Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: Larry on November 16, 2007, 04:45:30 PM
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I just bought a nvidia geforce 7800GS OC, and can't seem to get it to work. I put it in and plug the power cable into it but when I turn the computer on nothing happens on my monitor. The fan and blue light come on but thats about it. Here are my specs.
Dell dimension 4600
Windows XP Home SP2
Intel Pentium 4 CPU 2.40GHz
1.75GB RAM
Allied 400W power supply
If any of you know whats wrong or if I need to upgrade something else please do tell.:aok
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Larry,
Make absolute sure the power is connected. Did you hear a double beep?
You may want to check how much of a power supply you need for the card. I noticed in my wanderings some cards require up to a 550 watt power supply. It should say on the box.
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Larry
your power supply may not handle that card.
My 400watt ps would boot but hung in AH bad, You need a bunch of amps on the 12vdc rail for that card to work right. See this thread (http://forums.hitechcreations.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=176566)
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I assume if you put the old video card back in, all is well?
-Llama
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It says it needs a minimum 400W. I just bought the power supply from dell. They have higher watts so I might just send it back and get a better one. Thing is that on the power supply itself it says max output is 385W. It also says I need a AGP 2.0 or higher but I dont know how to check if my motherboard has one. I get paid tuesday and wanted to get a new motherboard and hardrive anyways to complete my system upgrade.
So what do you guys think I should do? Another question what MB, PS, and HD do you guys think I shuld get?
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Originally posted by Larry
So what do you guys think I should do? Another question what MB, PS, and HD do you guys think I shuld get? [/B]
I'm no expert, but I went with an Asus M2n and an AMD 6000. I also suggest at least a 600 watt power supply probably more. In the BBS I noticed that Western Digital got a nod. I bought one of those too. It was 70 bucks for a 250 gig drive and please I beg you to get an excellent heatsink and fan. Can't tell you how they work because they haven't arrived yet. I ordered them yesterday. The status is they have already shipped.
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Okay I found the problem my MB only has 533MHz bus speed the card needs atleast 700. I'm going to just go ahead and buy a 600+W supply, but I need help finding a motherboard. I need one with a minimum 700MHz bus speed, with an AGP 2.0 slot or higher, and it has to be "AGP compliant" so the BFG card can fit in it. I'm looking to spend around 300 for it if anyone has any info thanks.
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You can probably find an AGP but they are phasing out fast. PCI-e is the in thing.
I just purchased an Asus mb but I haven't received it yet. I'm anxiously tracking it ont the UPS website ......Every 15 mintutes. It hasn't been updated since Saturday morning (Darn it).
I've heard Abit is decent too.
btw, I'm stuck with an AGP 512 BFD card and waiting for an asus PCI-E card that is accompanying my mb.
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I'm not sure how many options you'll have for an AGP VC anymore. I took a quick look on newegg. I might have missed something since I couldnt even search by AGP vs PCI-e anymore...
Here's the only one I saw that would seem to fit your needs...and thats just a guess based on what you typed.
Dinasour board:) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157115)
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I found this one:
http://www.l-trondirect.com/aimb-542ve-00a1e.html
It has 4x 184pin DDR slots and a AGP 8X slot that I need. Its just that the bus speed says 533/800MHz and I dont know what that means. I need 700MHz to run my card. I just dont know if its 533MHz or 800MHz. If its 800 them I think I found my new MB. Can anyone clear this up?
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Originally posted by Larry
I found this one:
http://www.l-trondirect.com/aimb-542ve-00a1e.html
It has 4x 184pin DDR slots and a AGP 8X slot that I need. Its just that the bus speed says 533/800MHz and I dont know what that means. I need 700MHz to run my card. I just dont know if its 533MHz or 800MHz. If its 800 them I think I found my new MB. Can anyone clear this up?
Just think of bus speed as MB ability to allow the processor to move data around..
Front Side Bus (FSB) - The Front Side Bus is the most important bus to consider when you are talking about the performance of a computer. The FSB connects the processor (CPU) in your computer to the system memory. The faster the FSB is, the faster you can get data to your processor. The faster you get data to the processor, the faster your processor can do work on it. The speed of the front side bus depends on the processor and motherboard chipset you are using as well as the system clock. Read on for more information about the Front Side Bus later in this article.
Here is the link to the article which might clear things up for you...
http://www.directron.com/fsbguide.html (http://www.directron.com/fsbguide.html)
There is also a link on PCI-Express, that may be worth looking at as well...
