Fried video cards- fresh off the grill

Omatic810

I recently made the realization that I've been frying my video cards, and the retailer i've been returning them to HASN'T been sending me defective cards.

How have they been getting fried? Well for some reason my ATX power supply (450 watt) doesn't cooperate with my motherboard if the entire case gets moved, or if I take components out of the back (like mouse, printer, etc.), and it won't start up fully. It won't post, and the power supply makes a spray-can-shaking kind of noise.

The first time i as able to fix it, i thought it was because i was rapidly turning the main power off and on, and unplugging it rapidly (like you're try to start a car), which sounds kinda dumb to do, but I was desperate. I got it working, but the video card i had inside gave me a scrambled screen. I returned the vid card to the retailer, figuring it was THEIR fault, not mine.

I got the replacement, and was merrily skipping along at over 100 fps on Counterstrike, when i decided to bring the PC to a friends house, so he can really hook it up. When I got there, the power supply was acting dumb again, so I flipped the power on and off rapidly again, and finally got it to post, but the card was messed up again like the "defective" one from before.

Anyway, after all that, I have 2 questions:

1) Is there anything I can do with this card? I officially bought it about 6 weeks ago. Is there any way i can maybe fix or salvage it?

2) I'm gonna get a 3rd card, and figured i might as well step up since im gettin a new one, so is $220 good for a ATI Radeon 9800 PRO?

Thanks!

pcscustom

Before you get a new powersupply (hint) take the system apart and make sure nothing is grounded. Sounds to me like a gold standoff grounding out the motherboard, Make sure that where there is a standoff there is a hole on the board.. If that doesnt work it very well may be the powersupply. The last time i had that happen to me i was building a "Brand new amd k6-3 500"


Trev

madmat

Well, while I would say it'd be dirty pool you could RMA it directly to the manufacturer and claim ignorance as to how it died but as to fixing it yourself, there's not much chance of that happening.
I'd really suggest that you invest in a good quality PSU from Antec, F.S.P., Enermax, Sparkle and P.C. Power&Cooling among others.
A bad PSU can spoil an otherwise nice day.

Straight_Man

Rattley pops are caused by PSU crow-barring, loud pops can also be PSU crow-barring or getting surged or undervoltaged. Sounds like what you described, but should not happen at ALL. Either, as said, something is majorly shorting or you have a PSU that is unstable at low voltages, or you have a card drawing too much voltage for the AGP slot to pass right and getting power feedback as well as an overheated card and very damaged motherboard low power leg reduction circuits (usually what goes first are capacitors).

If this last is the case, you can have a few of the spring-contact leaf pins to card in slot discolored or coroded while rest are in good shape. My cards on modern boards draw 1.5 to 1.6 volts, a 3.3 volt card that will not run on 1.6 to 1.5 volts will burn\melt out the AGP slot contacts eventually and the low power voltage draw for AGP from board power circuits will be stressing the whole board power circuitry and possibly tossing the PSU unstable also if it is not a real good one.

Have you modded the AGP fan??? IF so, please do not hook to AGP card fan power plugin, instead feed right to power harness with taps. That will lessen motheboard load.

The replacement fan itself should have an electrical rating label or you can contact mfr.

John D.

Geeky1

What brand/model of PS is this?

Omatic810

Where exactly would I find the standoff? And how can I tell if there is something grounding the mobo out? Also, it works 80% of the time, so it must be somehting with dis-and-reconnecting items in the back.

Also, I don't have an I/O shield, would that make a difference?

pcscustom

A standoff is the things behind the motherboard.. As for io sheild ??

Trev

Straight_Man

The term I\O shield is used to talk about the metal around the I\O ports, like the usb ports, the NIC port, the printer port, etc. One thing about the custom littel back plates that come with newer motherboards, you will find that they have small bent pieces sticking out... these need to end up on top of the I\O shields as you look down on motherboard with computer open side up and on its side. Look with a flashlight, make sure you do not see two narrow pieces of metal running down between the I\O cowls (shields) and plate you stuck in case that came with motherboard-- If they are bent down there, it si very likely that they are shorting or could short an I\O port. they do ground the shields adn are supposed to, they are supposed to touch top and not be bent down between motherboard port faces and plate or they will NOT work and could damage things. I had a few boxes where that simple thing fixed flaky boards, I dismounted board, bent the prongs up so they stuck straight out form plate, and then remounted board. Then I used gentle pressure with a number 1 jeweler's straight blade screwdriver and pushed them into contact with shileds. NOT ALL I\O ports that stick through the motherboard's case plate have plate I\O port ground contacts, there are typically three on a modern motherboard's port face plate, and I would get at least two working-- all three if you can.

John D.

GHoosdum

I shorted my PC once because I didn't have an IO shield and I touched the side of the USB ports with a cable - it shut down and scared the poo out of me, but nothing broke. So yes, you CAN short your PC out if you don't have an IO shield, especially if you are fumbling in the dark under your desk to plug or unplug your peripherals.