Sapphire 6850 major malfunction -need serious help

[Natsuru]

Alright guys, hopefully one of you can point me in the right direction to solve this problem

Today, I got my brand new Sapphire 6850 1gb in the mail

Previously, I was running an XFX 4850 1gb, but it was getting a bit too slow in graphics intense games

So I go to install this bad boy

I work on getting all the drivers installed, but the damn thing randomly causes the screen to go black and restart the computer, usually with about 10 seconds of looped sound (Whatever sound the computer was making at the time)

Now, my power supply is a piece of junk Dynex 400W that I got off of ebay for about 10 bucks new

This has been running my 4850 for 2 years now, with no issues ever

The 6850 1gb does not use that much more power than the 4850 (about 10 or so watts)

I'm almost certain that the graphics drivers for the 6850 were all correct and in order, as I was able to play New Vegas on max settings for about 5 minutes before my computer committed sudoku on me

I Have tried reducing the stock speeds in MSI afterburner, this did not help

I have monitored the temperatures at the time of crashing, and they did not go about 40C

So, before I go out and buy a bigger PSU, can you guys tell me if it's a power supply issue, or if this card might just be broken?

Yes, before someone tells me, I know that the Dynex sucks, but it was cheap, as am I

 

[lonecosmos]

Well AMD does recommend a 500 watt PSU and Sapphire says it's required.

 

[Natsuru]

It seems a bit odd to me that the new card would cause an issue, seeing as how the previous one had no issues and used almost the same amount of power

I really am just hoping someone can tell me if these are symptoms of a weak power supply or a broken card

 

[lonecosmos]

Have you tried completely removing all AMD drivers and software related to the graphics card and previous graphics card first and then installing the latest ones?

 

[jaideep1337]

The 6850 uses about 10-15 watts more and I think your 4850 was already getting your PSU up to 100% load and it couldn't take the extra 10 watts so get a better PSU. Even a Corsair Cx430 would do and those are pretty cheap too(around 35$ after rebates).

 

[jcurry23]

I would say your psu is the problem.

 

[Natsuru]

So, you guys are POSITIVE, without a doubt, that the PSU is a problem?

I'm just making extra sure due to RMA issues, I don't want to be left with a dead card and a new PSU lol

So, have I just been sitting on the absolute edge of functionality with the 4850 for all this time?

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case, this Dynex thing is a piece of junk... but at least it hasn't blown up from being overpowered

 

[lonecosmos]

It's very possible that the card is having problems as well. Why not test it with a friends PSU or borrow one from somewhere or have it tested at some computer shop where the people aren't dick heads for a simple test.

 

[Natsuru]

I do have a backup computer... although it uses the exact same PSU as this...

The only spare PSU I have is a junky thing from China that claims to put out 650W

I'm not a gambling man

Is there anyway to hook up a separate power supply to the graphics card, or will this break everything?

 

[Natsuru]

I should probably add

The whole system is rather sluggish with the 6850 installed, and after being sluggish for a while, it just restarts

Is this indicative of insufficient voltage?

Right now the only symptom of a broken graphics card is the restarting and crashing

There is no screen tearing, no odd colors, no temperature spikes, just the crashing

I just ordered a 800W PSU by Kentek (don't worry, the reviews are good)

I hope this will resolve my issues

I want mah games

 

[lonecosmos]

800 watt is probably over kill but that is fine too. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Natsuru]

Will do... i'll probably be back when everything breaks again

I just figure this cheap PSU won't ever do 800W fully, so half load should be (relatively) stable for it

 

[Natsuru]

Alright, update on everything

I got the new PSU from Kentek, works like a champ by the way, would recommend for builds on a budget

Unfortunately, the problem with the graphics card did persist

Turns out, the card was just screwed up completely, had nothing to do with the little dynex power supply

I went ahead and went through newegg to get my RMA, should be received the new card sometime next week


Yep, took the initiative to test the card in my backup rig, fresh drivers and everything, and the problem persisted exactly as it had before, leading me to believe some of these 6850s are experiencing the same set of problems...