the results of that test and it could be your PSU as well some how missed the part about displaying red dots in 720p mode you still need to check the refresh rate though.
 

wtothex

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Dec 26, 2012
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Sorry about all of this. I am a noob. As far as I know, it's a 500 Watt PSU (according to the specs were emailed out to me a few months ago from the company that built it). However, the make and model is Ace A-600BR, which is a 600 Watt PSU, according to the online specs.

Also, my graphics card only has one power slot and that's showing a green light above it. Here's a pic. http://i.imgur.com/Nh3Kg.jpg My noobishness is telling me that I'm doing something wrong.

 

wtothex

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Dec 26, 2012
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Is there a way for me to debug the issue to see if it's definitely the power supply? I thought that a 500-600 Watt supply would be enough? What do you mean by 2 16a 12v rails?
 

wtothex

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Dec 26, 2012
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Hi, I used ASUS GPU tweak and I set all of the settings to their absolute min. Currently running at 875mV. Still no change.
 

blacknemesist

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Oct 18, 2012
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When looking at PSUs for GPUs you need to meet the requirement both is watts and amps on the 12v rail of the PSU.
Your GTX660 ti needs a minimum of 450w and 24 amps on the 12v rails,it needs to connectors so each connector needs to carry 12 amps.

So simplify:the cables your connect to the GPU to power it up are 12v cables.Each cable on your PSU can carry 16 amps.Then you need another cable to connect to the GPU because it requires 2 pci-e 6 pin connectors.

Are you using the same Pci-e cable to connect to both the connectors on the GPU?If yes than there is the problem.Since one(1) cable can only carry 16 amps and your gpu need 24 you are staving the gpu for power.
You need 2 separe cable to come from the PSU can connect each one to 1 GPU connector,don't use the same cable for both the connections.

Another thing that could be happening is because the PSU is very bad it does not provide the stated 16 amps per rail so not enough power reaches your GPU for high res such as 1080p or above but may be enough for lower res.

Here is what I would do:
-Buy a good quality PSU for your system for this list:
http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx
If it malfunctions the PSU can kill everything one your system.Don't overlook the PSU and look at it as the cheapest item on the system because it shouldnt be.You should spend quite a bit of money there to assure system stability and safety.
-Connect the PCI-E cable to your GPU and it will work,probably.

Long story short,your PSU has to go!Its is very bad and can burn your whole system!Think about it,60$ for a good PSU or save 40$ and risk having your system fry?Answer is clear ;)
 

blacknemesist

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Oct 18, 2012
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Oh i forgot,the red dots you are looking?They are artifacts caused by an unstable GPU.Its can mean that the GPU has a problem or simply that it doesnt have enough power coming from the PSU.

But as I said a new PSU would be the best thing you could do for now.
 

wtothex

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Dec 26, 2012
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Btw, thanks for all the comments. I'll sort out the PSU issue straight away before I try to debug the graphics card (or even plug it in again for that matter).
 

zdbc13

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You could borrow a good power supply from a friend to test our theories. But I think you will find out we are telling you the truth. That Antek is a good power supply as long as you don't plan to SLI and overclock a lot.