Lanparty UT NF3 250GB & Radeon AIW x800XT Install Issues

[tmasciola]

Is anyone aware of any known issues between the Lanparty UT NF3 250GB mobo and the ATI All-In-Wonder x800XT?

 

I just picked up this video card and attempted to install it into a perfectly functional system, previously using a Radeon 7000 (my other vid card went bad and that's what I had to bridge the gap). Anyway, I installed the new card, booted up the system and the screen went completely batty (vertical lines and boxes -- a complete unreadable mess). I couldn't even boot up in VGA or safe mode without it freaking out. I had to reinstall the 7000 just to get back in.

 

I read a bit and discovered that perhaps it was a simple case of RTFM. I uninstalled the ATI drivers previously on the system (using Add/Remove Programs and removing all traces of ATI products). Then I shut down, put the x800XT back in, which at least brought me into a clean system for a bit. I popped in the supplied driver disk and started installing. Mid-way, the screen freaked out again and I could read very little, but just enough to let it complete a lengthy install. It restarted and complete chaos again.

 

Things I have verified:

 

1) The card is properly seated.

 

2) The power connector on the card is connected to a power cable that is plugged into nothing else (I rearranged to make this possible, based on reading).

 

3) I have the minimum required 350w power supply.

 

4) My monitor setting is 1024x768, 16-bit, 60Hz (well under what i usually run it at). I've tried other combos and they don't seem to help.

 

5) I installed the latest system drivers from the DFI site, hoping for AGP improvements.

 

6) Versions of catalyst drivers used so far (uninstalling first, as detailed above): Whatever version is on the disk and the latest from ATI.Com (5.13, I believe).

 

Has anyone had a similar experience? Can you please help me?

 

 

 

 

TM

[CPDMF]

An X800XT Pulls a ton more power than your 5600, I doubt your PSU is adequate. Don't know any decent PSU makers that still offer a 350 watt.

 

On a side note I had a 6600GT do the exact same thing and the card itself was trashed.

[TheGeekMistress]

yah, my friend jason and i bought our x800 cards at the same time and i installed mine with no issues..... he calls me up explaining the same problems you're reporting..... he was running it on a 350watt psu.... i'm running mine on a 500watt psu.... so he ran down to the store quick and bought a generic 460watt psu and it solved his problem. so he returned the generic psu and bought a decent 460watt psu and hasn't had a problem since.

 

BTW, he's running the MSI NEO2 Plat (nf3 ULTRA 939 chipset)

 

TGM

[tmasciola]

Thanks, guys. I'll look into a new PS tomorrow and report back.

[tmasciola]

Just to be sure (and to avoid throwing good money after bad), I decided to test if power was really the issue. I disconnected power from a number of devices that were connected, prior to the x800XT install, when the system functioned fine (and BTW still function fine if I substitute a Radeon 7000).

 

These are the devices connected to the 350w before:

 

2 hard drives

1 CD-ROM

1 floppy drive

5 system fans, 1 GPU fan, 1 CPU fan

mobo

XFX GeForce FX5600

 

Now, I tried this:

 

1 hard drive

1 GPU fan, 1 CPU fan

mobo

ATI AIW x800XT

 

It produced the same results. If you had to guess, does it really look like I have too little power or that it's a defective x800 card? Or does the x800 draw so much power that it's difficult to say for sure?

 

Thank you for your help,

 

 

TM

[albumleaf]

What's wrong with just buying a PSU and returning it if it doesn't solve your issue?

[cmay119]

Just to be sure (and to avoid throwing good money after bad), I decided to test if power was really the issue. I disconnected power from a number of devices that were connected, prior to the x800XT install, when the system functioned fine (and BTW still function fine if I substitute a Radeon 7000).

 

These are the devices connected to the 350w before:

 

2 hard drives

1 CD-ROM

1 floppy drive

5 system fans, 1 GPU fan, 1 CPU fan

mobo

XFX GeForce FX5600

 

Now, I tried this:

 

1 hard drive

1 GPU fan, 1 CPU fan

mobo

ATI AIW x800XT

 

It produced the same results. If you had to guess, does it really look like I have too little power or that it's a defective x800 card? Or does the x800 draw so much power that it's difficult to say for sure?

 

Thank you for your help,

 

 

TM

 

That still can happen if the 350watt cant allocate enough +12v current to the card.

I would suggest picking up another PSU, if that doesn't solve the issue we can go from there. Post back if you still need assistance.

[TheGeekMistress]

i agree with cmay119, it's not so much the power rating, but it is a detirmining factor, but it's more over the amps coming out of your 12+ power lead; on top of that there's the issue of stable amperage. unstable amperage will make a component fail and even damage it.

 

TGM

[learners permit]

There isn't 350 watt psu that I know of that can adequately power this board with an X800 card in it.

[tmasciola]

Ok, I'll give it a shot. What brands would you recommend (within reason -- not too fancy/expensive)? Also, I have another dumb question. If you get a larger power supply (ie. a 500w vs. a 450 w) does it actually consume more power? I want to keep it as tame as possible on the electricity, so, considering the components I described, what should I go for? 430? 450? 480? 500?

[learners permit]

Just make sure whatever you get has 26 amps or more on the 12V. rail and you'll be fine.

[TheGeekMistress]

Just make sure whatever you get has 26 amps or more on the 12V. rail and you'll be fine.

or 26 amps combined if you're buying a dual 12 volt rail PSU, also pay attention for either Active or Passive PFC.... also, you don't want to sacrifice the 3.3+ and specially the 5+ volt rail amperage, just to get a high 12+ volt rail current.

 

TGM