Monitor shuts down mystery?

[Guest]

I have a (fairly) new pc:

Dell Dimension 5000
P4 3ghz
512 RAM
305 watts psu
160 gig H/D
TFT 17" at 1280x1024

and have just uprated from the o/board graphics to a pci-e nVidia GF6600GT
video card.

Everything seemed OK until I tried to play any game requiring a modest
amount (ie within the systems capabilities) game-eg FarCry.
After a few minutes the monitor shuts down with a 'No Signal' message and
the pc has to be shut down at the power switch.

I have installed the latest drivers from nV and tried reducing the in-game
video demands /resolution to 'low' settings but to no avail.

The monitor also shuts down a little way into the futureMark benchmarking
routine.

Any thoughts greatly appreciated

yrs
flo

 

[Bob I]

Not enough power to keep the new video card happy?

 

[Guest]

Thanks Bob....
I've checked this-The new card requires 300watts and the pc's PSU is rated
305?
So i would guess this is OK?

flo

 

[Brett I. Holcomb]

If the card alone requires 300 watts - that power supply won't work since it
also has to supply the other cards, memory, etc.

 

[Bob I]

Humm, 300 for the video card, and the remaining 5 gets allocated to ?? I
think you might want a 450 or better. The CPU is going to need 75 or so
and toss in some for the hard drive and motherboard and fans.

 

[DL]

And I think Dell pwr supplies aren't a std size?
Has your card also got a specific direct pwr connector?

 

[Guest]

Thanks guys.....I take your point...!
But when I said the card was rated at 300w I was quoting what the minimum
system requirement was (on the Box)...including an 'average' system setup I
would suppose?

I have just visited an online power calculator that adds up all the
consumption on your pc for a rough estimate and it comes to about 260 watts
peak?

I'm wondering whether to throw it a bottom dollar graphics card to see if
the problem persists but this may be a stupid way to diagnose the problem?

 

[Bob I]

You could ballpark it with this.
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/

 

[Anna]

Thanks Bob....
I've checked this-The new card requires 300watts and the pc's PSU is rated
305?
So i would guess this is OK?

flo

flo:
Unless your power supply is defective, I really think its output is more
than sufficient for your system, video card included.

1. Are you absolutely sure your video card is properly seated? Reseat it
just to make sure.
2. There's a fan on the video card; is it properly connected to your PS and
is it operating properly?
3. Does the problem occur *only* when you're playing video games, or can it
also occur at other times?
4. Check all your video/monitor connections to make sure they're properly
connected.
5. While ordinarily the installation of a new video card will automatically
disable the onboard video, this is not always the case with some
motherboards. Make sure your BIOS reflects the disabling of your onboard
video if that's applicable.
6. Any possibility of connecting another monitor to your machine?
Anna

 

[Guest]

Thanks for coming back to me Anna.
The Bios is set to automatically detect and use an offboard graphics adapter
if found ..and as far as I can tell - it has!

I have tried connecting to my old CRT monitor - same problem - so far only
with high power games, even if I turn down all the fx. FEAR-FarCry etc.
(slightly older games seem ok)

Connections seem ok?

I bought the card on the basis that it didn't need a seperate power
supply...although I havn't actually checked it by sight!

I will try reseating it.

thanks again.

flo

 

[Guest]

Well ...I bit the bullit and bought the cheapest card in the shop (a
Radeonx550) which is probably a bit ghastly and it makes an infuriating
whistling noise...BUT everything now works!!
I can play FEAR for more than 0.5 seconds and struggle through the future
BenchMark '05 (9fps anyone?)

When i took the nVidia card out I noticed one of the metallic contacts on
the strip slot was only half the length of all the others....could this have
been the problem?

Is this a 'back to the shop job?

yrs
flo