If your processor has a ... FSB then the system clock speed should be:
66MHz (Various Celeron and older): 66MHz clock
100MHz (Pentium II / Pentium III / K6): 100MHz clock
133MHz (Pentium II / Pentium III / K6): 133MHz clock
200MHz (Athlon, Duron, Thunderbird): 100MHz clock
266MHz (Thunderbird, XP): 133MHz clock
333MHz (XP): 166MHz clock
400MHz (Pentium 4): 100MHz clock
400MHz (AMD XP): 200MHz clock
533MHz (Pentium 4): 133MHz clock
800MHz (Pentium 4): 200MHz clock
800MHz (AMD64): 200MHz clock
1066MHz (Pentium 4/LGA775): 266MHz clock
1333MHz (Pentium 4/LGA775): 333MHz clock
Now, remember what I said about the processor multiplier earlier in this article? (Processor speed = processor multiplier x system clock)
If you do not know the multiplier for your processor simply take the proper system clock speed for it and divide that into the rated processor speed and then round the dividend to the nearest .5. Examples: The Pentium4 3.06GHz processor has a FSB of 533MHz. Its system clock is 533 / 4 = ~133. The multiplier is 3,060 / 133 = ~23.
The AMD Athlon XP2700+ has a main clock speed of 2.17GHz and a FSB of 333MHz. Its system clock is 333 / 2 = ~166MHz. The multiplier is 2,170 / 166 = ~13
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Originally posted by Larry
I found this one:
http://www.l-trondirect.com/aimb-542ve-00a1e.html
It has 4x 184pin DDR slots and a AGP 8X slot that I need. Its just that the bus speed says 533/800MHz and I dont know what that means. I need 700MHz to run my card. I just dont know if its 533MHz or 800MHz. If its 800 them I think I found my new MB. Can anyone clear this up?
Where did you get that 700Mhz spec?
[EDIT]
also note that the Intel Pentium 4 CPU 2.40GHz you listed does not support an FSB of 800mhz so buying a new MB alone that supports an FSB of 800Mhz will not mean you will have 800Mhz FSB...
[EDIT2] I would reexamine the power supply first before buying anything else.
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Will I have to buy a new processer for that MB or can I just install it and start playing?
Here is the v card that I got.
http://www.directron.com/bfgr7800gsoc.html
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Originally posted by Larry
Will I have to buy a new processer for that MB or can I just install it and start playing?
Here is the v card that I got.
http://www.directron.com/bfgr7800gsoc.html
Ok I see.... the processor speed needs to be 700Mhz or higher not the BUS speed....
Well according to those specs your system should be good, other than maybe the power supply... I would take a closer look at the power supply before doing anything else.
[EDIT]
How old is your existing MB?
The specs also list this--->
>>An available AGP 2.0 slot or higher
Which your MB may not support ...
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I really cant remember. Maybe 5 years.
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Here is the AGP specs...
http://www.interfacebus.com/Design_Connector_AGP.html (http://www.interfacebus.com/Design_Connector_AGP.html)
Looks like AGP2.0 has been out for a while...
Accelerated Graphics Port Interface Specification; Revision 1.0 1996
Accelerated Graphics Port Interface Specification; Revision 2.0 1998
Accelerated Graphics Port Interface Specification; Revision 3.0 2002
Do you know what type of MB it is? Did the PC come with a MB manual?
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Soda it might have but I dont have any thing that came with the computer.
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If you don't have a manual there may be something on the MB itself that will identify what chipset it is using...
If you bought your PC 5 years ago it's a good chance that it's at least using AGP 2.0... But since AGP 3.0 has been out since 2002, and the Video card you obtained has been out for about a year or two.. one has to wonder whether or not it will only work with AGP 3.0 even though they say it should work with AGP 2.0....
If you can get info on your current Motherboard you should be able to find out if it's using AGP 3.0 or AGP2.0, If you find out it's using AGP1.0 that would also explain the problem as well....
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I looked at my Service Tag from Dell here is everything that was on it when I bought it. (Note most of the specs have changed)
System Type: Dimension 4600
Ship Date: 10/16/2003
Dell IBU: Americas
PROCESSOR..., 80532, 2.4G, 512K, 533, SOCKET N..., DECISION ONE...
KEYBOARD..., 104, UNITED STATES..., SILITEK..., LOW COST..., MIDNIGHT GRAY...
