GuiGui

I second that ! Thank you very much. Nothing beats real numbers. 3dmark05 unregistered : - 16x : 5048, 5057 - 8x : 5041, 5034 Even with my 6800gs, there is a slight decrease.

Reading about your troubles with diablo II and the fact you sometime get artifacts during the boot sequence, I`d suspect a video card issue [like I had]. Just to be sure, you might first test it in another computer if you can. I don`t know what the RMA policies are [does this make sense ?] where you live but I brought mine back to the store and they gave me a new one right after seeing the artifacts. Hope it helps.

Do you have more informations on this ? I`m asking because I consider buying this card riser which only fits in the 2nd PCIe x16 slot : Do you think it would work BTW ? [i am confused with the voltage : PCI 5V] Sorry if this is OT. Thanks

Ok, they tested the board at my local store, It crashed right away, they gave me a new one, it works, no problem. I am kind of releaved (for now ). Ok, just found out he did that test on tomshardware. Great read. Am I really below what's necessary ? I used this calculator from extreme.outervision and added as much as I can ... I overclocked my 3700+ @ 3000Mhz, I added HD I don't own and much more but couldn't get over 400W.My 480W is rated 460W max (sum of all rails) and 530W at peak. Do the DFI Lanparty boards drain so much power I'd need to get a more powerful PSU ? Thank you very much.

I bought an Hiper 480W type R PSU yesterday. After ripping everything from the case, I reinstalled the rig on a 100% cotton towel with the new PSU. Guess what ? It artiffacted as it did before.Now, I need RMA the gfx card hoping the DFI card is ok (people at gigabyte told me the MB could be an issue ... of course.)

Well, well, well, I tested the GFX card with an "Asrock 939 Dual SATA II" motherboard equiped with the exact same case & PSU as mine (me and friend bought those together). With all the reboot/reset/power off-on (case button and psu switch), the system only artifacted once ! Back at home, I replugged the card just for it to run flawlessly ... Anyway, following sQuid's (and others' ) advice, I gonna buy a new PSU as my nf4-Ultra surely require more power (as stated everywhere). I used several calculators, read guides and came up with this relatively cheap PSU yet powerful and very stable (I won't add another GFX card.) HIPER HPU-4S480 (it's a belgian site written in french but the numbers are arabic) +12 volts rail 1 : 18 ampères +12 volts rail 2 : 16 ampères + 3.3 volts : 28 ampères + 5 volts : 32 ampères -12 volts : 0.8 ampère +5Vsb : 2.5 ampères +3.3 & +5 & +12 volts : 460 watts maximum What do you think ? (I might be slightly Off Topic, sorry )

The artifacts came back ! After about 5 power off->on (front button), the video card artifacted badly. Now that I changed the slot for the card, I get slightly different behaviors : - I can now power off->on a few time before the artifacts arise (as opposed to reset/reboot only). - The artifacts ALWAYS come back when I shut the PSU off. This thing is driving me crazy. (Now leaving to my friend's place to test the card)

Sorry, I didn't understand what you meant by "swapping parts". Here you get the hug you deserve !

YOU SAVED MY DAY ! I put the video card on the other PCI-E slot and it worked without a glitch ! Actually, I think the chipset ventirad was the one to blame. When inserted in the slot near the CPU, the video card touches the aluminium case. This is my first PCI-E MB, I should have seen that. Now, there is a little spacing (about 1mm) between the card and the ventirad and the whole looks more ... eehh ... like daddy in mummy. So special greetings to : - NINaudio for pointing it out in the first time. - bakermancan for its wonderful NES cardridge analogy ! - Raphie for finding a simple solution yet working ! (shame on me). THIS BOARD ROCKS ! Copying what's written on the side of it :input : - 4A output : - +5V : 21A - +12V : 10A - +3.3V : 14A - -5V : 0.3A - -12V : 0.8A - -5vsb : 2A max : - +5V & +12V : 130 - +5V & +12V & +3.3V : 185 I say it's crap because I've bought it integrated in a crappy case for 30€ (about 35$us). **EDIT** http://www.beflix.com/

As I write, I am running with 1x256Mo of Generic PC2700 @ 133MHz (manually set in the bios)BUT .. This is REALLY getting worse : I had to repeat the clear CMOS routine about 10 times to enter the BIOS without artifacts and for Windows to load (and I had to run it in safe mode once ... should not be related.) So I can safely assume my Corsair RAM fits, right ?? (I forgot to mention it passed the on board MemTest86+ yesterday.) I unplugged the card and replugged it once : no effects. Unfortunatly, I don't have so much video cards nor I know people who does.I am going to test mine on an Asrock MB soon, the one equiped with PCI-E and AGP slots. If I had known, I would have not thrown away that good ET6000 from the DOS days.

Thanks, me updated. --- Sorry, I made a mistake, I own a 480W PSU (still a crappy one but still.) Sig updated BTW. I mesured the tensions with a multimeter :- GFX : 12.2V / 5.12V - moldex & floppy on mother board : 12.8V / 5.11V And with EVEREST : - motherboard : 3.28V / 5.03V / 12.03V Doesn't look bad to me ... maybe that 3.33 @ 3.28 ... Yes but I've always reloaded the default myself, just to make sure . 1. As stated, all power connectors are plugged and I use a (have to count...) 24pins motherboard connector.2. :confused: Are you sure ? If I recall correctly, DFI doesn't recommend to use corsair memory on its site but I thought it was one more commercial agreement between manufacturers ... this sound weird. More on that ? I need to test with an old Generic PCwhatever00 256Mo I got with my Athlon XP (doesn't sound better ). I'll report on that. Thanks everybody.

To complete my first post : Everything is set to default. I "acronymfinder'd" for your RMA thing with no success, what do you mean ? Heat is not an issue I think. Here's what everest reports (°C) : - Motherboard : 40 - CPU : 34 - GPU : 31 - GPU/Ambiant : 21 (Yeah I know , the window is open) - HDD : 31 Again, I am using this buggy setup right now as I type. The artifacts when I re-power the computer up. As the monitor goes, I own an old sony multiscan. Shouldn't be an issue. Every power connectors are plugged (even those two on the motherboard). I gonna try to reseat the card. --- I'll try the card on a different computer tomorrow. Other hints are also welcomed ! Thanks

It seems like you've got an idea of what's going on It only happened 1 or 2 days after I bought the whole computer (last saturday). I am using this very computer right now to reply but the artefacts are getting worse.

Hi, I am having problems with my new computer. Everytime I boot up, I get lots of video artefacts and random blinking characters. 1st boot screen 2nd boot screen Windows gets launched Then hangs up (power & reset buttons don't respond anymore) --- Sometimes, the boot screen looks less ugly and I can reach the windows desktop. --- The only way I found to get rid of this is to clear the CMOS. After that I can run, restart & reset the computer without a problem but if I shut it off, artefacts come back and I need to clear the CMOS again. Any Idea ??? Thanks