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jdb81
Pilgrim
Joined: 31 Mar 2012
Posts: 8
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 Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 4:20 pm Post subject: I need help upgrading/fixing a hand me down PC |
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My best friend joined the air force and since he wouldn't be able to take his desktop he was kind enough to give it to me. I've always wanted a gaming computer but never could afford it, so I thought this would be a great opportunity. The only problem with the PC was that it needed a new graphics card (his old one was damaged). So I bought this graphics card from newegg:
ASUS EAH6770/DI/1GD5 Radeon HD 6770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
The problem is that when the card is installed, the signal to the monitor cuts out every couple seconds. First I tried updating the drivers. Then I realized that my power supply didn't meet the minimum requirements so I bought a better one. Neither solution worked. Then I started doing some heavy research, since this computer was new to me I had to find out what components were in it, which was kind of difficult. I found that the interface for the graphics card was PCI express 2.1, but my motherboard was only version 1.0. Now, I've read both that graphics cards should be backwards compatible AND that sometimes this is not always the case. As an experiment, I bought a cheap video card from best buy that was PCI express 2.1 as well and this card worked (GeForce 8400 GS) and then I returned it. I also thought that maybe the Radeon 6770 I bought was defective and traded it for another one, but had the same problem.
I don't want to keep spending money on new parts. I need to know if I should just try another graphics card, or I should buy a new motherboard that has a newer PCI express version slot. This makes me nervous though, because I'm afraid that I won't be able to get a motherboard that is able to salvage parts from the old PC. Compatibility between parts is one thing about computers that I know nothing about.
I used PC wizard to find the specs of my PC here they are (can post more information if needed):
OS: Windows 7 Ulitimate Professional Media Center 64 bit
Mainboard: ELITEGROUP 945GT-GB
Chipset: Intel i945G/GZ
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 2400MHz
Physical Memory: 4096MB (4 x 1024 DDR2-SDRAM)
Hard disk: Hitachi HDT725025VLA380 ATA device (250 GB)
DVD Rom: ATAPI DVD A DH16A1P
DirectX: Version 11.00
Note: I don't care if I can't play the latest games on the highest settings, I just want to be able to play games smoothly. However I can accomplish this will make me happy. Also, I apologize for the length of this post, I just wanted to be thorough. Any help is greatly appreciated. |
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bdub
Black Belt 3rd Degree
Joined: 19 Feb 2003
Posts: 3337
Location: Washington D.C.
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| Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 5:58 pm Post subject: |
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does the monitor cut out like that in the bios as well as the os?
what are the specs on the new psu you bought?
what kind of monitor are you connecting to? and what type of connection (ie vga,dvi,hdmi)?
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jdb81
Pilgrim
Joined: 31 Mar 2012
Posts: 8
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| Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2012 12:30 pm Post subject: |
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No, it does not cut out at all when in the bios. Also I found that if I turn the resolution down really low it doesn't cut out either. But if I try to launch a game it completely crashes my computer. The Geforce card at least let me have high res in windows and was able to play Borderlands just not at the best settings.
The psu is a cooler master 450W 80 Plus bronze. Product: RS-450-ACAA-D3
I'm connecting to an asus vh232h. A 23" 1080p LCD monitor. I've also tried the crappy old monitor I got with the computer, another LCD monitor and even an LCD tv, with the same results. I've tried VGA, DVI, and HDMI cables as well. Again, same problems.
Thanks for your help. |
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evasive
Mobo-fu Master
Joined: 06 May 2001
Posts: 36410
Location: Netherlands, Breda
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bdub
Black Belt 3rd Degree
Joined: 19 Feb 2003
Posts: 3337
Location: Washington D.C.