KIT..., MOUSE..., PERSONAL SYSTEM 2..., S69, LOGITECH...
DUAL IN-LINE MEMORY MODULE..., 128, 333M, 16X64, 8K, 184
DIGITAL VIDEO DISK DRIVE..., 680M, 16, I, 5.25" FORM FACTOR..., SD616T, REVISION..., MIDNIGHT GRAY...
MODEM..., V92, INTERNAL..., DATA FAX..., SOFT, DON JULIO..., AMF
KIT..., SPEAKER..., 120V, ADA215, NMB..., SHIP IN BOX...
CARD (CIRCUIT)..., GRAPHICS..., 64MB, NV18, DIMENSION...
HARD DRIVE..., 40G, I, 7.2K, 60G/P, HIT-VAN2
KIT..., SOFTWARE..., WP-PRDCT-STE11, ENGLAND/ENGLISH...
KIT..., SOFTWARE..., QIKN-NWUSR-ED-2K2, ENGLAND/ENGLISH...
KIT..., SOFTWARE..., BRTNCA2K3, ENGLAND/ENGLISH...
KIT..., SOFTWARE..., OVERPACK..., WXPHSP1A, COMPACT DISKETTE W/DOCUMENTATION..., ENGLAND/ENGLISH...
KIT..., DOCUMENTATON ON FLOPPY DISK..., SOFTWARE..., DIGITAL VIDEO DISK DRIVE..., CYBERLINK..., 4.13C
DISPLAY..., FLAT PANEL DISPLAY..., 17, DUAL..., E171FPB, MIDNIGHT GRAY..., DELL AMERICAS ORGANIZATION...
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Does your graphics card look like this?
http://www.shopping.com/xPO-Dell-Dell-nVidia-NV18-DIM-64MB-AGP-Graphics-Card (http://www.shopping.com/xPO-Dell-Dell-nVidia-NV18-DIM-64MB-AGP-Graphics-Card)
It's listed as an AGP 8X which would mean it supports the AGP 3.0 specs...
Your Ship Date: 10/16/2003 is also after the AGP3.0 spec
[EDIT]
so were back to power supply....
Unless the card is broken,
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Yea thats the one that came with the computer. Im running with a GeForce 6200 now.
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CPU with processor speed of 700MHz or higher. 128MB of RAM. CD or DVD-ROM drive. An available AGP 2.0 slot or higher. 35MB available hard disk space (50MB for full installation). Microsoft Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP, NT4.0 with service pack 5 or 6. A minimum 400W system power supply (with 12V current rating of 20A or more). An AGP compliant motherboard. Some motherboards violate the AGP. specification and therefore this card may not physically fit in some systems. An available hard disk drive power dongle (smaller floppy disk drive connector is not sufficient).
Is your new power supply with 12V current rating of 20A or more?
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Its this one.
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Server_Network/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&cs=19&sku=A0687700
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Doesnt show the power distribution under specs. Since you said its a 385W PS I'd guess its probably a 16@ 12v rail, maybe 18@'s. Regardless its a pretty poor PS even for that money. Anytime you dont have a breakdown of efficiency and distribution you need to run the other way.
You'll need to look on the PS itself for a breakdown. From whats here I'd agree either you have a PS issue or a defective card...
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So what power suppy do you guys think I should get?
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Try this one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194003#spec
Had no problems running my 7800GS when I had it, also runs my 8800 without a problem.
Big plus is the dual +12v rails @ 22 amps each.
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My 7800GS is an AGP card will it have the 4pin connector it power it?
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Originally posted by Larry
My 7800GS is an AGP card will it have the 4pin connector it power it?
http://www.enermax.co.uk/uploads/tx_waiproducts/liberty_manual_multilanguage_09.pdf
Try looking at its manual, it has EVERYTHING.
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Got the new 500W power supply and it still doesnt work.
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AGP 2.0 means anything above AGP 2x port, and EVERYthing has at least 4x these days. You need to see if you have 4x or 8x, though.
According to this:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim4600/en/4600/sm/specs.htm#1084976
You've got an 8x AGP port.
The card is an 8x card. So it technically should work.
Then perhaps it's not a card/mobo issue.
-make sure the card is fully seated.
-make sure the card is fully powered. There is a small 4-pin MOLEX plug at the rear end of the card.
