New Geforce FX5900 graphics card - giant problems.

[Imek]

Hi,

I just bought a new graphics card - an XFX Geforce FX 5900XT, but it's giving me massive problems. First of all, does anyone else have a card which takes up two spaces (an AGP and a PCI) like this one? I can't seem to get it snugly fitted in like with any other graphics card. When I do have it plugged in to the best of my abilities, I notice my performance is no better than with my MX440- i.e. crap with nothing over 2200 in glxgears. Out of curiosity I booted Windows and according to the NVIDIA software on Windows, it's not getting enough power for some reason. I noticed the power socket on the side of the card, so plugged in one of the spare plugs. Now, the problem is even worse. Windows just crashes right away, and I get graphical glitches in any 3D app in linux (green speckles on the UT2004 startup screen, then a hard lock). Could this somehow be my fault? Am I not meant to plug in the power, or could it be because I have the card plugged in improperly? I found mentions on Google of it being NVIDIA's software causing the problem and that downgrading the drivers (this was for Win but I assume Linux aswell) would get it working full speed, but I can't help thinking that this might cause damage. Or could my card be faulty and need returning? Please guys, I need a bit of guidance here, anything will do.

Thanks,

- I
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- I
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[neenee]

i bought the same card last week and have no
problems with it; you are supposed to plugin a
power cord on the card to make it work properly.

i use the latest available linux drivers, them be-
ing 5341. hmm.. i had to change my XF86Config
to reflect the changes in amount of on-card ram;
perhaps that's something which is affecting your
system?

perhaps your PSU is not powerful enough?

[Imek]

Would I have crashes and graphical problems like this if it was plugged in, but with not enough power? I read the side and I think mine is 200W, which is probably woefully insufficient. However, the card won't work at all now. Every time I boot with it in, I get the messed up BIOS startup message and nothing else. I think the card may be defective, so I'm going to send it back and maybe get it replaced, throwing in a new power supply.
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[neenee]

good luck

[blueworm]

I have a gainward FX5900. on the side of the box it says "minimum 250 watt PSU"

[neenee]

/me checks the box..

hm.. nothing on there for the winfast a350 xt tdh

[Imek]

aaarg!! On the requirements, mine says it needs a minimum 300W PSU.. So I guess I'll have to buy one, assuming there's nothing wrong with my card.
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- I
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[Paradigmbreak]

I would actually recommend buying something higher than that and from a reputable manufacturer like antec. Bad/irregular/insuficient power can cause no end of problems many of which seem software like. In addition, many power supplies that say 350W, only produce 330W under lab tests.

Given that the prices are only a few bucks higher, I would try a 450W or better if your budget can stomach it, which given your choice of video card, I will assume you can.

Hope this helps.

[Imek]

Yup - there's a computer store sort of near where I live that sells generic-looking PSU's for great prices. I'd already planned to get the 450W one- and as for it being made by a reputable manufacturer, they don't offer anything else, so these ones must be adequate - can't be worse than the piece of crap that came with my PC
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[_dook_master_]

Even my sister's old emachines has higher than a 200w PSU . That is barely enough to power a computer, let alone a modern video card. I did the math once, a fairly modern computer with 2 CD drives and stuff consumes OVER 200w.

[Ribs]