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| Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 5:58 am Post subject: |
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450 watts isn't a lot, and really only meets the minimum requirements of a 6770. yours puts 35 amps on the +12 volt rail, which is pretty good... might be adequate enough, but do you have another, beefier, psu to test with?
what you mentioned about backwards compatibility with pcie 2.0, etc, that is all totally correct... theoretically all cards should be able to run in older slots, and newer slots should be able to run older cards. but theory and reality differ, so there are incompatibilities that come about. evasive's suggestion about the bios is a good one... look into what bios you have, and maybe a newer one will help you.
when you say the machine crashes during games... is it a freeze that is only remediated by reseting, or is it a blackscreen, cold reboot, sheer shutdown, what????
_________________
my main rig...
asrock 970 extreme3
AMD athlonII X3 440
zalman cpns5x performa hs/fan
crucial ballistix 2x4gb sport ddr3-1333
powercolor 3850 256bit/512meg vga
antec neo he 650r
kingston hyperx 3k ssd 120GB
seagate 500GB HDD 32M cache
seagate 750GB HDD 32M cache
hitachi 1TB HDD 32M cache
lg wh14ns40 bd burner
optiarc ad-7240s sata dvdrw (nec chipset) |
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jdb81
Pilgrim
Joined: 31 Mar 2012
Posts: 8
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| Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 9:49 am Post subject: |
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| I will try to update my BIOS and report back. My BIOS is actually very old, its from 2007. No I do not have a better PSU to test with, at least I don't believe so, I'll check with some friends and see if they have a better one I could borrow. As for when it crashes, yes it is a freeze that is only remediated by resetting. That video cuts out and there's a buzzing that comes from the speakers. I can't get a response from alt+tab, ctrl+shift+esc, or ctrl+alt+del. I have to manually power it down. |
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bdub
Black Belt 3rd Degree
Joined: 19 Feb 2003
Posts: 3337
Location: Washington D.C.
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| Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 11:06 am Post subject: |
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i doubt there is a newer bios than 2007, but you will see the latest one in there where evasive linked to.
freezes seem to indicate heat problems to me, what is the airflow like in the case you have? are there any fans pulling air into that case, or pushing air out? have you reseated the cpu, applied new paste between it and its heatsink, and checked the heatsink fan for dust?
_________________
my main rig...
asrock 970 extreme3
AMD athlonII X3 440
zalman cpns5x performa hs/fan
crucial ballistix 2x4gb sport ddr3-1333
powercolor 3850 256bit/512meg vga
antec neo he 650r
kingston hyperx 3k ssd 120GB
seagate 500GB HDD 32M cache
seagate 750GB HDD 32M cache
hitachi 1TB HDD 32M cache
lg wh14ns40 bd burner
optiarc ad-7240s sata dvdrw (nec chipset) |
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evasive
Mobo-fu Master
Joined: 06 May 2001
Posts: 36410
Location: Netherlands, Breda
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jdb81
Pilgrim
Joined: 31 Mar 2012
Posts: 8
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| Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2012 7:09 am Post subject: |
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bdub:
I can't say with 100% certainty, but I'm fairly confident that overheating is not the problem. I've checked heat levels and they seem to be fine. Also the air flow is great, in fact besides the graphics card I'm trying to put in, the fan is the newest part of the computer (my buddy had to replace the original). Also the graphics card itself as you may have seen has it's own huge fan attached. I hadn't tried to reseat the cpu, or applied new paste (tasks that makes me a little nervous) , but I have done a pretty thorough dusting job.
This may be a dumb question; but if overheating were the problem, wouldn't it still work for a few minutes before the computer got too hot, if it started from being completely powered down overnight?
evasive: That is helpful information, do you then think that the power supply is the more likely problem compared to the pci express incompatiblity issue? |
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evasive
Mobo-fu Master
Joined: 06 May 2001
Posts: 36410
Location: Netherlands, Breda
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| Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2012 10:23 pm Post subject: |
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There should not be a compatibility problem as the various PCIexpress versions are backwards compatible. The only thing that happens is the card/slot combination will run at the slowest speed that is in the combo.
The only other thing I can think of is you forgot to connect the additional power connector to the card. It is mandatory you use that.
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