(http://i.neoseeker.com/a/bfg7800gs_agp/7800GSAGP1.jpg)
It's on the right-most side of that picture, past the heat sink. You need to plug a hard-drive style plug from your PSU into this. Now, these HD plugs often give you multiple plugs per strand of wire. Don't use the one that's already got your HD and/or CD-ROMs plugged into it. Use another strand from the PSU that has none of the other plugs used, and then don't use them later. In other words, only use that line for the video card.
- one link I found on google says it has integrated video. Plug your monitor into the integrated video again, and see if THAT gives you something. Restart your computer, go to the BIOS, and set the video preference to AGP, or disable the on-board video, or find the proper setting to tell it which video card you want to use. This can be tricky because I don't know how your BIOS is set up and you'll have to look for the proper wording on your menus.
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here are a couple of others with dell / 7800 issues (http://reviews.pricegrabber.com/video-cards/m/16697821/)
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I'm pretty sure that if the video card pulls more juice than the psu can handle, it will just flat shut off and nothing will run. This is considering the psu has a showdown feature and I think they pretty much all shut down when to much juice is drawn. This is to keep the thing from catching on fire. If anything is still running, fans or what not, then the psu is probably not the problem. If fans or what not are still running this indicates an overload has not happened.
Also, I would think that even a 385w psu would at least light the video card enough to get into the bios. At this point there is not really much load on the psu. That being said, a bigger psu is always better than a smaller one. 385w is not much and I imagine your video card needs more when you crank it up and pull a load with it.
All that being said, your computer is a dinosaur, so try to avoid putting to much money into it if you can.
Woops, after rereading the thread I see now you got another psu, but I am going to leave this in cause often a small psu is blamed for ailments that happen. Good luck.
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I called Dell last night. They said that they dont support that card thats why is doesnt run. But none of that matters now because about an hour later my whole system crashed. I took it to three computer repair shops today and they all said that something shorted out and fried the motherboard and hard drive.
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Originally posted by Larry
I called Dell last night. They said that they dont support that card thats why is doesnt run. But none of that matters now because about an hour later my whole system crashed. I took it to three computer repair shops today and they all said that something shorted out and fried the motherboard and hard drive.
Sorry to hear that.
What Dell really means - Their crappy BIOS doesn't allow you access to enough of the settings to get it to run.
Funny how these problems only seem to ever affect machines made by Hell, err I mean Dell.
When you finally get it up and running -
If you experience hard lock-ups in AH2 with the 7800, go into the BIOS and change the PCI latency to 128 or 256.
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As far as shops go, you would be surprised at how little skill most places have for finding hardware issues in a computer box. I wouldn't trust any of them half as much as I trust the guys that post in this forum. Basically what they do is try and turn on your computer and if it doesn't cut on they name some hardware components off the top of their head and say that is what is broken. They usually name two or three components, that way if you ask them to repair it, they are covered for their time and investment in parts to fix the computer. Unless hardware components are tested one or two at a time, usually nobody will know what is really broken. Last time I had your problem it was something as simple as a bad cpu fan. Fortunately I have have lots of parts so I replaced that and all was good.
As far as dell goes I wouldn't trust them either. I mean maybe they are correct and the card will not work, but maybe whoever told you that is somebody they have to answer correspondence and not a real live hardware geek know it all.
I have been exactly where you are now and this is how I first got interested in computer hardware and how to fix computers. If you want to fiddle with it and feel qualified, here are a few steps. Proceed at your own risk, not mine.
Try reversing everything you have done so far to see if you can get back to square one. Take out the vid card and install your old card, or if you were using on board video use that. Put the same psu you were using before back in. Basically, try and get back to what you had going the last time the system worked. If this does not work the next thing to do is to get the computer to start with as few components as possible.
I can't really remember so google it, but I think you need a mobo, a psu, a processor and a processor fan to cut the computer on and see if power is running threw everything. I think?? Then if it does that see if you can get to the bios. I don't know, but maybe you will have to add at least one ram stick to get to the bios. The idea here basically is to add components as few at a time as possible until you get to the point your monitor will light or untill you get to the point you notice something odd that happens which will be a clue as to what particular part is broken. It helps to have extra parts to switch and swap. and if you don't have these, then all may be in vain testing this way. Maybe you got another computer or a friend who has a broken computer with some parts????? I got some of my parts from computers I found laying out for the trash man to take. :lol
My gut is telling me your mobo or processor took a hike for some reason or another, maybe????? but I bet your hard drive is fine at least. Good luck.