New GPU OS won't boot.

[CuriousAmateur]

So my PSU is rated for 460W and the card says it needs a minimum of 450W.
The box also says it needs 24A for the 12V rail as a minimum. Is my PSU supplying that? o.o And I'm not sure if those two wires are carrying all of it or just part of it to the GPU.

 

[Meghan54]

So my PSU is rated for 460W and the card says it needs a minimum of 450W.
The box also says it needs 24A for the 12V rail as a minimum. Is my PSU supplying that? o.o And I'm not sure if those two wires are carrying all of it or just part of it to the GPU.

Just an FYI.....your card does not need 450W. The power requirement video card mfgrs. list is for a complete computer SYSTEM, not just the card....same as the amperage requirement.

The question is.....which +12V rail feeds those PCIe connectors. If it's 12V3, or C as your power supply calls it, then you are definitely short on power for the video card as that rail can only provide 8A, or 96W, well short what the card needs.

If 12V2, or B as listed on the ps, is the rail that supplies the PCIe connectors, you may be OK, but that rail isn't horribly overpowered, either, with its 18A available. And I'd wager the output listed for the 12V rails are max. output, not continuous.

And while your power supply is rated as a 460W unit, I'd call it more a 400W unit. Your 12V capacity is only 385W, or 32A, split between the three rails on the unit. More modern designs of power supplies can output almost their entire capacity on the 12V rail, something yours cannot do. So, I'd bet you have an older group regulated design of power supply and probably cannot deliver its rated 12V capacity except momentarily.....it may only be able to sustain a 12V output of 350W. That's not unheard of with many older designs of power supplies.

Given that the card works---you get some output on initial boot----I'd wager it's your power supply that's the limiting factor.

 

[Termie]

OP - when you're dealing with OEM computers like a Dell, you really have to factor in the many, many shortcuts that OEMs take, such as motherboards that have multiple incompatibilities and power supplies that are vastly overrated. OEMs really don't want you to upgrade your computer, because that causes headaches for them without much upside.

I'd say you should quit while you're ahead here, unless you've already found a solution since you last posted. Your best bet is to go for a lower-powered AMD card.

 

[Denithor]

WHAT?!? Lower powered card? Please tell me you didn't suggest that - you call yourself a computer geek?



While I firmly believe that your PSU is probably adequate, I've never seen one of them split the 6-pin plugs off like that - usually they're each on separate wires from the PSU. Did your card not come with one of those 2x4-pin to 6-pin adapters? Most GPUs do - especially those that require external power. If it did - hook those up to two 4-pin plugs and try that as your second 6-pin.

If not, either try to find one - should only be a buck or two - or else buy this PSU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139028

It's a 600W Corsair model for around $35 shipped after coupon code and rebate.

And then you will certainly be able to rule out PSU as your problem.

 

[Termie]

WHAT?!? Lower powered card? Please tell me you didn't suggest that - you call yourself a computer geek?



While I firmly believe that your PSU is probably adequate, I've never seen one of them split the 6-pin plugs off like that - usually they're each on separate wires from the PSU. Did your card not come with one of those 2x4-pin to 6-pin adapters? Most GPUs do - especially those that require external power. If it did - hook those up to two 4-pin plugs and try that as your second 6-pin.

If not, either try to find one - should only be a buck or two - or else buy this PSU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139028

It's a 600W Corsair model for around $35 shipped after coupon code and rebate.

And then you will certainly be able to rule out PSU as your problem.

LOL...I know, we all need MOAR PWR!!!

I also suspect that odd PCIe connector arrangement as causing some problems, but the other thing he'll need to worry about with his Dell is whether that standard power supply will fit. He clearly has a small micro ATX case, so I wouldn't put it past Dell to make the PSU a non-standard size.

 

[CuriousAmateur]

I'm trying to avoid buying a PSU; already I can see the amount of wires I'll need to connect and all the possible mess ups - that's my nightmare.
Although I'm all about MOAR PWR ^_^ in this case, I think I might settle for a lower card.

Unfortunately, can't find a decent card that fits my 400W OEM PSU (I'm pegging it at that; it might be lower). Any advice?

 

[MisterMac]

I'm trying to avoid buying a PSU; already I can see the amount of wires I'll need to connect and all the possible mess ups - that's my nightmare.
Although I'm all about MOAR PWR ^_^ in this case, I think I might settle for a lower card.

Unfortunately, can't find a decent card that fits my 400W OEM PSU (I'm pegging it at that; it might be lower). Any advice?

Test GPU in other system.

If no work - return defective.


Use MOLEX adapter to power second 6pin.
(The wires that have outputs with 4 bigger pins and more flat shapes).
(GPU should come with 4pin molex to 6pin adapter).

Test that.

Not working, it's 99% psu (Excluding a Mobo\BIOS lockdown from DELL itself, altho sounds unlikely).

 

[Termie]

I'm trying to avoid buying a PSU; already I can see the amount of wires I'll need to connect and all the possible mess ups - that's my nightmare.
Although I'm all about MOAR PWR ^_^ in this case, I think I might settle for a lower card.

Unfortunately, can't find a decent card that fits my 400W OEM PSU (I'm pegging it at that; it might be lower). Any advice?

