Got the new 6600GT, now the problems.

[Wazza]

http://wazza.nfscity.com/temp/gfx.jpg

My system is completely buggered. The auto installed crapped my PC out, and took an hour to install. Wouldn't allow me to install it with Add Hardware, of through CD, as it said a process had already been started down next to the clock on task bar thingy..

Well after leaving it for a long time, seemed to work.

Then upon restart had that message.

Isn't the power given through Motherboard?
So maybe I need one of those, and a CPU, and new RAM, and more HDDs.. :'(

Anyone have any suggestions

My PC specs again are:
PIV 2.4Ghz,
1Gb DDR 333Mhz
200Gb main drive
120Gb secondary, both partitioned, and both on the limits of being full.
80Gb in another household PC, also full for backup purposes..

Bought 50 blank DVDs, to back all images up...
Then 1/4 way through burn, said it had an error, and cancelled. I'm having no luck today.

[Remko]

Man, sorry for the bad luck. =[

I am not much good at this, but perhaps you don't need another motherboard, but rather a beefier power supply? What kind of power supply does your PC case have at the moment?

[chris]

You need a bigger power supply. Get that card out of there quick smart, install the old one until you get the better power supply. Recommend at least 430W, maybe 500w depending on how many things are powered by your PSU.

My system is:

Lian Li case
Enermax 350w PSU
Intel Pentium 4 LGA775 3.4ghz
Intel D925XECV2 mainboard
512mb DDR2 ram
6600 GT 128mb PCI-E
Pioneer DVR-A09 DVD-RW drive.
80gb HDD 8mb 7200rpm HDD.
1x 3.5" FDD.

That would be near the limits.

[Wazza]

Sh1t I'm a complete idiot!

I always wondered what instructions were for.. Then saw the diagram about connecting PSU direct to Graphics... I was like :blush:

Told you it's been a while, last time I knew, graphics cards drew their power from via the motherboard. All is well, I just gave Most Wanted a go..

On old specs, min resolution I was getting 5-10 frames a sec

With new card, before on 1024, I was getting 1 frame a sec, but now with power turned on properly, I'm probably getting 50+.

I'll have to find fraps, and check it out. The graphics run superb now. Quite strange though, when I was on 1fps on Most Wanted, I gave PU a run, and it was still running a smooth 20-30 frames a sec. So much for good modern technology. These new games require too much. I wonder how the average joe, with a built in graphics card will cope ? :p

Thanks for the help.

[chris]

You should try FS2004, that is a FPS nightmare at times. The addon Barbados airport and scenery kill the frame-rates. In the attached screenshot, I only had about 20fps. The scenery is texture heavy and polygon heavy.

Never thought about connecting the PSU to the 6600GT, that must be a AGP only requirement, because my PCI-E 6600GT has no provisions for that. Or actually it might, but the power connector goes to the mainboard instead. &(

Average joe with on-board graphics in their computer will have no chance with games of the future.

[Wazza]

Hehe nice Concorde.

I was just trying to make a video, but then battery went flat on video recorder. May try FRAPS, see if my system can handle a live recording now.

[VQ]

My 9700 Pro was the first one to have a power supply into the card from the motherboard.

[MATT]

In 2001 I got a 3Dfx Voodoo 5 5500.. Dual GPUs on those old monsters. That thing was to be plugged into the PSU directly as well.

My current ATi All in Wonder Radeon 9800 Pro also requires to be plugged into the motherboard... of course it has more than just a video card on it... a TV tuner to boot, so yeah.. I could see why it needs another source of power.

I still have that old Voodoo 5 system around... newer PCs don't get along with PU so well. NFSPU looks better on my old Voodoo system than my current Radeon one. I cannot get the high quality textures and meshes on any new PC setup it seems. So if I really want to play PU again, I'd just boot up the old PC and hook up a wheel.

[chris]

My old V5-5500 gave up. I've still got it around here sitting in the original packaging.

[VQ]

Ah, I was mislead from what I read then, because the review on Toms Hardware of it's relese says it was the first one...

[MATT]

Ah, I was mislead from what I read then, because the review on Toms Hardware of it's relese says it was the first one...

You should look at some sites that have photos and info on the never-released Voodoo 5 6000... As 3Dfx intended it, you had to plug it in directly to the wall! The powersupplies used commonly at those times were not nearly powerful enough. So to avoid potential problems, they just gave it its own plug. haha

That would have been a monsterous card... damn near as large as a keyboard.... 4 GPUs... massive power!

Of course the latest and greatest today would kill it. But still would be interesting to wonder what things would be like had 3Dfx stayed around.

[chris]

Sometimes V5-6000's appear for auction, usually not in working order.

[Wazza]

Bet that would have been a loud card!

[VQ]

yeah, but that would also be supercomputer stuff if it would be similar, 4 gpu's and all...

[Chaul]

I always wondered what instructions were for.. Then saw the diagram about connecting PSU direct to Graphics... I was like :blush:

Told you it's been a while, last time I knew, graphics cards drew their power from via the motherboard. All is well, I just gave Most Wanted a go..
The graphics/pci bus is limited in power and as the graphics cards grew more and more complex they decided to add an extra molex power connector to the card. New PSU might not have helped in this case. Some modern budget cards can still do without the power connector though and some have the connector but don't necessarily need extra power. This was new to me too the last time I upgraded my home PC.

[Nappe1]

The graphics/pci bus is limited in power and as the graphics cards grew more and more complex they decided to add an extra molex power connector to the card. New PSU might not have helped in this case. Some modern budget cards can still do without the power connector though and some have the connector but don't necessarily need extra power. This was new to me too the last time I upgraded my home PC.

ATI cards don't let the computer start if direct power cable is unplug. They just show you a screen that tells you to plug the connector to the card.

Also, there's a great difference between the power supplies. I have witnessed a PSU that said to be 430W (QTech make) but could only give 18 Amps in 3.3 Volt line. (My 350W HEC gives 30 Amps to 3.3 Volt line.) So, more important than Watts is actual output figures, which are mentioned usually in the box or in the type plate of PSU. Most important lines / rails are 3.3 volts and 5 Volts nowadays.


so, Wazza, what did we learn from this today? -hopefully at least that Quick Installation Guide leaflet isn't actually originally packed with the card, just because user would need it for waving a smoke away... ;) (at least mine in Club3D 6600GT had a big notice about extra power connector. And yes, after 17 years interest in computers, I still read at least the quick guides. :) )

[Chaul]

ATI cards don't let the computer start if direct power cable is unplug. They just show you a screen that tells you to plug the connector to the card.
Thanks, I did not know that.. I just plugged it in and never got the warning (Radeon 9800). :)

They usually list the combined power for 3.3V and 5V lines and also the Amps separately for each line. 12V (and 5V) line is used for hard drives etc. so if you have many hard drives and dvd drives the 12V line is important too. PCI cards and most other components in the system take power from the 5V / 3.3V lines.

I'm trying to build a low power mini-ITX-based HTPC but the one (external) power source I have considered, has low power output on the 5V line (5A). I would have to forget about installing the DVD drive or install a standard ATX PSU that can output 4 times more power than I need.. However, they are switching power supplies anyways, so np.. right?