The quoted video card power requirements provided by manufacturers are often inaccurate. The HD7750 will most definitely not exceed the power output of your power supply. It uses ~100w less at load than the GTX560 you purchased. It will never pull more than 75w.

 

[Denithor]

Thing is, the 7750 is a majorly wimpy card compared to the GTX 560. I'd say get at least a 7770, with a single 6-pin requirement you should be fine even with your 'iffy' PSU.

Even the 7770 is going to be quite a downgrade from the GTX 560...
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/536?vs=543

Here's a nice one for $110 after rebate:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127664

EDIT: As a note, the 7770 uses ~65W less power fully loaded than the GTX 560.

 

[Termie]

Thing is, the 7750 is a majorly wimpy card compared to the GTX 560. I'd say get at least a 7770, with a single 6-pin requirement you should be fine even with your 'iffy' PSU.

Even the 7770 is going to be quite a downgrade from the GTX 560...
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/536?vs=543

Here's a nice one for $110 after rebate:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127664

EDIT: As a note, the 7770 uses ~65W less power fully loaded than the GTX 560.

No doubt the 7770 is better. I'm just concerned that there's something wrong with the PCIe connectors on that psu.

 

[CuriousAmateur]

The 7770 looks to be pretty good ^_^
According to Passmark, it's not that much of a drop from the GTX 560.
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

Edit: On the retailer's website where I would buy it from, the reccomended wattage is 600W though... o.o

 

[Meghan54]

I've never seen one of them split the 6-pin plugs off like that - usually they're each on separate wires from the PSU.

While higher power output ps's do separate the PCIe connectors onto individual wire looms, lower output and cheaper power supplies quite often do put two PCIe connectors on the same wire, like with the Antec Neo Eco 520. (Quite well demonstrated in a review: http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=317192)

So, it's not an odd thing at all, just depends upon how far down the power supply "food chain" you go. Won't find this configuration on Corsair TX and above, or Seasonic SII's, but cheaper Antecs, among others, do utilize this two PCIe connectors off one harness.

 

[Meghan54]

...the reccomended wattage is 600W though... o.o

Remember, the wattage recommended is a system recommendation, not just for the card. I seriously doubt your computer with a 7770 would need 600W ever, even if you managed to OC your gpu (you can't really OC your cpu...). I've got an i3 2100 with a 7770 running off an Antec VP450 and have no problems.

 

[ShintaiDK]

PSU recommenddatios are also wastly overrated. So cheap PSus that cant deliver can also be covered somewhat.

My System with a GTX680+i5-3570K could run on a quality 300W PSU.

 

[Termie]

The 7770 looks to be pretty good ^_^
According to Passmark, it's not that much of a drop from the GTX 560.
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

Edit: On the retailer's website where I would buy it from, the reccomended wattage is 600W though... o.o

The 560 is about 20-25% faster in actual gaming benchmarks. Not a big deal considering the card you're coming from.

 

[CuriousAmateur]

Any decent upgrade in GPU will seem like heaven, considering I'm coming from a Radeon 5450. :\

 

[CuriousAmateur]

So I have 3 12V rails (12A, 12B and 12C as shown in the 1st post) but I'm not sure if they all feed down the wire that I'm attaching the GPU to? Or will it just be one of those rails?

 

[Rifter]

Does the card work in another machine?

 

[CuriousAmateur]

Unfortunately do not have access to one. I thought I did but found out I couldn't.

 

[tynopik]

looking at the way the rails are split up, I would suspect that you're pulling too much from one rail. You need to find some way to tap the other rail.

 

[CuriousAmateur]

So I went snooping around in the case for any loose wires and I found this:

It branches off an identical wire connected to a green box (hard drive I'm guessing? Correct me if I'm wrong)

There's two of these unoccupied wires in the entire case and I'm wondering if there's an adapter that connects them to the 6 pin connectors needed for the card.

If it's not possible, I'm just going to buy the 7770.

 

[Termie]

So I went snooping around in the case for any loose wires and I found this:

It branches off an identical wire connected to a green box (hard drive I'm guessing? Correct me if I'm wrong)

There's two of these unoccupied wires in the entire case and I'm wondering if there's an adapter that connects them to the 6 pin connectors needed for the card.

If it's not possible, I'm just going to buy the 7770.

Those are SATA power cables, not the molex connectors typically used in adapters. It appears they can be used, however, with an adapter like this: http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-S...a+pcie+adapter

If it's difficult to return your video card, then this might be worth a try. Otherwise, you might want to cut your losses and exchange it for the 7770.

 

[jacktesterson]

I have a feeling its a power supply problem.

Does Dell still use proprietary connectors to the motherboard? If not, Maybe try another power supply from a friend, etc if possible?

 

[JWade]

looking at your pictures, while you have your case open, blow out with some canned air your processor heatsink!

 

[r3dsh1ft]

This is thing s i would try before I Give up. 1. try another pci e slot (if there was a second one to try) 2. clear your bio/cmos cache by removing the battery while unplugging your computer(make sure you are comfortable doing that and that it wont change any important settings) 3. make sure it is properly seated... sometimes vid cards can fit clunky into their respective slots